Meet this Weekend Division Squad Featuring Over 1,800 Premier League Matches

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

How do you boost a excellent experienced side that have won back-to-back titles, featuring a league-cup double with thirty wins from 32 matches?

Recruit a group of ex- pro players that have competed at the top level of club and global soccer as you aim for additional honors.

A Greater Manchester club has an amateur veterans squad with nine former top-flight players in their current lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are located in south the city and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Top Division.

The roster this campaign boasts nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a combined nearly 1,800 Premier League games.

The high-profile roster also includes over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 international appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven goals in 117 appearances for his former club after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match versus reigning champions their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - including a half-hour opening period hat-trick.

The team for this campaign also includes former pros such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the former Premier League footballers have won fifteen significant trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of around £123 million.

Well-Known Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Irish caps, netting 4 goals

Stephen Ireland started playing for the side during pre-season this summer through close mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly small-sided game, to join in.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also made his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He featured for the club from 2016 and 2020

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

"After that he told me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Blue kits - I say this is strange for me!

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

"The people who come and see are pleased and to make a moment if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at defender.

"It's a little unusual but then, I love sprinting and just go forward - 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 keep attacking.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

'Surreal Scenario

Along with the forward's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 games for the side, while Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Premier Tier with three victories from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for the opposition, came up against ex- Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 World Cups for his country, in addition to playing in over two hundred Premier League games.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked the player.

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

"Also Heskey came on and he's has 60-odd England appearances.

"We held our own for a good twenty mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

"Our group really have not ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the way home.

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

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

We Will Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate vets side, who won the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"Our team scored one-nil ahead and had a

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