Meet the Weekend League Team Featuring Over 1,800 English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Veterans during a six-two victory versus Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you improve a outstanding veteran squad who have claimed consecutive titles, featuring a league-cup double boasting 30 wins from 32 matches?

Bring in a collection of former pro players who have performed at the elite level of club football and international soccer as you aim for further trophies.

One Manchester club has an amateur veterans team with nine ex- top-flight footballers in their present roster.

222 Premier League Goals, 325 Global Appearances

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

Their roster this campaign includes nine former top-flight footballers, with a combined nearly 1,800 top-flight matches.

This high-profile squad also boasts 222 Premier League scores and over 320 international caps.

They include Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven scores in over 100 games for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game versus defending champions their rivals and netted every one of the six scores in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

The roster for this season also features former professionals such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward 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 claimed 15 big trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Household Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Irish appearances, netting four goals

Stephen Ireland began playing for the team during preseason this summer through good friend and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.

Ex- Senegal striker Niasse, who scored twelve scores in 65 Premier League matches for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"My mate Stephen told me 'come and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Blue kits - I say this is wrong for me!

"If you still enjoy football and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those spectators who turn up and watch are pleased and to make someone's day if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us having a place we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his first game at full-back.

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

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

"That running is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Dreamlike' Feeling

Along with Cisse's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd hit five on his first appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Premier Division with 3 victories from three and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, 38, who features on the wing for the opposition, came up against former Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as featuring in more than 200 Premier League matches.

"It was spreading like a rumor they had all these former top-flight players," said the player.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has over 60 English caps.

"We held our own for a good twenty mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

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

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

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

We Will Still Take the League'

The manager coaches the opposition vets team, who secured the Top Division title last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 up and had a

Jason Cruz
Jason Cruz

A former professional sports analyst turned betting strategist, specializing in data-driven predictions across major leagues.