Discover the Sunday League Squad Featuring 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans in a 6-2 victory versus 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 do you improve a stellar experienced side that have secured back-to-back titles, including a double triumph boasting thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Sign a raft of ex- professionals that have played at the top tier of club and global football as you target further silverware.

A Manchester team fields an amateur vets team with 9 ex- Premier League players in their active lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, 325 International Caps

The team Vets Over 35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets League Premier Tier.

The lineup this season features nine ex- top-flight players, with a total over 1,800 elite appearances.

The elite team also boasts over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 international caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven scores in over 100 appearances for his former club after joining them for £9m from German league side Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for the team in their most recent home match against defending title holders their rivals and scored all six scores in a six-two win - including a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

The team for this season also includes ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder 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 players have claimed fifteen big honors and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Names and Global Players

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

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the team during preseason this season through good friend and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly small-sided match, to participate.

Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who scored 12 goals in sixty-five top-flight matches for the Toffees and even now goes to their home games, also had his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He played for Everton from 2016 and 2020

"My mate Stephen Ireland told me 'join and play, it's good fun'," commented Niasse.

"Then he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue kits - I thought this is wrong 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?

"The spectators who come and watch are pleased and to give a day if they see us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his first game at defender.

"That's a bit different but then, I love running and just go forward - I'm not defending that much," he said.

"I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.

"That movement is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Former Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

Dreamlike' Feeling

Along with Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Top Tier with three victories from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"It was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," said Barrow.

"I felt I was a little starstruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

"Also Emile [Heskey] came on and he's got 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 tough.

"We really haven't ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the journey home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a bunch of normal fellas.

"Now we can't wait for the return fixture."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

The manager manages the opposition vets team, who won the Top Tier championship the previous campaign, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a

Michael Mason
Michael Mason

Lena Voss is a certified holistic healer with over a decade of experience in energy medicine and mindfulness practices.