Discover this Weekend League Team With 1,800 Premier League Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Vets in a 6-2 win versus their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you improve a excellent veteran squad that have claimed consecutive titles, including a league-cup double with thirty wins from 32 games?

Sign a raft of ex- pro players who have performed at the highest level of club and global soccer as you pursue more honors.

One Greater Manchester side boasts an amateur vets squad with nine former Premier League players in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances

The team Vets Over-35s are situated in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Division.

The squad list this season boasts 9 former Premier League players, with a collective nearly 1,800 Premier League games.

This high-profile team also includes over 220 top division goals and over 320 international caps.

They include one forward, who notched 37 goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home match against reigning title holders their rivals and netted all six goals in a six-two victory - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back 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 fifteen major trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Famous Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Republic of Ireland caps, netting four scores

Ireland began turning out for the side in pre-season this season through close mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side game, to join in.

Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in 65 top-flight games for Everton and still attends their home games, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"A friend Stephen said 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"After that he informed me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Blue kits - I say this is wrong for me!

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

"Those people who come and see are happy and to make a moment if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at the club, Niasse had his debut at defender.

"That's a little different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move 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 attacking.

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

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

'Surreal Feeling

Along with Cisse's six scores on debut, Ireland has netted 8 in three appearances for the side, while Boyd scored five on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Division with 3 wins from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for the opposition, faced ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

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

"It was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

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

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

"We competed well for a good 20 minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"Our group really haven't stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

"The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a bunch of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

'We'll Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate veterans side, who won the Top Tier championship last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a

Tom Macias
Tom Macias

Eleanor Vance is a journalist and cultural critic with over a decade of experience covering British media and societal trends.