Meet the Weekend League Team Boasting 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans in a six-two victory against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you improve a stellar veteran team that have won consecutive championships, featuring a league-cup double with 30 victories from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a raft of former pro players who have played at the highest tier of club football and international football as you pursue further honors.

A Greater Manchester team boasts an amateur veterans squad with 9 ex- top-flight players in their current squad.

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

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are based in southern the city and compete in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Division.

The lineup this season boasts nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a combined 1,801 top-flight games.

The star-studded team also includes over 220 top division scores and 325 international appearances.

They feature one forward, who notched thirty-seven goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He made his debut for the team in their most recent home-field game versus reigning title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six scores in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League players have secured 15 big honors and transferred for total transfer sums of around £123m.

Well-Known Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Irish appearances, netting 4 scores

Stephen Ireland began playing for the side during preseason this season through good mate and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited additional former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegal forward Niasse, who scored 12 goals in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Everton training kit as their uniform.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland said 'come and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said the striker.

"Then he told me we were playing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy the game and you know you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those fans who come and watch are pleased and to give a moment if they see us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at the club, he made his first game at defender.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I enjoy running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to keep attacking.

"The movement is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

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

Unreal Feeling

Along with the forward's six scores on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in 3 appearances for the side, while Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a hat-trick in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Tier with three victories from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, came up against ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred Premier League games.

"It was going round like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League players," said Barrow.

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's has over 60 England caps.

"We competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

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

"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of regular guys.

"Now we can't wait for the return match."

We Will Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans team, who won the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"Our team scored 1-0 up and had a

Rebecca Williams
Rebecca Williams

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