Introduce the Weekend League Squad With Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Veterans during a six-two victory against Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a excellent veteran side who have secured consecutive titles, including a league-cup double boasting 30 victories from 32 games?

Recruit a raft of former professionals that have competed at the highest tier of club and global soccer as you aim for more silverware.

A Greater Manchester team boasts an non-professional vets squad with nine ex- Premier League players in their present roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, 325 International Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are situated in southern the city and play in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Premier Tier.

Their lineup this campaign boasts nine ex- top-flight players, with a collective over 1,800 top-flight games.

This high-profile team also includes over 220 top division scores and 325 global appearances.

They feature one forward, who notched thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also features former professionals such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen big honors and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring 4 scores

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the team during preseason this season through good friend and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a weekly small-sided game, to join in.

Ex- Senegal striker Niasse, who scored 12 goals in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and even now goes to their home games, also had his debut against the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse featured for the club between 2016 and 2020

"My friend Stephen Ireland told me 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

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

"If you still enjoy the game and you feel you can still do it, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"Those people who come and watch are happy and to make a day if they watch us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he made his debut at defender.

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

"I warn my centre-back '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 defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Unreal Experience

Along with the forward's 6 scores on debut, Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Tier with three wins from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in over two hundred top-flight matches.

"It was spreading like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League players," said the player.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has 60-odd English appearances.

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

"Our group really haven't ceased chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return match."

We Will Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans team, who won the Top Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went one-nil up and had a

Robert Garcia DDS
Robert Garcia DDS

Marcus Stone is a lifestyle coach and author specializing in alpha male development, with over a decade of experience in personal transformation.