Introduce this Sunday League Squad With 1,800 Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Vets during a 6-2 triumph versus Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you boost a stellar experienced squad who have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting 30 wins from 32 matches?

Recruit a group of ex- pro players that have played at the elite tier of club and global soccer as you target additional honors.

A Manchester side boasts an amateur vets team with 9 former top-flight footballers in their active roster.

222 Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are based in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Tier.

The lineup this campaign features nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a total 1,801 elite games.

The elite squad also includes 222 Premier League goals and 325 global caps.

They include Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven scores in over 100 games for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in January 2012.

He had his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home game versus reigning champions their rivals and scored all six scores in a 6-2 victory - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also includes former pros such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- Premier League players have claimed fifteen major trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Household Figures and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Irish caps, netting 4 scores

Stephen Ireland started playing for the team in preseason this summer through close mate and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then asked additional former professionals, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

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

"After that he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Everton kits - I say this is wrong for me!

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

"The spectators who turn up and watch are happy and to give someone's day if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the strength in depth at the club, he made his debut at defender.

"That's a bit different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go inside - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

"I warn my centre-back 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to keep running.

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

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

Unreal Experience

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

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Division with three victories from three and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in over two hundred Premier League matches.

"It was spreading like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," said the player.

"I felt I was a little starstruck playing against him to be honest.

"Also Heskey got on and he's has 60-odd English appearances.

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

"Our group really haven't stopped talking about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the way home.

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

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

'We'll Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Top Division championship last season, together with his co-manager.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Mrs. Shannon Owens MD
Mrs. Shannon Owens MD

A passionate cyclist and gear reviewer with over a decade of experience in the biking industry.