Meet the Sunday League Team With Over 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets in a six-two triumph versus 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 can you improve a excellent experienced side that have won consecutive titles, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Recruit a raft of ex- professionals that have competed at the top tier of club and global soccer as you target further silverware.

One Greater Manchester team fields an non-professional vets squad with nine former Premier League footballers in their active squad.

222 Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

The team Veterans Over 35s are situated in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets League Premier Tier.

The lineup this season features nine former top-flight players, with a collective nearly 1,800 Premier League appearances.

This elite roster also boasts 222 Premier League goals and 325 international appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven goals in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match versus defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six scores in a 6-2 victory - including a half-hour opening period triple.

The roster for this campaign also features ex- professionals such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former Premier League footballers have won fifteen significant honors and transferred for combined transfer fees of about £123m.

Famous Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish appearances, scoring four scores

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

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight games for the Toffees and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and wear an Everton training kit as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He featured for the club from 2016 and 2020

"A mate Stephen said 'come and play, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"Then he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Everton kits - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"The fans who turn up and watch are pleased and to make someone's day if they watch us playing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

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

"That's a little unusual but then, I love running and just move inside - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

'Surreal Scenario

Along with the forward's 6 scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Premier Tier with three wins from three and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in over two hundred top-flight matches.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League stars," remarked the player.

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's has over 60 England caps.

"Our side held our own for a good twenty minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was tough.

"We really have not stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans team, who won the Top Tier title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went one-nil up and had a

Jonathan Medina
Jonathan Medina

A seasoned luxury travel writer and lifestyle curator with over a decade of experience exploring high-end destinations and sharing exclusive insights.

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