Meet this Sunday Division Team With 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Veterans during a 6-2 triumph versus their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you boost a stellar experienced side who have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a double triumph with 30 victories from 32 games?

Sign a collection of ex- pro players that have played at the elite level of club football and global football as you target more trophies.

A Greater Manchester side fields an amateur veterans squad with 9 ex- top-flight footballers in their active squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

The team Veterans Over-35s are based in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Vets League Top Tier.

Their squad list this season boasts nine former Premier League players, with a combined nearly 1,800 top-flight appearances.

This elite roster also boasts over 220 top division scores and over 320 global appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who scored 37 scores in 117 appearances for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league side Freiburg in 2012.

He had his first appearance for the team in their last home-field game against reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six scores in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

The roster for this season also features former pros such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- Premier League players have claimed 15 big trophies and moved for combined transfer fees of approximately ÂŁ123 million.

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

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

Ireland started turning out for the side in pre-season this summer through close friend and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a weekly small-sided match, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese striker Niasse, who scored twelve scores in 65 top-flight games for Everton and even now attends their home games, also had his first appearance against the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland told me 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

"After that he told me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Blue shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

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

"The people who turn up and see are pleased and to give someone's moment if they see us playing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his first game at defender.

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

"I tell my centre-back 'I'm not staying' 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
Ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit five on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Tier with three wins from three and a GD of +19.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as featuring in more than 200 top-flight matches.

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

"I felt I was a little starstruck playing against him to be honest.

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

"Our side competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

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

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of regular guys.

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

'We'll Still Win the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate veterans side, who won the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

Jennifer Christian
Jennifer Christian

A seasoned betting analyst with over a decade of experience in the New Zealand gambling industry.