Introduce the Weekend Division Team Boasting Over 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Veterans in a six-two win versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (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 squad that have claimed consecutive championships, including a double triumph boasting 30 wins from 32 matches?

Recruit a raft of ex- professionals who have competed at the top tier of club and international soccer as you target additional honors.

A Manchester club has an amateur vets squad with nine ex- Premier League footballers in their current squad.

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

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

Their lineup this season features 9 former top-flight players, with a total nearly 1,800 elite matches.

This high-profile squad also includes over 220 Premier League goals and 325 global appearances.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven scores in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his debut for the team in their last home-field game versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six goals in a six-two win - including a half-hour first-half triple.

The roster for this campaign also includes former pros such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight players have secured 15 significant trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of about £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, netting four goals

Stephen Ireland started playing for the team during preseason this season through close friend and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their home games, also made his first appearance against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"After that he told me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

"If you still love football and you know you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"The people who come and see are happy and to make someone's day if they see us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

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

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

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.

"The running is what I'm looking for. It's good fun."

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

'Surreal Feeling

In addition to the forward's 6 scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in three games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored five on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

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

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, faced ex- Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in more than 200 top-flight matches.

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

"I felt I was a bit starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

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

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"Our group literally have not stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mum and brother on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

We Will Still Take the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate veterans side, who won the Premier Tier championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

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