Introduce the Sunday League Squad Boasting 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets in a 6-2 triumph against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a excellent veteran side that have won back-to-back titles, including a double triumph boasting thirty victories from thirty-two games?

Sign a group of former professionals who have performed at the top tier of club football and global football as you pursue more silverware.

One Greater Manchester team fields an amateur vets team with nine former Premier League players in their current roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

The team Vets Over 35s are situated in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Vets League Top Tier.

Their lineup this campaign includes 9 former top-flight players, with a total nearly 1,800 Premier League games.

This high-profile team also includes 222 top division goals and 325 international appearances.

They include one forward, who scored 37 goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match against reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two victory - featuring a half-hour first-half triple.

The roster for this season also includes ex- professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight footballers have secured 15 major trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of about £123 million.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

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

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side during preseason this season through good friend and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate.

Former Senegal striker Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My mate Stephen said 'come and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

"Then he told me we were facing a side from the city and the shock I had when I saw them wearing Blue shirts - I thought this is strange 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 come and see are happy and to give a moment if they see us playing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his debut at full-back.

"That's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.

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

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

'Surreal Feeling

In addition to Cisse's 6 scores on debut, Ireland has scored eight in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Division with three victories from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced former Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to playing in more than two hundred Premier League games.

"It was spreading like a rumor they had all these former top-flight stars," remarked Barrow.

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

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got over 60 England caps.

"Our side competed well for a good 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

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

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

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

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the opposition vets side, who won the Top Tier championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We scored one-nil ahead and had a

Amy Vang
Amy Vang

A technology strategist with over a decade of experience in IT consulting and digital transformation for SMEs across various industries.