Meet the Weekend League Squad With Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for Wythenshawe Veterans in 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

What can you improve a outstanding experienced side that have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty wins from 32 games?

Recruit a raft of ex- pro players that have played at the top tier of club football and international football as you pursue more silverware.

A Manchester side boasts an amateur vets squad with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their current lineup.

222 Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

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

Their lineup this campaign features nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a collective 1,801 Premier League appearances.

This elite team also boasts over 220 top division scores and over 320 international caps.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 scores in 117 appearances for his former club after joining them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his debut for the team in their most recent home-field match against defending champions their rivals and scored all six scores in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also features ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the former Premier League footballers have secured fifteen big trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of about £123 million.

Famous Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish caps, netting four scores

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side in preseason this season through close friend and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other former professionals, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 top-flight games for Everton and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland said 'come and have a game, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

"Then he informed me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

"If you still enjoy football and you feel you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to do?

"The spectators who come and watch are happy and to give a moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, he made his first game at defender.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I enjoy running and just go inside - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

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

"The movement is what I'm after. It's good fun."

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

Unreal Feeling

In addition to the forward's 6 goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in three appearances for the side, while Boyd scored five on his first match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one game as a striker.

The team are top of the Premier Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in more than 200 Premier League matches.

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

"I think I was a bit awestruck playing against him to be honest.

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

"We competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

"Our group really haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the way home.

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

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

We Will Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans team, who secured the Top Tier title the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.

"We scored one-nil up and had a

Paul Campbell
Paul Campbell

A software engineer and tech writer passionate about AI ethics and open-source projects, with over a decade of industry experience.