🔗 Share this article Meet the Weekend Division Club Featuring Over 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances The substitutes for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two victory against their opponents on October 19th (from left to right) - one player, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey How do you boost a stellar experienced team who have secured consecutive championships, including a double triumph with thirty victories from thirty-two matches? Sign a raft of ex- pro players that have played at the elite level of club and global soccer as you pursue further trophies. One Greater Manchester side boasts an amateur vets team with 9 ex- Premier League players in their active squad. Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps The team Veterans Over 35s are situated in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Vets League Top Division. The roster this season boasts 9 ex- Premier League players, with a total over 1,800 top-flight appearances. This high-profile roster also contains over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 global caps. They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven scores in 117 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 game against defending champions their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute first-half triple. The squad for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater. In total, the former Premier League players have claimed 15 major trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of approximately £123 million. Well-Known Names and Global Stars He earned six Republic of Ireland appearances, netting four goals Ireland started playing for the team in pre-season this summer through good mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to participate. Former Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five top-flight matches for the Toffees and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Blue training kit as their strip. Oumar Niasse featured for Everton between 2016 and 2020 "A friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's enjoyable'," said the striker. "After that he informed me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is wrong for me! "If you still enjoy football and you feel you can still do it, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose? "The people who come and watch are happy and to make a day if they see us playing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course." So great is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he made his first game at full-back. "It's a bit unusual but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he said. "I tell my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to keep attacking. "That movement is what I'm seeking. It's good fun." Former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team Dreamlike' Feeling Along with Cisse's 6 goals on debut, Ireland has netted 8 in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd hit five on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one match as a striker. Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Tier with three victories from three and a goal difference of +19. Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young son who Emile Heskey was. Figueroa has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in more than 200 top-flight matches. "It was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked Barrow. "I think I was a bit awestruck facing him to be honest. "Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has over 60 England appearances. "Our side held our own for a solid twenty mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough. "We really have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the way home. "The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like playing a group of normal guys. "Now we can't wait for the second fixture." 'We'll Still Take the League' Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans side, who secured the Premier Division title last season, along with his co-manager. "We scored 1-0 ahead and had a