Meet this Sunday League Club Featuring Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

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

How can you boost a stellar experienced side who have secured consecutive titles, including a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Sign a group of former professionals that have performed at the highest tier of club football and international soccer as you aim for more silverware.

A Manchester club has an amateur veterans squad with nine former Premier League footballers in their active lineup.

222 Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

The team Vets Over 35s are located in south the city and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets League Premier Division.

The squad list this campaign features nine ex- Premier League players, with a total nearly 1,800 top-flight matches.

This star-studded squad also contains 222 Premier League goals and 325 international caps.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 goals in 117 games for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game against defending title holders their rivals and netted every one of the six scores in a 6-2 win - including a half-hour opening period triple.

The squad for this season also includes former pros such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the former top-flight footballers have claimed 15 significant trophies and moved for total transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Household Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Republic of Ireland caps, scoring four scores

Stephen Ireland began playing for the side during preseason this season through close friend and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish player then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly small-sided match, to join in.

Former Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and still attends their home games, also made his first appearance against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

"After that he informed me we were playing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Blue shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"When you still enjoy football and you feel you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The fans who come and see are happy and to give someone's day if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us having a place we can play, with structure of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, he made his debut at full-back.

"That's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just move inside - 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 keep running.

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

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

Unreal Experience

Along with the forward's 6 scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in 3 games for the side, while Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a hat-trick in one game as a striker.

The team are top of the Top Division with 3 victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, came up against ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two World Cups for his country, in as well as playing in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"It was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," remarked Barrow.

"I felt I was a little starstruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got 60-odd English appearances.

"We held our own for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"We literally have not ceased chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the way home.

"They were all really nice, 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 Will Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition vets side, who won the Premier Tier title last season, together with his co-manager.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Michele Bailey
Michele Bailey

Zara Moonstone is an intuitive astrologer and numerologist with over a decade of experience, blending ancient wisdom with modern insights to help readers navigate life's cosmic currents.

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