🔗 Share this article Discover this Weekend League Squad Boasting 1,800 English Top Division Games The bench for Wythenshawe Veterans in a six-two win versus Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey How can you improve a outstanding experienced squad who have claimed consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph boasting thirty victories from thirty-two games? Recruit a group of former pro players that have performed at the highest tier of club football and global soccer as you target more trophies. A Manchester club has an amateur veterans team with 9 former Premier League footballers in their present roster. Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are located in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Vets League Premier Tier. Their roster this season boasts 9 former Premier League footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 top-flight matches. This elite roster also includes 222 top division scores and 325 international appearances. They feature one forward, who scored thirty-seven scores in 117 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in January 2012. Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game against defending champions their rivals and netted all six scores in a six-two victory - featuring a half-hour opening period triple. The squad for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater. In total, the ex- Premier League footballers have secured fifteen major honors and transferred for combined transfer sums of approximately £123m. Well-Known Figures and Global Stars He earned six Republic of Ireland caps, scoring 4 goals Ireland began turning out for the side during preseason this season through good mate and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to participate. Ex- Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and still goes to their home games, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Blue training kit as their strip. Oumar Niasse played for Everton between 2016 and 2020 "A friend Stephen said 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse. "Then he told me we were facing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue kits - I thought this is strange 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? "The people who come and see are happy and to make someone's moment if they watch us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with structure of course." So great is the squad depth at the club, he had his first game at full-back. "That's a little different but then, I love sprinting and just move forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said. "I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to keep running. "The running is what I'm after. It's good fun." Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for Wythenshawe 'Surreal Feeling Along with Cisse's six goals on debut, Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd scored five on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a triple in one game as a striker. The team are leading of the Premier Division with three victories from 3 and a GD of +19. One opponent, 38, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced former Wigan defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young boy who Emile Heskey was. Figueroa has appeared at two World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in over 200 top-flight matches. "It was spreading like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League stars," remarked the player. "I felt I was a little awestruck facing Figueroa to be honest. "Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has 60-odd English caps. "We held our own for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough. "Our group really have not ceased talking about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the journey home. "The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of regular guys. "Now we can't wait for the second fixture." 'We'll Still Take the Title' The manager coaches the opposition vets side, who secured the Top Tier title last season, along with his co-manager. "We went one-nil up and had a