🔗 Share this article Meet the Sunday Division Squad Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Games This substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans during a 6-2 triumph versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey How can you improve a excellent veteran side who have won consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph with thirty victories from 32 games? Bring in a raft of former professionals who have competed at the elite level of club and international football as you aim for more silverware. One Manchester team has an amateur veterans squad with nine ex- Premier League players in their current squad. Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, 325 Global Caps Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are located in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Premier Division. Their squad list this campaign boasts 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a total over 1,800 elite appearances. The star-studded roster also contains 222 Premier League scores and over 320 global caps. They feature Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in January 2012. He made his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - including a half-hour opening period triple. The roster for this campaign also features former pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater. Collectively, the ex- Premier League footballers have claimed 15 big honors and moved for total transfer sums of around £123m. Famous Figures and International Stars He earned six Republic of Ireland caps, netting 4 scores Stephen Ireland started turning out for the side during preseason this season through good friend and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side match, to join in. Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 top-flight games for the Toffees and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform. He featured for the club between 2016 and 2020 "A friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," commented Niasse. "Then he told me we were playing a side from the city and the shock I had when I saw them wearing Blue shirts - I thought this is strange for me! "When you still love football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose? "Those fans who come and watch are pleased and to make a moment if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course." Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse had his first game at defender. "That's a little different but then, I enjoy running and just move forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said. "I tell my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue attacking. "That running is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable." Former Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe Unreal Experience Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Ireland has scored 8 in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match up front. Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Division with three victories from three and a goal difference of +19. One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for the opposition, faced former Wigan defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was. He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to playing in over two hundred top-flight matches. "It was spreading like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League players," said Barrow. "I felt I was a little awestruck facing Figueroa to be honest. "Also Heskey came on and he's got 60-odd England caps. "We held our own for a solid 20 mins but then we had a man sent off and it was hard. "We literally have not stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the journey home. "They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a group of regular guys. "Now we are eager for the return match." 'We'll Still Take the Title' The manager coaches the Collegiate veterans team, who won the Premier Tier title last season, along with his co-manager. "We went one-nil ahead and had a