Meet the Sunday League Squad Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This bench for Wythenshawe Vets in a 6-2 triumph versus their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How can you boost a outstanding experienced side who have secured back-to-back championships, including a double triumph with thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Recruit a group of ex- pro players that have played at the highest tier of club and global soccer as you pursue further honors.

A Greater Manchester side boasts an non-professional vets team with nine ex- Premier League players in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

The team Veterans Over 35s are situated in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Top Division.

The squad list this season boasts nine former Premier League footballers, with a collective over 1,800 top-flight matches.

The high-profile roster also includes over 220 Premier League goals and 325 global appearances.

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

He made his first appearance for the team in their most recent home-field game against defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a 6-2 victory - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

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

Collectively, the former Premier League footballers have won fifteen major honors and moved for total transfer fees of about £123 million.

Famous Names and Global Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish appearances, scoring four goals

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side during preseason this summer through close friend and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then asked additional former professionals, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegalese striker Niasse, who scored twelve goals in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

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

"My friend Stephen said 'join and play, it's a laugh'," said Niasse.

"After that he told me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Blue shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

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

"Those people who come and watch are pleased and to give someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his debut at full-back.

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

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

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

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

Dreamlike' Feeling

Along with Cisse's six goals on his first game, Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are top of the Top Tier with 3 victories from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Wigan defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at two World Cups for his country, in as well as playing in more than two hundred top-flight games.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League players," said the player.

"I felt I was a bit awestruck playing against him to be honest.

"Also Heskey came on and he's got over 60 English appearances.

"We held our own for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"We really haven't stopped talking about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return match."

We Will Still Take the League'

The manager coaches the opposition veterans team, who won the Top Division title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We went 1-0 ahead and had a

Melody Hudson
Melody Hudson

A seasoned sports analyst with over a decade of experience in betting markets and statistical modeling.