Discover the Sunday Division Team With 1,800 Premier League Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Vets in a 6-2 victory versus Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you enhance a stellar experienced side who have claimed consecutive championships, including a double triumph boasting 30 wins from 32 matches?

Bring in a raft of ex- professionals who have competed at the highest tier of club and global soccer as you target more honors.

A Manchester club has an non-professional veterans squad with nine former Premier League footballers in their active roster.

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

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

The roster this campaign includes nine ex- Premier League players, with a combined nearly 1,800 Premier League matches.

This high-profile roster also includes 222 Premier League goals and over 320 global caps.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 goals in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their last home game against reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six scores in a six-two victory - featuring a half-hour opening period triple.

The team for this campaign also features former pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- Premier League footballers have won 15 big trophies and moved for total transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Irish appearances, scoring 4 goals

Ireland began turning out for the team during preseason this season through close mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to join in.

Former Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five top-flight matches for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also made his first appearance against the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Blue training kit as their uniform.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland told me 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented Niasse.

"Then he told me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Everton kits - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy the game and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those spectators who come and see are happy and to make a moment if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the joy of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at the club, he made his first game at defender.

"It's a little different but then, I enjoy running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Premier Division with three wins from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for the opposition, faced former Latics defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young boy who Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in over two hundred top-flight matches.

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

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

"Even Heskey got on and he's has 60-odd English caps.

"We held our own for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

"Our group literally have not stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the way home.

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

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

'We'll Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans side, who won the Top Division title last season, along with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil up and had a

Sarah Hill
Sarah Hill

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