Discover the Sunday League Club With Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Vets in a six-two victory against 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 improve a outstanding experienced side who have claimed consecutive championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting thirty victories from 32 matches?

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

One Greater Manchester team fields an non-professional veterans squad with nine ex- Premier League players in their present roster.

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

The team Vets Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Top Division.

The squad list this season includes 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a combined over 1,800 top-flight matches.

The star-studded team also contains over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 international caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for the team in their most recent home-field match versus defending title holders their rivals and netted all six scores in a six-two victory - including a half-hour opening period triple.

The team for this campaign also features ex- professionals such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former top-flight footballers have secured fifteen major trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of around £123m.

Household Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Republic of Ireland caps, scoring four goals

Ireland began turning out for the side in preseason this summer through good friend and present team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided game, to join in.

Former Senegal forward Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 Premier League matches for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He played for Everton from 2016 and 2020

"A mate Stephen told me 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"Then he told me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Blue shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"If you still enjoy football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those people who come and watch are pleased and to give someone's moment if they see us competing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, Niasse had his first game at defender.

"It's a little unusual but then, I enjoy running and just go forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep running.

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

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

Dreamlike' Experience

Along with Cisse's six scores on his first game, Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit five on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

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

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 World Cups for his country, in as well as featuring in more than two hundred Premier League games.

"It was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League stars," remarked the player.

"I felt I was a bit starstruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

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

"We competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

"Our group literally haven't ceased talking about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the way home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the return match."

We Will Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition vets side, who secured the Premier Division title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We scored one-nil ahead and had a

Richard West
Richard West

Elara Vance is a seasoned business consultant with over 15 years of experience in corporate strategy and leadership coaching across Canada.