Introduce the Sunday League Squad Boasting Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a 6-2 win versus their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you enhance a outstanding experienced side who have won consecutive titles, including a league-cup double with 30 victories from 32 matches?

Recruit a collection of former pro players that have competed at the highest level of club football and international football as you aim for further silverware.

A Greater Manchester club fields an non-professional veterans squad with nine former top-flight footballers in their present squad.

222 Top Division Scores, 325 International Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are situated in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets League Premier Division.

The squad list this campaign boasts 9 former Premier League players, with a collective nearly 1,800 elite matches.

This star-studded team also includes 222 Premier League scores and over 320 international appearances.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 scores in 117 appearances for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league club SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their last home match against defending title holders their rivals and scored all six scores in a six-two victory - featuring a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also features ex- professionals such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight footballers have won 15 significant honors and transferred for total transfer fees of about £123m.

Well-Known Figures and Global Stars

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

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the team during preseason this season through close mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side game, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve scores in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"My mate Stephen told me 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," said the striker.

"Then he told 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!

"When you still love the game and you feel you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The spectators who come and see are happy and to give a moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, he made his debut at full-back.

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

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

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

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

Dreamlike' Scenario

In addition to the forward's 6 scores on debut, Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit five on his first match and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a hat-trick in one game as a striker.

The team are leading of the Top Division with three victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at 2 World Cups for his country, in as well as playing in more than two hundred top-flight matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had all these former top-flight stars," said Barrow.

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

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

"We held our own for a good twenty minutes but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough.

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

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a group of normal guys.

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

'We'll Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the Collegiate vets team, who secured the Top Division title last season, together with his co-manager.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

Kimberly Davis
Kimberly Davis

A passionate writer and researcher with a knack for uncovering hidden narratives and sharing compelling perspectives on life and culture.