Introduce this Sunday Division Club With Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Vets during a 6-2 triumph versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a excellent veteran team that have won consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a collection of ex- pro players who have competed at the elite tier of club and international football as you pursue additional trophies.

One Manchester club boasts an non-professional veterans team with 9 former Premier League players in their active roster.

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

Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are situated in south the city and play in the Cheshire Vets League Top Division.

Their roster this season features 9 former top-flight players, with a total nearly 1,800 Premier League games.

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

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in over 100 games for his former club after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their last home-field match against reigning champions their rivals and netted all six scores in a 6-2 win - including a half-hour opening period hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also features ex- pros such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former Premier League footballers have won 15 major trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of about £123 million.

Famous Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He won 6 Irish caps, scoring four goals

Ireland started playing for the team in pre-season this season through close mate and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other former professionals, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also had his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"My mate Stephen told me 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," said the striker.

"After that he informed me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Blue shirts - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still enjoy football and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The 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 having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, he made his first game at defender.

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

"I tell my defender 'I'm not hanging back' 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 defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

'Surreal Experience

Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Ireland has scored eight in three games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored 5 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 Top Tier with three victories from three and a GD of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the wing for the opposition, came up against former Latics full-back Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young son who Heskey was.

He has played at two World Cups for his country, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked Barrow.

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

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

"Our side competed well for a solid twenty mins but then we had a man dismissed and it was hard.

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

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

"Now we are eager for the return match."

We Will Still Take the Title'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets side, who won the Premier Division title the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We scored 1-0 up and had a

Anthony Jones
Anthony Jones

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