Introduce the Sunday League Squad Featuring Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Matches

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

How can you improve a stellar experienced squad that have claimed back-to-back titles, featuring a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a collection of ex- pro players that have played at the highest tier of club football and international soccer as you aim for more trophies.

One Manchester team has an non-professional veterans squad with 9 ex- top-flight footballers in their present roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

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

Their squad list this season boasts 9 former top-flight players, with a combined 1,801 top-flight matches.

This high-profile team also boasts 222 top division goals and over 320 global caps.

They include Papiss Cisse, who scored thirty-seven scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his debut for the team in their last home-field match versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six goals in a six-two victory - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

The squad for this season also features former professionals such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- Premier League players have won 15 significant trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of about £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Republic of Ireland caps, netting 4 scores

Ireland started turning out for the side during preseason this summer through close friend and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still attends their home games, also had his first appearance versus the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"My friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Everton shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

"If you still enjoy 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 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 joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

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

"It's a bit unusual but then, I love running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep running.

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

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

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six goals on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a hat-trick in one match up front.

The team are top of the Premier Tier with three wins from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in over two hundred top-flight matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League stars," said Barrow.

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

"Also Emile [Heskey] came on and he's got 60-odd English caps.

"We held our own for a good twenty minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"Our group really have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition vets team, who secured the Top Division championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went 1-0 ahead and had a

Kiara Thomas
Kiara Thomas

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