🔗 Share this article Meet the Weekend Division Squad Featuring Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Games The substitutes for the team Veterans during a six-two triumph against Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey What can you enhance a outstanding experienced side that have claimed consecutive championships, featuring a league-cup double with thirty wins from 32 games? Sign a group of ex- pro players who have performed at the highest level of club football and international football as you pursue further silverware. One Manchester side fields an amateur vets team with 9 ex- top-flight players in their current squad. Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, 325 International Appearances Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are located in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Top Division. Their roster this campaign features 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a collective 1,801 elite matches. This elite squad also contains over 220 top division scores and over 320 international appearances. The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who scored 37 goals in 117 games for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club Freiburg in 2012. He had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home-field game versus defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a six-two win - featuring a half-hour first-half hat-trick. Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also features former pros such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic 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 won 15 significant trophies and transferred for combined transfer sums of around £123m. Household Figures and International Players Stephen Ireland won 6 Irish appearances, scoring 4 goals Stephen Ireland started playing for the side during pre-season this summer through close mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then invited other former professionals, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to join in. Former Senegalese striker Niasse, who scored twelve goals in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and still attends their home games, also made his first appearance versus the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their uniform. He featured for Everton from 2016 and 2020 "My friend Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse. "Then he told me we were playing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I thought this is wrong for me! "When you still enjoy football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do? "Those people who come and see are happy and to give a moment if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with organisation of course." Such is the squad depth at the club, he had his debut at full-back. "That's a bit different but then, I love sprinting 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 running. "The running is what I'm after. It's good fun." Former Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team Unreal Scenario Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 games for the side, while George Boyd scored five on his debut appearance and Lescott, a defender by position, notched a triple in one match up front. The team are leading of the Top Tier with 3 victories from three and a goal difference of +19. Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was. He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in as well as playing in over 200 Premier League matches. "It was spreading like wildfire they had these former top-flight players," said Barrow. "I think I was a bit starstruck facing Figueroa to be honest. "Even Heskey came on and he's has over 60 England appearances. "Our side competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was hard. "We literally have not ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the journey 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 match." We Will Still Win the Title' The manager coaches the opposition veterans side, who won the Top Division championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager. "We scored 1-0 ahead and had a