Discover this Sunday League Team Featuring Over 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Vets during a 6-2 win against their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you boost a stellar experienced squad that have claimed consecutive championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting thirty victories from thirty-two games?

Recruit a group of former professionals who have performed at the elite level of club football and international football as you aim for additional silverware.

One Greater Manchester side has an non-professional vets team with 9 ex- top-flight players in their current roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, 325 Global Caps

The team Veterans Over-35s are situated in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Tier.

The roster this season includes 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 elite games.

This star-studded squad also includes 222 Premier League goals and over 320 global caps.

The squad include one forward, who netted 37 scores in over 100 games for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league side Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his debut for the team in their last home match versus defending champions their rivals and scored all six scores in a six-two victory - including a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

The squad for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League players have claimed fifteen significant honors and moved for total transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Famous Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Irish appearances, scoring 4 scores

Ireland began playing for the side in preseason this summer through close mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 Premier League matches for the Toffees and still attends their home games, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My mate Stephen told me 'join and play, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

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

"If you still enjoy the game and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those fans who turn up and watch are pleased and to give someone's moment if they see us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

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

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

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

"That movement is what I'm after. It's good fun."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

Dreamlike' Experience

Along with Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Top Tier with three victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

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

"The news was going round like a rumor they had these former top-flight stars," remarked the player.

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's got over 60 England appearances.

"We competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

"Our group literally haven't ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the way home.

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

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

'We'll Still Win the League'

The manager manages the opposition veterans team, who secured the Premier Division title last season, along with Paul Maguire.

"We scored one-nil up and had a

Matthew Clements
Matthew Clements

A tech-savvy writer with a passion for exploring how digital trends shape our daily lives and entertainment experiences.