Introduce this Weekend Division Squad Boasting Over 1,800 English Top Division Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets in a six-two triumph versus their opponents 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 experienced squad who have won back-to-back championships, including a double triumph with 30 victories from thirty-two matches?

Sign a raft of ex- pro players who have competed at the elite tier of club football and international soccer as you pursue more trophies.

A Manchester side has an amateur veterans team with nine former Premier League players in their active roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, 325 Global Appearances

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

The lineup this season includes nine former Premier League footballers, with a combined over 1,800 Premier League matches.

This elite roster also contains over 220 Premier League scores and 325 international caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for the team in their most recent home-field match against defending champions their rivals and scored every one of the six scores in a six-two win - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

The team for this season also includes ex- professionals such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- top-flight players have won 15 major trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of about £123m.

Household Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Irish appearances, netting 4 scores

Ireland began playing for the side during pre-season this season through close friend and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in.

Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who scored twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight games for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen Ireland said 'come and have a game, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"Then he informed me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Blue kits - I thought this is wrong for me!

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

"The fans who come and see are pleased and to give someone's day if they see us playing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he had his debut at full-back.

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

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

"The running is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

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

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in three games for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a triple in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Division with 3 wins from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in over two hundred top-flight games.

"It was going round like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League stars," remarked Barrow.

"I think I was a little starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

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

"We held our own for a good 20 minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

"Our group really haven't ceased talking about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return match."

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets side, who won the Top Tier championship the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.

"We scored one-nil ahead and had a

Maria Richards
Maria Richards

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