Introduce this Sunday Division Club With Over 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets in a six-two triumph versus their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you boost a excellent experienced team that have won consecutive titles, featuring a league-cup double boasting thirty victories from 32 games?

Recruit a raft of ex- professionals that have competed at the elite level of club football and global soccer as you pursue further honors.

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

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

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

Their lineup this season features 9 former Premier League footballers, with a collective over 1,800 top-flight appearances.

This elite roster also boasts over 220 top division goals and 325 global appearances.

The squad include one forward, who notched 37 goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match versus defending champions their rivals and netted all six goals in a six-two victory - including a half-hour opening period triple.

The squad for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League players have won 15 significant trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring four scores

Ireland started playing for the side during pre-season this season through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited additional former professionals, who all compete in a weekly small-sided game, to join in.

Former Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 goals in sixty-five Premier League games for Everton and even now attends their home games, also made his debut against Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse played for Everton between 2016 and 2020

"A mate Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

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

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

"Those spectators who come and watch are happy and to give someone's day if they watch us competing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his first game at full-back.

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

"I warn my centre-back 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue running.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Dreamlike' Feeling

In addition to Cisse's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for the side, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by position, notched a hat-trick in one game as a striker.

The team are leading of the Premier Division with 3 victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Latics full-back Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in more than 200 top-flight games.

"It was going round like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League stars," said Barrow.

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

"Even Heskey got on and he's has over 60 England appearances.

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

"We really haven't stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the journey home.

"The opponents were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of normal guys.

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

We Will Still Win the Title'

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

"We went 1-0 ahead and had a

Timothy Wood
Timothy Wood

A professional organizer and minimalist lifestyle coach with over a decade of experience helping people simplify their homes and lives.