🔗 Share this article Discover the Weekend Division Team Featuring 1,800 Top-Flight Games This bench for the team Veterans in a 6-2 win against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey What can you enhance a outstanding experienced squad who have won consecutive championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting 30 wins from 32 games? Sign a raft of former pro players that have competed at the top tier of club and international soccer as you pursue additional trophies. A Manchester club fields an non-professional vets squad with 9 ex- top-flight players in their active squad. 222 Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Premier Tier. The roster this campaign boasts 9 former Premier League footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 Premier League games. This star-studded team also contains 222 Premier League goals and 325 international appearances. The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven scores in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side Freiburg in 2012. Cisse made his debut for the team in their last home match against reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six scores in a six-two win - featuring a half-hour first-half triple. The roster for this season also includes former pros such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater. Collectively, the ex- Premier League footballers have won fifteen big honors and moved for total transfer sums of around £123m. Famous Names and Global Stars Stephen Ireland won 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring four scores Stephen Ireland began playing for the team in pre-season this season through close mate and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then asked additional former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to join in. Former Senegalese striker Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 Premier League games for Everton and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and use an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform. He featured for Everton from 2016 and 2020 "My mate Stephen Ireland said 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker. "After that he informed me we were facing a team from the city and the shock I had when I saw them sporting Blue kits - I say this is wrong for me! "When you still enjoy football and you know you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to do? "Those people who turn up and watch are pleased and to give a day if they see us playing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course." Such is the strength in depth at the club, Niasse had his first game at full-back. "That's a little different but then, I enjoy running and just go forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said. "I tell my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue attacking. "That movement is what I'm after. It's enjoyable." Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe 'Surreal Scenario In addition to the forward's 6 scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd scored five on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a hat-trick in one match up front. The team are top of the Premier Tier with three wins from 3 and a goal difference of +19. Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced former Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was. He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as featuring in over two hundred top-flight matches. "The news was spreading like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League players," said Barrow. "I think I was a bit awestruck playing against Figueroa to be honest. "Also Heskey got on and he's got 60-odd England appearances. "We held our own for a good twenty mins but then we had a player sent off and it was tough. "Our group literally have not ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the way home. "The opponents were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of normal fellas. "Now we are eager for the return fixture." We Will Still Win the League' The manager manages the Collegiate veterans side, who secured the Top Division championship last season, along with Paul Maguire. "Our team went 1-0 ahead and had a