Discover this Sunday League Team With Over 1,800 Premier League Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for the team Vets in a six-two victory versus Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you boost a outstanding experienced squad that have claimed back-to-back titles, including a double triumph with thirty wins from 32 games?

Bring in a raft of ex- professionals that have performed at the elite level of club football and international soccer as you pursue further silverware.

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

222 Top Division Goals, 325 International Caps

The team Vets Over 35s are based in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Veterans League Premier Division.

The roster this campaign includes 9 former top-flight players, with a collective nearly 1,800 Premier League appearances.

This elite roster also boasts over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 international caps.

The squad include Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven scores in over 100 appearances for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in 2012.

He had his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home game against defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also includes ex- pros such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight players have won 15 major trophies and transferred for combined transfer sums of about £123m.

Household Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring four goals

Stephen Ireland began playing for the team during pre-season this season through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to participate.

Former Senegal forward Niasse, who netted 12 goals in sixty-five top-flight games for the Toffees and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform.

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

"A mate Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

"Then he informed me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them wearing Everton kits - I say this is wrong for me!

"When you still enjoy football and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those fans who turn up and see are happy and to give someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

So great is the bench strength at the club, Niasse had his debut at full-back.

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

"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep running.

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

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

Dreamlike' Scenario

In addition to the forward's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Tier with three wins from three and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced former Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in more than two hundred Premier League matches.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League stars," said Barrow.

"I felt I was a bit starstruck facing him to be honest.

"Even Heskey got on and he's got 60-odd England appearances.

"We competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"Our group literally haven't ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the journey home.

"The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a group of normal guys.

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

We Will Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the Collegiate veterans side, who secured the Premier Tier title last season, along with his co-manager.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Larry Thompson
Larry Thompson

A cybersecurity specialist and tech writer with over a decade of experience in digital innovation and AI ethics.