Meet this Weekend Division Squad Featuring 1,800 English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans during a 6-2 win versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you enhance a stellar experienced squad who have secured back-to-back titles, including a double triumph boasting 30 wins from 32 games?

Recruit a collection of ex- pro players that have competed at the highest level of club and global football as you aim for additional silverware.

One Manchester team fields an amateur veterans squad with nine former top-flight footballers in their present squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances

The team Veterans Over-35s are situated in south the city and compete in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Tier.

The squad list this season includes 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a combined nearly 1,800 Premier League appearances.

The elite roster also includes 222 top division goals and 325 global caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 goals in over 100 appearances for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game versus reigning title holders their rivals and netted every one of the six scores in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

The squad for this season also features former pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League players have won fifteen major honors and moved for total transfer fees of about £123m.

Household Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Republic of Ireland caps, netting four scores

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the side during pre-season this summer through close mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate.

Former Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and use an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse played for Everton from 2016 and 2020

"My mate Stephen said 'join and play, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

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

"When you still love the game and you know you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"The fans who come and watch are happy and to make someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us getting a place we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at the club, he had his first game at defender.

"That's a bit different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go inside - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Unreal Feeling

Along with the forward's 6 goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three games for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Premier Tier with three victories from three and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young son who Heskey was.

He has appeared at two global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as featuring in over 200 Premier League matches.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has 60-odd England appearances.

"We held our own for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"We literally have not stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the journey home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

We Will Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate vets side, who won the Top Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Todd Hernandez
Todd Hernandez

A seasoned collector and writer with over a decade of experience in the trading card industry, specializing in vintage and modern rarities.