Introduce the Sunday League Squad Boasting 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

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

What can you boost a outstanding experienced squad who have secured consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Recruit a raft of ex- professionals that have played at the highest tier of club football and global football as you target more silverware.

One Greater Manchester side boasts an amateur vets squad with nine former top-flight footballers in their current roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, 325 International Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are located in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Top Division.

Their lineup this campaign includes nine former top-flight players, with a combined 1,801 Premier League games.

The high-profile team also includes 222 top division scores and 325 international appearances.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 goals in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match versus reigning champions their rivals and scored all six scores in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also includes former pros such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight footballers have claimed fifteen major honors and transferred for total transfer fees of around £123 million.

Famous Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring four goals

Ireland started turning out for the team in preseason this season through close friend and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still attends their home games, also had his first appearance versus the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland told me 'join and play, it's good fun'," commented the striker.

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

"When you still love the game and you feel you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to do?

"The fans who turn up and see are happy and to give someone's day if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his first game at defender.

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

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

"The movement is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

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

Dreamlike' Scenario

Along with Cisse's six goals on debut, Ireland has netted 8 in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Premier Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a GD of plus nineteen.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for the opposition, faced former Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at two World Cups for his country, in addition to featuring in over two hundred top-flight matches.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had these former top-flight players," remarked Barrow.

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

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

"Our side competed well for a good 20 mins but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

"We really have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of regular fellas.

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

We Will Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the opposition vets side, who won the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went one-nil ahead and had a

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