Meet this Sunday Division Squad With Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for the team Veterans during a six-two victory versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you improve a stellar experienced side who have won back-to-back championships, including a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from 32 games?

Recruit a group of ex- pro players that have played at the elite tier of club football and international soccer as you target additional honors.

One Manchester side has an non-professional vets squad with 9 former top-flight players in their active lineup.

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

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

Their roster this campaign includes 9 former top-flight footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 Premier League matches.

The elite roster also includes over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 international caps.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He had his first appearance for the team in their most recent home game against defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six scores in a six-two win - featuring a half-hour first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League footballers have won fifteen significant honors and transferred for total transfer sums of around £123 million.

Household Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring four goals

Ireland started playing for the team during preseason this season through close friend and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited additional former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in sixty-five Premier League matches for Everton and still goes to their home games, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

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

"Then he informed me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Blue kits - I say this is wrong for me!

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

"Those spectators who turn up and watch are pleased and to give a day if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at the club, he made his first game at full-back.

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

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

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

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

Unreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a triple in one game as a striker.

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

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for the opposition, faced ex- Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in over 200 top-flight games.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League stars," said Barrow.

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

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

"We held our own for a good 20 minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"We really have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mum 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 fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Take the League'

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

"We scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Jason Fisher
Jason Fisher

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