🔗 Share this article Discover the Weekend Division Squad With Over 1,800 English Top Division Matches The bench for the team Veterans in a six-two triumph against their opponents on 19 October (left to right) - Oumar Niasse, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey How can you boost a outstanding veteran side who have won back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double with thirty wins from thirty-two games? Recruit a raft of ex- professionals that have performed at the highest level of club and global soccer as you target more honors. One Greater Manchester team fields an amateur veterans team with nine former Premier League footballers in their active squad. 222 Premier League Scores, 325 Global Appearances Wythenshawe Vets Over-35s are situated in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Top Tier. Their roster this campaign includes nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 elite games. This star-studded team also contains 222 top division scores and over 320 international appearances. The squad feature one forward, who notched thirty-seven goals in 117 games for his former club after moving to them for £9m from Bundesliga side Freiburg in January 2012. Cisse had his debut for the team in their most recent home match against reigning title holders their rivals and netted all six scores in a six-two victory - including a 32-minute opening period triple. The roster for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater. Together, the former Premier League footballers have secured 15 major honors and moved for combined transfer fees of around £123m. Well-Known Figures and International Stars Stephen Ireland earned 6 Republic of Ireland caps, scoring 4 scores Ireland started playing for the team in pre-season this summer through close friend and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked additional ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in. Ex- Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip. Oumar Niasse played for the club from 2016 and 2020 "My friend Stephen said 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse. "After that he told me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I saw them wearing Everton kits - I thought this is strange for me! "When you still love football and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do? "The people who turn up and watch are happy and to make someone's day if they see us playing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the joy of us having somewhere we can play, with organisation of course." So great is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, he made his first game at defender. "It's a bit unusual but then, I love running and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he added. "I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue attacking. "The movement is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable." Ex- Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team Unreal Feeling In addition to the forward's 6 scores on debut, Ireland has netted eight in three games for the side, while Boyd hit five on his first match and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a hat-trick in one match up front. Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Tier with 3 victories from three and a GD of plus nineteen. One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Emile Heskey was. Figueroa has appeared at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to featuring in over two hundred Premier League matches. "It was spreading like wildfire they had these former top-flight stars," said Barrow. "I think I was a bit starstruck facing him to be honest. "Also Heskey got on and he's has over 60 England appearances. "We competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was hard. "Our group really haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the journey home. "The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of normal guys. "Now we can't wait for the second fixture." 'We'll Still Win the League' Andy Kirby coaches the opposition veterans team, who secured the Premier Tier championship last season, together with his co-manager. "We went 1-0 up and had a