Meet the Sunday League Club With Over 1,800 English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans during a six-two triumph versus their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you enhance a excellent veteran squad who have secured back-to-back titles, including a double triumph boasting 30 victories from 32 games?

Sign a group of ex- pro players who have competed at the elite tier of club and international football as you aim for more silverware.

One Manchester team has an non-professional veterans squad with 9 ex- Premier League players in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, 325 Global Caps

The team Veterans Over-35s are based in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Top Division.

The squad list this campaign includes nine former Premier League footballers, with a collective over 1,800 Premier League games.

The high-profile squad also boasts over 220 top division scores and over 320 international caps.

They include one forward, who netted 37 scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his debut for the team in their last home-field game versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six scores in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this campaign also includes former professionals such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former top-flight footballers have won 15 big trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Household Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring four goals

Ireland began playing for the side during pre-season this summer through good mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side match, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in 65 top-flight games for Everton and even now attends their home games, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland told me 'come and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

"Then he informed me we were facing a side from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"The fans who come and watch are pleased and to make a moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, Niasse had his first game at full-back.

"That's a bit different but then, I love running and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.

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

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

Dreamlike' Feeling

Along with the forward's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit five on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a triple in one match up front.

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

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred Premier League games.

"It was going round like wildfire they had these former top-flight stars," said the player.

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

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

"Our side held our own for a solid twenty mins but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

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

"They 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'll Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition veterans side, who secured the Premier Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Robert Conway
Robert Conway

Automotive journalist and tech enthusiast with a passion for sustainable mobility and emerging vehicle technologies.