Introduce the Sunday Division Team With Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets in a 6-2 win against Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you enhance a stellar experienced squad who have won back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph with thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Recruit a raft of ex- pro players who have competed at the top level of club and global soccer as you pursue additional silverware.

One Greater Manchester club has an amateur veterans squad with nine ex- Premier League footballers in their current roster.

222 Premier League Scores, 325 International Caps

The team Vets Over 35s are based in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets League Premier Tier.

The roster this campaign includes 9 former Premier League footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 Premier League matches.

This star-studded team also contains 222 Premier League scores and over 320 international caps.

The squad feature one forward, who netted thirty-seven scores in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field game versus reigning champions their rivals and scored all six scores in a 6-2 victory - including a 32-minute opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this campaign also includes former professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the former Premier League footballers have secured fifteen significant honors and moved for total transfer fees of about £123 million.

Famous Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Republic of Ireland appearances, netting 4 scores

Stephen Ireland started playing for the team in pre-season this season through close mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then asked additional former professionals, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side game, to join in.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who scored twelve scores in 65 top-flight games for the Toffees and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance versus the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland said 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"Then he told me we were facing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Blue shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"When you still love the game and you know you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"The fans who turn up and watch are happy and to make someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the squad depth at the club, Niasse made his first game at defender.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I love running and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he added.

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

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

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

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Tier with 3 wins from 3 and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in over two hundred top-flight matches.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," said Barrow.

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

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

"We competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

"We really haven't stopped talking about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

We Will Still Win the Title'

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

"Our team scored one-nil ahead and had a

Edgar Moreno
Edgar Moreno

A tech enthusiast and digital strategist with over a decade of experience in analyzing emerging technologies and their impact on society.