🔗 Share this article Meet the Sunday League Squad Featuring 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances This bench for Wythenshawe Veterans in a 6-2 victory against their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey How do you improve a excellent experienced squad that have secured back-to-back titles, including a league-cup double with thirty wins from 32 games? Sign a collection of former professionals who have competed at the top level of club football and international soccer as you pursue further silverware. A Greater Manchester team has an amateur vets squad with nine former Premier League players in their current roster. 222 Top Division Goals, 325 Global Appearances The team Veterans Over 35s are situated in south the city and compete in the Cheshire Vets League Top Division. The lineup this campaign features 9 former top-flight footballers, with a collective over 1,800 Premier League appearances. This high-profile team also includes 222 top division scores and 325 global appearances. The squad include Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 scores in over 100 games for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from German league club SC Freiburg in 2012. He made his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home-field match versus defending champions their rivals and netted all six goals in a six-two win - including a half-hour first-half triple. Wythenshawe's squad for this campaign also features ex- pros such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater. Together, the ex- Premier League footballers have secured fifteen major honors and moved for total transfer sums of about £123 million. Famous Figures and Global Players He earned six Republic of Ireland appearances, netting 4 goals Ireland began turning out for the side in preseason this summer through good friend and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then asked additional former professionals, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to participate. Former Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 goals in 65 top-flight matches 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 training kit as their strip. Oumar Niasse played for Everton from 2016 and 2020 "My friend Stephen told me 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," commented Niasse. "Then he told me we were playing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I thought this is wrong for me! "If you still enjoy the game and you know you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to do? "Those people who turn up and see are pleased and to make a moment if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course." So great is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at defender. "That's a bit different but then, I enjoy running and just go forward - I'm not staying back that much," he added. "I tell my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue attacking. "The running is what I'm after. It's good fun." Ex- Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team 'Surreal Scenario In addition to Cisse's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in three appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored five on his first match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, notched a triple in one match up front. Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Tier with three victories from three and a GD of +19. Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the wing for the opposition, came up against former Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Heskey was. Figueroa has appeared at two global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to playing in over 200 top-flight games. "The news was going round like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked Barrow. "I felt I was a little awestruck facing Figueroa to be honest. "Also Emile [Heskey] came on and he's got 60-odd England appearances. "We competed well for a good twenty mins but then we had a player sent off and it was tough. "We literally haven't stopped talking about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the journey home. "They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of regular guys. "Now we can't wait for the second fixture." 'We'll Still Take the Title' Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets team, who won the Premier Division title last season, along with his co-manager. "We went one-nil ahead and had a