Meet the Sunday League Squad With Over 1,800 Top-Flight Games

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

What do you boost a outstanding veteran squad who have won back-to-back championships, including a double triumph boasting thirty wins from 32 games?

Sign a group of former professionals who have competed at the top tier of club and global soccer as you aim for additional silverware.

A Manchester side boasts an amateur veterans squad with 9 former Premier League footballers in their active roster.

222 Premier League Goals, 325 International Caps

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

Their roster this campaign boasts 9 ex- Premier League players, with a total nearly 1,800 Premier League appearances.

The star-studded squad also boasts 222 top division goals and 325 international appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who scored 37 scores in over 100 appearances for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for the team in their most recent home-field match against defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute first-half triple.

The roster for this season also features ex- professionals such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight players have claimed fifteen big honors and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Figures and Global Stars

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

Stephen Ireland started playing for the side during pre-season this season through good friend and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked additional former professionals, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegalese striker Niasse, who scored 12 goals in sixty-five Premier League games for Everton and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance versus the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Blue training kit as their uniform.

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

"A friend Stephen told me 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

"Then he told me we were facing a side from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy football and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The people who turn up and watch are happy and to make a day if they see us playing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us getting somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

So great is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at defender.

"It's a bit different but then, I love sprinting and just go forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

"That running is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

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

Unreal Feeling

Along with Cisse's six scores on debut, Ireland has netted 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, scored a triple in one game as a striker.

The team are top of the Top Division with three victories from three and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has appeared at two global tournaments for his country, in as well as featuring in more than 200 Premier League games.

"It was going round like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League stars," remarked the player.

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

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

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

"Our group literally haven't stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the journey home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of normal fellas.

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

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the Collegiate vets team, who won the Top Tier championship the previous campaign, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Michael Holloway
Michael Holloway

A passionate gaming journalist specializing in indie games and hardware reviews, with over a decade of industry experience.

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