🔗 Share this article Introduce this Sunday League Squad Boasting Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Appearances The substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a 6-2 triumph against Collegiate Old Boys on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey What can you enhance a stellar veteran squad who have won consecutive championships, including a double triumph boasting 30 victories from thirty-two games? Recruit a group of ex- pro players who have performed at the top level of club football and international soccer as you target further honors. One Manchester team has an amateur veterans team with 9 ex- top-flight players in their present roster. Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances The team Vets Over-35s are based in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Top Tier. Their lineup this campaign boasts 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a collective nearly 1,800 top-flight games. The elite roster also boasts over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 international appearances. The squad feature 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 2012. He made his first appearance for the team in their most recent home match against defending title holders their rivals and netted all six scores in a six-two win - including a half-hour opening period hat-trick. Wythenshawe's roster for this season also includes former professionals such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater. Together, the former top-flight players have won fifteen big honors and moved for total transfer sums of approximately £123m. Well-Known Figures and Global Players Stephen Ireland earned 6 Republic of Ireland appearances, netting 4 scores Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side in pre-season this summer through good friend and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate. Former Senegalese forward Niasse, who netted 12 scores in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Blue training kit as their uniform. He featured for Everton from 2016 and 2020 "My friend Stephen Ireland said 'join and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse. "After that he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Everton kits - I say this is strange for me! "When you still love football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose? "Those people who turn up and see are happy and to make a moment if they see us playing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with structure of course." Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse had his debut at full-back. "It's a little 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 staying' and that I'm just going to keep running. "The running is what I'm looking for. It's good fun." Former Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team Unreal Feeling Along with Cisse's 6 goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in three games for the side, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one match as a striker. Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Division with 3 victories from 3 and a GD of +19. One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Wigan defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Emile Heskey was. He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to playing in more than 200 Premier League matches. "It was going round like wildfire they had these former top-flight players," remarked Barrow. "I felt I was a bit starstruck playing against him to be honest. "Even Heskey got on and he's has 60-odd English appearances. "Our side competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a man sent off and it was tough. "We literally haven't ceased chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the way home. "The opponents were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a bunch of regular guys. "Now we can't wait for the second match." We Will Still Win the League' The manager coaches the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Top Tier championship the previous campaign, together with his co-manager. "We went one-nil ahead and had a