Introduce the Sunday League Club With Nearly Two Thousand English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The bench for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two win versus their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you improve a stellar veteran squad who have won consecutive championships, including a double triumph with thirty victories from 32 matches?

Bring in a raft of ex- professionals who have played at the highest level of club and international football as you aim for additional honors.

One Manchester side fields an amateur veterans squad with nine ex- Premier League footballers in their present squad.

222 Top Division Scores, 325 International Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are located in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Vets League Premier Division.

Their lineup this season includes 9 former top-flight footballers, with a combined nearly 1,800 Premier League games.

The elite roster also includes 222 top division scores and 325 international caps.

The squad feature one forward, who netted thirty-seven goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from German league side Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field game versus reigning champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes ex- pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight players have won fifteen big trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of about £123 million.

Famous Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland earned six Irish appearances, netting four scores

Ireland started turning out for the team in preseason this summer through good mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other former professionals, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Former Senegal striker Niasse, who netted twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight games for the Toffees and even now goes to their home games, also made his first appearance versus the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse featured for Everton between 2016 and 2020

"A friend Stephen told me 'come and play, it's good fun'," said Niasse.

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

"If you still love football and you feel you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The fans who come and see are happy and to make a 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."

Such is the strength in depth at the club, Niasse made his first game at full-back.

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

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

"The running is what I'm after. It's good fun."

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

Unreal Feeling

Along with the forward's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in three appearances for the side, while Boyd scored 5 on his first match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Tier with three wins from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in over 200 Premier League matches.

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

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has 60-odd English appearances.

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

"Our group literally have not stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the journey home.

"The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of regular guys.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

The manager coaches the opposition vets side, who won the Top Division title last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a

Kelsey Ewing
Kelsey Ewing

A film critic and enthusiast with over a decade of experience in analyzing cinema trends and storytelling techniques.