Discover the Weekend League Squad Boasting 1,800 Premier League Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for the team Veterans in a six-two win versus their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you enhance a outstanding veteran squad that have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double with 30 victories from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a collection of former pro players that have competed at the highest tier of club and global soccer as you aim for further trophies.

A Greater Manchester team has an non-professional vets squad with 9 ex- top-flight players in their active roster.

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

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

Their lineup this campaign boasts nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a combined nearly 1,800 Premier League games.

This star-studded roster also boasts 222 Premier League goals and 325 global caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in over 100 appearances for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his debut for the team in their most recent home-field game versus defending champions their rivals and netted every one of the six scores in a 6-2 victory - including a half-hour first-half triple.

The squad for this campaign also includes former pros such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton 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.

Together, the ex- Premier League players have won 15 significant trophies and moved for combined transfer sums of around £123 million.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring 4 scores

Stephen Ireland started playing for the team during preseason this season through good mate and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side match, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five Premier League matches for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland said 'come and play, it's good fun'," commented the striker.

"Then he informed me we were facing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Everton kits - I thought this is wrong for me!

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

"Those spectators who come and see are happy and to make someone's moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at full-back.

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

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

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

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

'Surreal Experience

In addition to the forward's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd hit five on his debut appearance and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced former Wigan defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in over 200 Premier League matches.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had these former top-flight players," said Barrow.

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

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

"Our side competed well for a good 20 minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"We really haven't ceased talking about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a group of regular guys.

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

'We'll Still Take the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets team, who secured the Top Division championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a

Robert Miller
Robert Miller

Mira Chen is a digital strategist and tech enthusiast with a passion for virtual reality and immersive technologies.