Introduce the Weekend Division Squad Boasting 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a 6-2 triumph against their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you improve a outstanding experienced team who have won consecutive championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Bring in a raft of former pro players who have competed at the elite tier of club football and international football as you pursue further honors.

One Manchester club fields an non-professional veterans squad with 9 former Premier League footballers in their current lineup.

222 Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

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

Their lineup this campaign features 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a collective over 1,800 elite matches.

The star-studded roster also boasts over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 global appearances.

They include Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game against defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals 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 Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- Premier League footballers have won 15 big honors and moved for combined transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring 4 scores

Ireland began turning out for the team in pre-season this season through close mate and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all compete in a weekly small-sided game, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My mate Stephen said 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"Then he informed me we were playing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Blue kits - I say this is strange for me!

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

"The people who turn up and see are pleased and to make someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at the club, he made his debut at full-back.

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

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

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

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

Dreamlike' Experience

Along with Cisse's six scores on his first game, Ireland has scored eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, notched a triple in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Division with three victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays 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 two global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in over two hundred Premier League games.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had these former top-flight stars," remarked Barrow.

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

"Also Heskey got on and he's has over 60 English caps.

"We competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"Our group really haven't stopped talking about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

We Will Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets side, who secured the Top Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored one-nil ahead and had a

Cindy Herring
Cindy Herring

A software engineer and tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience in AI development and digital transformation projects.