Introduce this Weekend League Squad Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Vets during a six-two triumph versus their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you improve a stellar experienced team who have secured back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty wins from 32 games?

Bring in a group of ex- professionals who have performed at the top level of club football and global soccer as you target further silverware.

A Greater Manchester side boasts an amateur veterans team with nine former Premier League players in their active lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, 325 International Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Top Division.

Their squad list this season features nine ex- Premier League players, with a collective nearly 1,800 top-flight games.

This star-studded squad also contains 222 top division scores and 325 international caps.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match against reigning title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two win - featuring a half-hour first-half triple.

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

Collectively, the former Premier League footballers have claimed 15 big honors and moved for total transfer sums of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Names and International Stars

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

Ireland started playing for the team in 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 small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 Premier League matches for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton training kit as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse featured for the club from 2016 and 2020

"My friend Stephen Ireland said 'join and play, it's good fun'," commented Niasse.

"Then he informed me we were facing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still love football and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"Those fans who come and see are pleased and to give a day if they see us playing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, he had his debut at defender.

"It's a little different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I warn my centre-back 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

Dreamlike' Experience

Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Ireland has scored eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Top Tier with 3 wins from three and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, faced former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as playing in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked Barrow.

"I think I was a bit awestruck facing him to be honest.

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has 60-odd English caps.

"Our side held our own for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"We really have not stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the journey home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a bunch of regular guys.

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

We Will Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate vets team, who won the Top Division championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went one-nil up and had a

Caroline Warner
Caroline Warner

Emily Rosewood is a tech enthusiast and writer who explores the latest gadgets and e-commerce trends, helping readers make informed purchases.