Introduce the Weekend Division Club With Over 1,800 English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans in a six-two triumph against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a excellent experienced squad that have won back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double with thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a group of former professionals who have played at the elite level of club football and global soccer as you target more trophies.

A Greater Manchester team has an non-professional veterans team with 9 former Premier League players in their present lineup.

222 Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are situated in south the city and play in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Top Division.

The squad list this campaign includes nine former Premier League footballers, with a collective over 1,800 Premier League games.

The elite team also includes 222 top division scores and over 320 international appearances.

They feature one forward, who scored thirty-seven scores in 117 games for his former club after moving to them for £9m from German league side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their most recent home match versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six scores in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also includes former pros such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen significant honors and transferred for combined transfer sums of around £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring four goals

Ireland started playing for the side during preseason this summer through good mate and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in.

Former Senegal forward Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 Premier League games for Everton and even now goes to their home games, also had his debut against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He played for the club between 2016 and 2020

"A friend Stephen told me 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," said Niasse.

"Then he informed me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still love football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those spectators who turn up and see are happy and to make someone's day if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the joy of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at defender.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I love sprinting and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I tell my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue running.

"That running is what I'm looking for. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

'Surreal Scenario

Along with Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored five on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are top of the Top Division with three victories from three and a GD of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young son who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in more than 200 Premier League matches.

"It was going round like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

"I felt I was a bit starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

"Also Heskey got on and he's got over 60 English appearances.

"We competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

"Our group really have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the journey home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a group of normal fellas.

"Now we can't wait for the second fixture."

We Will Still Take the Title'

The manager coaches the opposition veterans side, who secured the Top Tier title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Teresa Walls
Teresa Walls

Liam Visser is an avid fisherman with 15 years of experience, sharing insights on gear and techniques.