Meet this Sunday League Club Boasting 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Veterans in a six-two victory against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you enhance a excellent experienced squad who have won consecutive titles, including a double triumph with thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a raft of ex- professionals who have performed at the highest tier of club football and global soccer as you aim for more honors.

A Manchester team fields an amateur vets squad with 9 former Premier League footballers in their current roster.

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

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

The lineup this campaign features nine ex- Premier League players, with a total 1,801 Premier League appearances.

The elite team also boasts 222 top division scores and over 320 global caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his first appearance for the team in their most recent home match versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six goals in a 6-2 victory - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also features ex- pros such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League footballers have secured 15 major honors and moved for total transfer sums of around £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He won six Republic of Ireland appearances, netting 4 goals

Ireland began turning out for the side during pre-season this summer through close mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then asked additional former professionals, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve goals in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

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

"After that he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I say this is strange 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?

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

Such is the strength in depth at the club, Niasse had his debut at full-back.

"That's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just go forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said.

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

"The running is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

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

'Surreal Feeling

In addition to Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Tier with 3 victories from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for the opposition, faced ex- Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

He has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

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

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has 60-odd England appearances.

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

"We literally have not stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the way home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of normal fellas.

"Now we can't wait for the second fixture."

We Will Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate vets team, who won the Top Tier championship the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil ahead and had a

Kathleen Velasquez
Kathleen Velasquez

A seasoned entrepreneur and tech enthusiast, Elara shares practical tips and experiences from building successful startups.

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