Meet this Sunday Division Team Boasting 1,800 Premier League Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two victory versus their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you improve a stellar experienced team that have claimed consecutive titles, featuring a double triumph boasting 30 victories from thirty-two games?

Recruit a group of former pro players who have performed at the top level of club and international soccer as you aim for more silverware.

One Manchester side fields an non-professional veterans squad with nine ex- Premier League players in their active squad.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, 325 Global Caps

The team Vets Over 35s are situated in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Tier.

Their lineup this season features nine former top-flight players, with a collective over 1,800 top-flight matches.

The elite team also boasts 222 top division scores and over 320 global caps.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their last home-field match versus reigning champions their rivals and netted all six scores in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

The team for this campaign also includes ex- pros such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker 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 players have won fifteen major trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of approximately £123 million.

Famous Names and International Stars

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

Stephen Ireland began playing for the side during pre-season this season through close friend and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided game, to join in.

Former Senegal forward Niasse, who scored 12 scores in 65 Premier League matches for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

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

"Then he told me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"When you still love the game and you feel you can still do it, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"Those fans who turn up and watch are happy and to give a day if they watch us competing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

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

"That's a bit different but then, I enjoy running and just move 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 attacking.

"That running is what I'm after. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe

'Surreal Experience

Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit five on his first match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at two global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as featuring in over two hundred Premier League matches.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had these former top-flight stars," remarked the player.

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

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

"We held our own for a good 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

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

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

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

We Will Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the opposition veterans team, who won the Top Division championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Donna Curry
Donna Curry

Aria Vance is a passionate film critic and entertainment journalist with over a decade of experience covering Hollywood and indie cinema.