Meet the Sunday League Club With Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Veterans during a 6-2 triumph against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you improve a outstanding experienced team that have secured back-to-back championships, including a league-cup double with 30 victories from 32 games?

Sign a raft of ex- pro players who have performed at the elite tier of club and global football as you aim for further honors.

A Manchester side fields an amateur vets team with 9 former top-flight players in their present squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, 325 International Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are situated in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Premier Tier.

Their lineup this campaign features 9 former Premier League footballers, with a combined nearly 1,800 elite matches.

This elite squad also boasts over 220 Premier League goals and 325 global appearances.

The squad include one forward, who scored 37 goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field match against reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six scores in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also features ex- pros such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League players have won 15 major trophies and moved for combined transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Household Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Republic of Ireland appearances, netting four goals

Ireland started turning out for the side in pre-season this summer through close mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 Premier League matches for Everton and still attends their home games, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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 good fun'," said Niasse.

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

"When you still enjoy football and you know you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those fans who turn up and watch are happy and to give someone's day if they watch us playing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse had his first game at full-back.

"That's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

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

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

Dreamlike' Scenario

Along with Cisse's 6 goals on debut, Ireland has scored 8 in 3 games for the side, while Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a hat-trick in one game up front.

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

One opponent, 38, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced former Wigan defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to featuring in over two hundred top-flight matches.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had all these former top-flight stars," said Barrow.

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

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

"We held our own for a good 20 minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was tough.

"We really haven't ceased talking about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the way home.

"The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a group of regular guys.

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets side, who secured the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Marcia Rogers
Marcia Rogers

Elara is a digital strategist with over a decade of experience in tech marketing and innovation, passionate about helping businesses adapt to new trends.