Meet the Sunday Division Squad With Over 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a 6-2 triumph against Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you improve a stellar experienced team that have claimed back-to-back titles, including a league-cup double boasting 30 wins from 32 games?

Sign a collection of ex- professionals who have played at the elite level of club and international soccer as you pursue more silverware.

One Greater Manchester team has an non-professional vets team with nine former Premier League players in their current roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, 325 Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are located in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Veterans Division Premier Division.

The squad list this season boasts nine ex- top-flight players, with a total over 1,800 elite games.

This star-studded squad also boasts over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 global caps.

The squad feature one forward, who scored thirty-seven scores in 117 appearances for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league club SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home match versus reigning champions their rivals and scored every one of the six scores in a six-two win - including a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

The roster for this season also includes ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight players have secured 15 major trophies and moved for total transfer fees of about £123 million.

Well-Known Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Republic of Ireland caps, netting 4 scores

Stephen Ireland began 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 invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.

Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted 12 scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

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

"After that he informed me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

"If you still love football and you know you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to do?

"Those spectators who come and see are pleased and to give someone's day if they watch us competing there and to pose us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

So great is the bench strength at the club, he made his debut at full-back.

"That's a little different but then, I enjoy running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

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

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

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

Unreal Feeling

In addition to the forward's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, notched a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

The team are top of the Top Tier with 3 victories from three and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for the opposition, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as featuring in over two hundred top-flight matches.

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

"I think I was a little starstruck playing against him to be honest.

"Even Heskey got on and he's got over 60 England caps.

"Our side held our own for a good twenty minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"We really have not ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

'We'll Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate vets team, who won the Top Tier championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We scored one-nil up and had a

Cindy Atkinson
Cindy Atkinson

Renewable energy journalist with a decade of experience covering solar innovations and sustainability practices worldwide.