Meet this Sunday League Squad With Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Matches

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

What do you boost a outstanding experienced side that have claimed consecutive championships, including a double triumph with thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Recruit a group of former professionals who have performed at the top level of club and international soccer as you target additional honors.

One Manchester club boasts an amateur vets squad with nine ex- top-flight players in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, 325 International Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are located in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets League Top Division.

Their roster this campaign features nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 top-flight games.

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

The squad feature one forward, who notched 37 scores in over 100 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his first appearance for the team in their last home match against reigning champions their rivals and scored all six goals in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

The squad for this season also features ex- professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have claimed fifteen major trophies and moved for total transfer fees of about ÂŁ123m.

Household Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Irish appearances, netting four scores

Ireland began turning out for the team during preseason this season through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 goals in 65 top-flight games for Everton and still attends their home games, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.

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

"A mate Stephen told me 'join and play, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

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

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

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

So great is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his first game at defender.

"That's a bit different but then, I love 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 continue attacking.

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

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

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six goals on debut, Ireland has scored eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Tier with three wins from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Wigan full-back Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to playing in more than two hundred Premier League games.

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

"I think I was a little awestruck facing him to be honest.

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got 60-odd England caps.

"We held our own for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

"Our group literally haven't stopped talking about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the journey home.

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a group of regular fellas.

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

'We'll Still Win the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets team, who won the Top Division title the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Patricia Campbell
Patricia Campbell

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