Introduce this Sunday Division Squad Featuring Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Veterans in a 6-2 victory against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you boost a outstanding veteran squad that have secured back-to-back titles, featuring a double triumph boasting 30 wins from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a raft of ex- professionals who have performed at the top level of club football and international soccer as you pursue additional trophies.

One Manchester club has an amateur veterans team with nine ex- Premier League players in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, 325 International Appearances

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are located in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Top Division.

The lineup this season boasts 9 former top-flight players, with a total 1,801 Premier League games.

The elite roster also includes over 220 top division goals and 325 international appearances.

They include one forward, who netted thirty-seven goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from German league side Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field game against defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a half-hour first-half triple.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also includes former professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight players have claimed 15 big honors and transferred for total transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Irish appearances, netting four scores

Ireland began playing for the team in preseason this summer through good mate and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Former Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against the opposition - who are located in the city and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their strip.

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

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

"After that he told me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

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

"Those fans who come and see are pleased and to make a day if they watch us playing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us getting a place we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his first game at full-back.

"That's a little different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

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

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Unreal Experience

In addition to Cisse's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Tier with three victories from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to featuring in more than 200 Premier League matches.

"It was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," remarked Barrow.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got 60-odd England appearances.

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

"We really haven't stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the way home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of regular guys.

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

We Will Still Take the Title'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets side, who won the Premier Division championship last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Alexander Cole
Alexander Cole

Lena Visser is a landscape architect and sustainability advocate, sharing expert advice on urban gardening and eco-friendly living.