Introduce this Weekend League Team With Over 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Veterans during a 6-2 win against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you enhance a stellar experienced side that have secured back-to-back titles, including a double triumph with 30 wins from thirty-two games?

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

A Manchester side has an amateur veterans squad with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their current squad.

222 Top Division Goals, 325 International Appearances

The team Veterans Over 35s are situated in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Premier Division.

The lineup this season boasts 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a total 1,801 Premier League games.

The elite roster also boasts 222 Premier League scores and 325 global appearances.

They include one forward, who scored thirty-seven goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their most recent home-field match versus defending title holders their rivals and netted all six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

The team for this campaign also features ex- pros such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen major trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of around £123m.

Well-Known Figures and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Republic of Ireland caps, scoring four goals

Stephen Ireland started playing for the side in preseason this summer through close mate and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Former Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted 12 scores in sixty-five top-flight games for the Toffees and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are located in the city and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen told me 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," said Niasse.

"Then he informed me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them wearing Everton kits - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still love football and you feel you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

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

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

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

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

"The movement is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

'Surreal Feeling

Along with the forward's 6 scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a hat-trick in one match up front.

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

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced former Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young son who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in more than two hundred top-flight games.

"It was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," said Barrow.

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

"Even Heskey got on and he's has 60-odd English caps.

"Our side held our own for a good 20 minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

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

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of normal fellas.

"Now we can't wait for the second fixture."

We Will Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate veterans side, who won the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We scored 1-0 up and had a

Debra Evans
Debra Evans

A digital strategist with over a decade of experience in tech innovation and content creation, passionate about emerging technologies.