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

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

How do you improve a stellar veteran team who have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting thirty victories from 32 games?

Sign a raft of ex- professionals who have played at the top tier of club football and international soccer as you pursue further honors.

One Manchester side boasts an non-professional vets team with nine former top-flight players in their current lineup.

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

The team Vets Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Tier.

The roster this season boasts 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a combined 1,801 elite appearances.

The star-studded squad also includes over 220 top division scores and 325 international caps.

They feature one forward, who notched 37 scores in over 100 games 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 champions their rivals and netted all six scores in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also features former professionals such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

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

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring 4 scores

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the side during pre-season this season through good friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited additional former professionals, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Former Senegal forward Niasse, who scored twelve scores in sixty-five Premier League games for the Toffees and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

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

"Then he informed me we were facing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Blue shirts - I say this is strange for me!

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

"The spectators who come and watch are pleased and to make a day if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the strength in depth at the club, he made his first game at full-back.

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

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

"The movement is what I'm seeking. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe

Unreal Scenario

Along with Cisse's 6 goals on debut, Ireland has netted 8 in three appearances for the side, while George Boyd hit five on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a hat-trick in one game up front.

The team are top of the Premier Division with three victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in over two hundred top-flight matches.

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

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

"Also Heskey came on and he's has over 60 England appearances.

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

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

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a bunch of normal guys.

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

'We'll Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets side, who secured the Top Tier championship last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went one-nil up and had a

Christine Brewer
Christine Brewer

A tech journalist specializing in UK digital ecosystems, with over a decade of experience covering innovation and startup culture.