Introduce the Sunday Division Team Featuring 1,800 Top-Flight Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Veterans in a six-two victory against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you boost a stellar experienced side that have claimed back-to-back championships, including a double triumph with thirty victories from thirty-two games?

Bring in a collection of former pro players that have played at the top tier of club football and global football as you target further trophies.

A Greater Manchester team has an non-professional vets team with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their active squad.

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

The team Veterans Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans League Top Division.

Their roster this season includes 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a combined 1,801 Premier League appearances.

This high-profile team also contains over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 international appearances.

They feature one forward, who netted 37 goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from German league side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his debut for the team in their last home game versus reigning champions their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 victory - including a 32-minute first-half triple.

The squad for this season also features ex- pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight players have claimed 15 big honors and transferred for total transfer sums of around £123 million.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish appearances, netting 4 scores

Stephen Ireland began playing for the side during preseason this season through close mate and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked other former professionals, who all play in a weekly small-sided match, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 goals in 65 Premier League matches for Everton and even now attends their home games, also made his debut against the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

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

"After that he informed me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy the game and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The spectators who come and see are pleased and to give a day if they see us playing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse had his first game at defender.

"That's a little unusual but then, I love sprinting and just go forward - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I tell my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to keep running.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

Unreal Experience

Along with the forward's 6 scores on debut, Ireland has netted eight in 3 appearances for the side, while Boyd scored 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

The team are top of the Top Tier with three wins from three and a GD of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for the opposition, faced former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in more than two hundred Premier League games.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League players," said the player.

"I felt I was a little awestruck playing against him to be honest.

"Even Heskey got on and he's has over 60 England caps.

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

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

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a group of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

We Will Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets side, who secured the Top Division championship last season, together with his co-manager.

"We scored one-nil ahead and had a

Deanna Duncan
Deanna Duncan

Alex Harper is a journalist and urban enthusiast with a passion for uncovering the stories behind city landscapes.