Discover the Weekend Division Club Boasting Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Appearances

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

What do you boost a stellar experienced team that have won consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph boasting 30 victories from 32 games?

Recruit a raft of former professionals that have competed at the top tier of club football and international football as you target additional trophies.

One Greater Manchester team boasts an non-professional veterans squad with 9 ex- Premier League players in their current squad.

222 Top Division Scores, 325 Global Caps

The team Vets Over-35s are located in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Vets League Premier Tier.

Their roster this season boasts 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a total over 1,800 Premier League matches.

The star-studded team also contains over 220 top division scores and over 320 global caps.

They include one forward, who netted 37 goals in 117 games for his former club after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

He made his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six scores in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute first-half triple.

The roster for this season also includes ex- pros such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- Premier League players have secured fifteen big trophies and moved for combined transfer fees of about £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring 4 goals

Ireland began turning out for the team in preseason this season through good friend and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited additional former professionals, who all compete in a weekly small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who scored twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight games for the Toffees and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and use an Blue training kit as their strip.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton kits - I thought this is strange for me!

"If you still love the game and you know you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to do?

"The people who come and watch are pleased and to make a day if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

So great is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his first game at full-back.

"That's a little different but then, I love running 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.

"The movement is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

Unreal Experience

Along with the forward's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in three games for the side, while Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a triple in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Division with three wins from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Wigan full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at two World Cups for his country, in as well as featuring in over 200 Premier League matches.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had these former top-flight stars," remarked the player.

"I think I was a bit starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

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

"Our side competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group really have not 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 normal guys.

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

'We'll Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Top Division championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a

Larry Harrison
Larry Harrison

Writer and storyteller passionate about uncovering the extraordinary in everyday life.