Meet the Sunday League Squad Boasting Over 1,800 English Top Division Games

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans in a six-two victory versus their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you boost a excellent experienced side who have secured consecutive titles, including a double triumph boasting 30 victories from 32 matches?

Recruit a raft of former professionals who have performed at the elite tier of club football and international soccer as you aim for additional honors.

One Manchester side fields an amateur veterans team with 9 former top-flight footballers in their present roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are situated in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Veterans Division Top Division.

Their lineup this campaign includes nine former top-flight footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 elite games.

This high-profile roster also contains 222 top division scores and 325 global caps.

The squad include one forward, who scored 37 scores in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from German league side Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two victory - featuring a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this season also includes former professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the former top-flight footballers have claimed fifteen big honors and transferred for total transfer sums of about £123 million.

Famous Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
Stephen Ireland won six Irish appearances, netting 4 goals

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the team in pre-season this season through good friend and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who scored twelve scores in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and still goes to their home games, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse played for the club between 2016 and 2020

"My friend Stephen Ireland said 'come and play, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"Then he informed me we were facing a side from the city and the shock I had when I saw them wearing Everton shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"If you still love football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those people who come and watch are happy and to make someone's day if they see us playing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us having somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, Niasse had his first game at defender.

"That's a bit unusual but then, I love sprinting and just go inside - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

"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 good fun."

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

'Surreal Feeling

In addition to the forward's 6 goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored five on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match up front.

The team are top of the Top Division with 3 victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Emile Heskey was.

He has appeared at two World Cups for Honduras, in as well as featuring in over two hundred top-flight matches.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," said Barrow.

"I felt I was a little awestruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has over 60 England caps.

"Our side held our own for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

"Our group literally have not ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the journey home.

"The opponents were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a group of regular fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second fixture."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans side, who won the Top Division title the previous campaign, along with Paul Maguire.

"We went 1-0 up and had a

Hannah Stewart
Hannah Stewart

Elara is a skateboarding enthusiast and writer, sharing insights on retro skate culture and gear.