Discover this Sunday Division Club Featuring Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a 6-2 triumph versus Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you enhance a stellar experienced squad that have claimed consecutive championships, including a league-cup double with thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a group of ex- pro players who have performed at the elite tier of club and international football as you aim for additional silverware.

A Greater Manchester club has an non-professional vets team with nine former top-flight footballers in their current squad.

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

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are based in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Premier Tier.

The lineup this season boasts nine former top-flight players, with a collective 1,801 elite matches.

This elite roster also boasts over 220 top division scores and 325 global caps.

They feature one forward, who notched 37 goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He had his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home-field match against defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a six-two victory - including a half-hour opening period triple.

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

Together, the ex- top-flight footballers have won fifteen big honors and transferred for combined transfer sums of about £123m.

Household Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Republic of Ireland caps, netting 4 goals

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the team during pre-season this summer through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited additional ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

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

"Then he informed me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"Those spectators who turn up and watch are happy and to make a moment if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, he had his debut at full-back.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I love sprinting and just move forward - 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 attacking.

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

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

Unreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's 6 goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for the side, while Boyd scored five on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are top of the Top Division with three victories from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young son who Emile Heskey was.

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

"The news was going round like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League stars," remarked Barrow.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has 60-odd England caps.

"Our side competed well for a good twenty minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"We really have not stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

"The opponents were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of regular fellas.

"Now we are eager for the return match."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the opposition veterans side, who secured the Premier Division title last season, together with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil up and had a

Justin Lawson
Justin Lawson

A seasoned financial analyst with over 15 years in precious metals markets, specializing in gold investment strategies and economic forecasting.