Introduce this Sunday Division Squad Boasting Over 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Vets during a six-two triumph against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you enhance a excellent experienced side who have claimed back-to-back championships, including a double triumph with thirty wins from 32 matches?

Bring in a raft of ex- pro players who have competed at the elite level of club and international football as you pursue additional honors.

A Greater Manchester team boasts an amateur vets team with nine former top-flight players in their current roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are located in south the city and play in the Cheshire-based Vets League Premier Division.

The lineup this season features 9 former Premier League footballers, with a combined over 1,800 top-flight games.

This high-profile roster also includes over 220 Premier League scores and 325 global appearances.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who scored 37 goals in over 100 games for his former club after signing for them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He had his first appearance for the team in their last home-field game against defending title holders their rivals and netted all six goals in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also features former professionals such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League footballers have won 15 big trophies and moved for total transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Household Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Irish caps, netting four goals

Ireland began turning out for the team in preseason this summer through close mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then asked other former professionals, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to join in.

Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and still attends their home games, also had his first appearance against the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland said 'come and play, it's good fun'," commented the striker.

"After that he informed me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Everton shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy football and you know you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those spectators who come and see are pleased and to make someone's moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, Niasse had his first game at full-back.

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

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep running.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

'Surreal Experience

Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one match up front.

The team are top of the Premier Division with 3 victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two World Cups for his country, in addition to playing in over two hundred top-flight games.

"It was going round like wildfire they had these former top-flight stars," remarked the player.

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

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

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

"Our group literally haven't stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the opposition vets side, who secured the Top Tier championship last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

David Bender
David Bender

Lena is een ervaren casino-analist en schrijft al sinds 2015 over online gokken en spelstrategieën.