Meet the Sunday Division Squad With Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Veterans during a 6-2 victory against their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you enhance a excellent veteran squad that have claimed consecutive titles, including a double triumph boasting 30 wins from 32 matches?

Bring in a group of ex- professionals who have competed at the highest tier of club and international football as you pursue additional trophies.

One Greater Manchester side fields an non-professional veterans team with 9 former Premier League players in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, 325 International Caps

The team Vets Over 35s are located in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Top Tier.

The roster this season features 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 elite games.

The star-studded roster also contains 222 Premier League goals and 325 global appearances.

They feature one forward, who scored 37 scores in over 100 appearances for his former club after signing for them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field match versus defending title holders their rivals and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a half-hour opening period triple.

The roster for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have won 15 big honors and transferred for total transfer fees of about £123m.

Well-Known Figures and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Irish caps, netting four scores

Ireland started playing for the team in preseason this summer through close mate and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked additional ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve goals in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He played for the club between 2016 and 2020

"A mate Stephen Ireland said 'come and have a game, it's good fun'," commented Niasse.

"Then he informed me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still love football and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The fans who turn up and see are pleased and to give someone's moment if they see us competing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his debut at defender.

"It's a bit different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go forward - I'm not defending that much," he added.

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

"The running is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

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

Dreamlike' Experience

In addition to Cisse's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first match and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one game as a striker.

The team are leading of the Premier Division with 3 wins from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for the opposition, came up against ex- Latics defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two World Cups for Honduras, in addition to featuring in over 200 top-flight matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League stars," remarked the player.

"I think I was a bit starstruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's got over 60 English appearances.

"Our side competed well for a good twenty mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was hard.

"Our group literally haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the journey home.

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

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

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the Collegiate veterans side, who secured the Premier Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went one-nil up and had a

Mark Nichols
Mark Nichols

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