Introduce this Weekend Division Squad Featuring Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Veterans during a 6-2 victory against their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you enhance a excellent veteran squad that have claimed back-to-back titles, including a league-cup double with thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a group of ex- professionals that have played at the top level of club football and international football as you pursue further trophies.

One Greater Manchester side has an amateur vets team with 9 ex- Premier League players in their present squad.

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

The team Vets Over-35s are based in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets League Top Tier.

The roster this season boasts 9 former Premier League footballers, with a combined 1,801 elite matches.

The elite squad also contains over 220 top division scores and over 320 international appearances.

They feature one forward, who netted 37 scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home match versus defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six scores in a six-two victory - including a 32-minute opening period triple.

The squad for this campaign also features former professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen big trophies and moved for total transfer fees of around £123m.

Famous Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Republic of Ireland caps, netting 4 goals

Ireland started playing for the side during preseason this summer through good mate and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited additional former professionals, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"My friend Stephen said 'come and have a game, it's good fun'," said Niasse.

"After that he informed me we were playing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Everton kits - I thought this is wrong for me!

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

"The people who come and watch are happy and to make a moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his debut at full-back.

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

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's 6 scores on debut, Ireland has scored 8 in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored five on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

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

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Wigan full-back Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

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

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has 60-odd England caps.

"Our side competed well for a solid twenty mins but then we had a man sent off and it was tough.

"We literally haven't ceased talking about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the journey home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of regular fellas.

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Premier Tier title last season, together with his co-manager.

"Our team scored one-nil ahead and had a

Lauren Hodges
Lauren Hodges

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience reviewing Dutch online casinos and advocating for responsible gambling practices.