🔗 Share this article Introduce the Sunday League Team Boasting 1,800 Top-Flight Games This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two victory against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey What do you boost a stellar veteran side who have won consecutive championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting 30 victories from 32 games? Recruit a group of former pro players that have competed at the elite tier of club and global soccer as you aim for more trophies. A Manchester side fields an non-professional vets team with nine ex- top-flight players in their present squad. Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, 325 International Appearances Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are situated in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Vets League Top Tier. The lineup this campaign boasts nine ex- top-flight players, with a collective nearly 1,800 Premier League matches. This star-studded team also boasts over 220 top division goals and over 320 international appearances. They include one forward, who notched 37 goals in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from German league side SC Freiburg in January 2012. Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their last home-field match versus defending title holders their rivals and netted every one of the six scores in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple. Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also features former professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater. In total, the former Premier League players have claimed fifteen significant trophies and moved for combined transfer fees of about £123 million. Famous Figures and Global Players He won 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, netting 4 goals Stephen Ireland started playing for the side during pre-season this summer through good mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other former professionals, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to join in. Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in sixty-five Premier League matches for the Toffees and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform. Oumar Niasse featured for Everton from 2016 and 2020 "My mate Stephen Ireland said 'come and play, it's good fun'," commented the striker. "Then he informed me we were playing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Everton kits - I say this is wrong for me! "If you still love football and you feel you can still do it, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do? "Those fans who turn up and see are happy and to give someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting a place we can play, with organisation of course." Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his first game at full-back. "That's a bit different but then, I love sprinting and just move inside - I'm not staying back that much," he said. "I tell my centre-back 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running. "The movement is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable." Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team Unreal Scenario Along with the forward's six scores on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, notched a triple in one game up front. The team are leading of the Premier Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a GD of +19. One opponent, 38, who plays on the wing for the opposition, came up against former Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Heskey was. He has played at 2 World Cups for his country, in as well as featuring in more than two hundred top-flight games. "It was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight stars," remarked the player. "I think I was a bit starstruck facing him to be honest. "Also Heskey got on and he's got over 60 England appearances. "Our side competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was hard. "We literally have not stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the journey home. "The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a group of normal fellas. "Now we are eager for the return fixture." We Will Still Win the Title' The manager manages the opposition veterans team, who won the Top Division championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire. "Our team went one-nil ahead and had a