Discover the Sunday Division Club With Over 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for the team Vets in a six-two victory against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you improve a stellar veteran team that have claimed consecutive titles, featuring a double triumph boasting 30 victories from thirty-two games?

Sign a raft of former pro players who have performed at the highest tier of club football and global football as you target additional silverware.

One Manchester club boasts an amateur vets team with nine former Premier League footballers in their active lineup.

222 Top Division Scores, 325 International Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are located in south the city and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets League Top Tier.

Their squad list this season includes 9 ex- top-flight players, with a combined over 1,800 elite appearances.

This elite roster also contains 222 Premier League scores and over 320 international caps.

They feature one forward, who netted 37 scores in over 100 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

He had his debut for the team in their last home-field match versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals in a six-two win - including a 32-minute opening period triple.

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

In total, the ex- Premier League players have claimed fifteen major trophies and transferred for combined transfer sums of approximately £123 million.

Famous Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Irish appearances, scoring four scores

Stephen Ireland started playing for the team during preseason this summer through close mate and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked additional former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in.

Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

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

"Then he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still love the game and you feel you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to do?

"The spectators who turn up and see are happy and to make someone's moment 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 organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at full-back.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

"That movement is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Unreal Feeling

In addition to Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has scored 8 in three games for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one game as a striker.

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

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had all these former top-flight players," remarked Barrow.

"I felt I was a little starstruck facing him to be honest.

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

"Our side competed well for a solid twenty mins but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

"We really haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling 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 second match."

We Will Still Take the League'

The manager coaches the Collegiate vets team, who secured the Top Division championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"We went 1-0 ahead and had a

Ricky Young
Ricky Young

A seasoned gaming journalist with over a decade of experience covering esports, console releases, and tech innovations.