🔗 Share this article Meet this Weekend Division Team Featuring Over 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances This substitutes for Wythenshawe Veterans during a 6-2 triumph against Collegiate Old Boys on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey How can you improve a stellar veteran side who have claimed consecutive championships, including a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from thirty-two matches? Recruit a group of former pro players who have competed at the elite level of club and global football as you pursue more honors. A Greater Manchester club boasts an non-professional veterans team with 9 former Premier League footballers in their active roster. Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Appearances The team Vets Over 35s are located in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Top Division. Their roster this season includes nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a total 1,801 elite games. The high-profile team also includes 222 top division scores and over 320 global caps. They include one forward, who netted thirty-seven goals in 117 games for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league club Freiburg in January 2012. Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their last home match versus defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six scores in a six-two win - including a half-hour first-half triple. Wythenshawe's roster for this season also includes former pros such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater. Collectively, the former top-flight players have claimed 15 major honors and moved for total transfer fees of around £123m. Famous Figures and International Players Stephen Ireland earned 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring four scores Stephen Ireland began playing for the side in preseason this season through good mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to participate. Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted twelve scores in sixty-five top-flight matches for the Toffees and even now goes to their home games, also had his debut against the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Blue training kit as their uniform. He played for the club from 2016 and 2020 "My mate Stephen Ireland told me 'join and play, it's a laugh'," said the striker. "Then he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Everton shirts - I say this is wrong for me! "When you still love football and you feel you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do? "The spectators who come and watch are happy and to make someone's day if they see us playing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with structure of course." So great is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, he had his debut at defender. "That's a little different but then, I love running and just move inside - I'm not staying back that much," he added. "I warn my centre-back 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue attacking. "That movement is what I'm after. It's enjoyable." Ex- Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for Wythenshawe Dreamlike' Feeling In addition to the forward's six scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker. Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Tier with 3 victories from three and a GD of +19. One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for the opposition, came up against ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Emile Heskey was. Figueroa has played at 2 World Cups for his country, in addition to featuring in over 200 top-flight matches. "It was going round like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League players," said the player. "I felt I was a little awestruck facing Figueroa to be honest. "Also Heskey got on and he's has over 60 English appearances. "Our side competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a man sent off and it was tough. "We really haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the way home. "They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a group of regular guys. "Now we are eager for the return fixture." 'We'll Still Win the Title' The manager coaches the Collegiate veterans team, who won the Premier Tier championship last season, together with Paul Maguire. "Our team scored one-nil up and had a