Discover the Sunday Division Team With 1,800 Premier League Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two triumph versus 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 can you boost a excellent experienced team that have won back-to-back championships, including a league-cup double boasting 30 victories from 32 matches?

Sign a collection of ex- pro players who have performed at the top level of club football and global soccer as you aim for more honors.

One Manchester side fields an amateur vets squad with nine ex- Premier League footballers in their present roster.

222 Top Division Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

The team Veterans Over 35s are situated in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Top Division.

Their roster this season features 9 former Premier League footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 elite games.

This high-profile team also contains over 220 top division goals and 325 global appearances.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game versus reigning title holders their rivals and scored all six scores in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes ex- pros such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight footballers have won 15 major trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of about £123 million.

Household Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish appearances, netting 4 scores

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the team in preseason this summer through close mate and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other former professionals, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their home games, also made his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and use an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"After that he informed me we were facing a side from the city and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

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

"Those people who come and see are happy and to give a day if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

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

"It's a little different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I tell my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue running.

"The movement is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

Unreal Experience

In addition to Cisse's six goals on his first game, Ireland has netted 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a hat-trick in one game as a striker.

The team are leading of the Premier Division with 3 victories from three and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced former Wigan full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred top-flight matches.

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

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

"Also Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has over 60 English appearances.

"Our side held our own for a good 20 mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

"We really have not ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the journey home.

"The opponents were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of regular fellas.

"Now we are eager for the return match."

We Will Still Take the League'

The manager manages the opposition veterans side, who secured the Top Division title last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Calvin Porter
Calvin Porter

Elara is a linguist and writer passionate about exploring the nuances of global languages and their impact on modern communication.