Introduce the Sunday Division Team Boasting 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for the team Veterans during a 6-2 victory versus their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What do you enhance a outstanding experienced side who have claimed consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph with thirty victories from 32 matches?

Bring in a group of ex- professionals that have competed at the top tier of club football and international football as you target further honors.

A Greater Manchester side boasts an amateur veterans squad with 9 ex- Premier League players in their active roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances

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

The squad list this season includes 9 ex- top-flight players, with a total over 1,800 top-flight matches.

The high-profile team also boasts over 220 top division goals and 325 international caps.

They include Papiss Cisse, who scored 37 scores in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

He made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match against defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.

The team for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight players have secured 15 big trophies and moved for total transfer sums of around £123 million.

Famous Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish caps, scoring 4 goals

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side during pre-season this season through good mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited other former professionals, who all play in a weekly small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and still attends their home games, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Everton training kit as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse featured for the club from 2016 and 2020

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

"Then he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Blue shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"If you still enjoy the game and you feel you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The spectators who turn up and watch are happy and to make someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the strength in depth at the club, Niasse made his debut at full-back.

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

"I warn my centre-back 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep attacking.

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

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Unreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in three appearances for the side, while Boyd hit five on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one game as a striker.

Wythenshawe are top of the Top Division with 3 victories from three and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for the opposition, faced ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as playing in more than two hundred top-flight matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had these former top-flight players," said the player.

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

"Even Heskey came on and he's has over 60 English appearances.

"Our side competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.

"Our group literally have not stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the way home.

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

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

We Will Still Take the League'

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

"We scored one-nil up and had a

David Fleming
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