Introduce this Sunday Division Team Featuring Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Veterans in a 6-2 victory against their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you boost a excellent experienced side that have won consecutive championships, including a double triumph boasting thirty victories from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a group of ex- professionals that have performed at the top level of club football and global soccer as you aim for further silverware.

One Manchester team has an amateur veterans team with 9 former Premier League players in their present squad.

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

The team Veterans Over 35s are based in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Tier.

Their lineup this season boasts 9 ex- Premier League players, with a total 1,801 elite matches.

This high-profile roster also contains 222 Premier League goals and over 320 global appearances.

The squad include one forward, who scored thirty-seven goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from German league club Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home game versus reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's squad for this season also features ex- professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen significant trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish appearances, netting 4 goals

Stephen Ireland started playing for the side during preseason this summer through close friend and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 Premier League matches for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Blue training kit as their uniform.

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

"My mate Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"After that he informed me we were facing a team from the city and the shock 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 turn up and see are happy and to give a moment if they watch us competing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at the club, he had his debut at defender.

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

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

'Surreal Experience

Along with Cisse's 6 scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in three games for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

The team are leading of the Top Division with three victories from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two World Cups for Honduras, in as well as featuring in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League stars," remarked Barrow.

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

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

"Our side held our own for a good 20 mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group really have not ceased chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the way 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'll Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans side, who secured the Top Division championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a

Sarah Walker
Sarah Walker

A seasoned gaming journalist with over a decade of experience covering online casinos and betting trends across the UK.