Meet the Sunday League Club Boasting Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two win versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you improve a outstanding veteran side who have secured back-to-back titles, including a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from 32 matches?

Recruit a group of ex- pro players that have competed at the elite tier of club football and international football as you pursue more honors.

A Greater Manchester club boasts an amateur vets squad with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their current roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, 325 International Appearances

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

Their lineup this season boasts 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a combined 1,801 top-flight matches.

The star-studded team also boasts over 220 top division scores and over 320 global appearances.

The squad include one forward, who notched 37 scores in over 100 games for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field game versus defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six scores in a 6-2 victory - featuring a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

The squad for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight players have claimed fifteen major honors and moved for combined transfer fees of about £123 million.

Famous Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Irish appearances, scoring four goals

Ireland began playing for the team in preseason this summer through good friend and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to join in.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are located in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

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

"When you still enjoy football and you feel you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The spectators who turn up and watch are pleased and to make someone's moment if they see us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

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

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

"I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Unreal Scenario

Along with Cisse's six scores on debut, Ireland has netted 8 in three games for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first match and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Division with 3 wins from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in more than 200 top-flight games.

"It 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 over 60 English appearances.

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

"Our group really have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

We Will Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Top Tier championship last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a

Steven Montgomery
Steven Montgomery

A passionate gamer and writer dedicated to uncovering hidden gems and sharing expert gaming advice for enthusiasts of all levels.