🔗 Share this article Introduce the Sunday Division Club With Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Games This bench for Wythenshawe Veterans during a six-two win versus their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey What can you boost a stellar veteran squad who have won consecutive championships, including a league-cup double with 30 victories from thirty-two matches? Sign a group of former pro players who have performed at the highest level of club and international soccer as you pursue further trophies. One Manchester club has an amateur veterans team with nine former Premier League players in their current lineup. 222 Top Division Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are located in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Premier Tier. The lineup this campaign boasts 9 ex- top-flight players, with a collective nearly 1,800 elite appearances. This star-studded squad also contains 222 Premier League scores and over 320 international caps. The squad include one forward, who netted 37 goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012. Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game versus reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals in a 6-2 victory - featuring a half-hour opening period hat-trick. Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also includes former pros such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward 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 ex- Premier League players have claimed fifteen big trophies and moved for total transfer sums of approximately £123 million. Famous Names and International Players He won six Irish appearances, netting 4 goals Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side during pre-season this season through close mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited additional former professionals, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to participate. Former Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform. He featured for the club between 2016 and 2020 "My mate Stephen said 'come and play, it's a laugh'," said the striker. "Then he told me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I saw them wearing Everton kits - I thought this is strange for me! "If you still enjoy the game and you know you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose? "The spectators who turn up and watch are pleased and to give a day if they watch us playing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course." Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse had his debut at defender. "It's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added. "I tell my centre-back 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue running. "The movement is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable." Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe Unreal Experience Along with the forward's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for the side, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a triple in one game up front. The team are top of the Premier Division with three wins from 3 and a goal difference of +19. Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics full-back 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 featuring in over 200 Premier League games. "It was spreading like wildfire they had these former top-flight stars," remarked the player. "I felt I was a bit starstruck playing against him to be honest. "Even Heskey got on and he's has 60-odd England caps. "Our side competed well for a solid twenty mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough. "We literally haven't ceased 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 bunch of normal fellas. "Now we can't wait for the second match." We Will Still Take the League' Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets side, who secured the Top Division title last season, along with his co-manager. "Our team went one-nil ahead and had a