🔗 Share this article Meet this Sunday Division Team With Over 1,800 Premier League Appearances The bench for Wythenshawe Vets during a six-two triumph against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - Oumar Niasse, Papiss Cisse, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey How do you boost a stellar experienced team who have claimed consecutive championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting 30 victories from 32 matches? Bring in a group of ex- pro players who have performed at the elite level of club and international football as you target further silverware. A Manchester side boasts an non-professional veterans team with nine former top-flight footballers in their present lineup. 222 Premier League Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances The team Vets Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Top Tier. The roster this season boasts 9 ex- top-flight players, with a combined over 1,800 Premier League matches. This high-profile team also boasts 222 Premier League scores and 325 global appearances. They feature Papiss Cisse, who notched thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in January 2012. Cisse made his first appearance for the team in their last home-field game versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six goals in a six-two victory - including a 32-minute opening period triple. The team for this campaign also includes former professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater. In total, the ex- Premier League footballers have claimed fifteen major honors and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123 million. Well-Known Names and International Players He won 6 Republic of Ireland caps, netting 4 scores Ireland started playing for the team in pre-season this summer through good mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked other ex-pros, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to participate. Ex- Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five top-flight games for Everton and even now attends their home games, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Everton training kit as their uniform. Oumar Niasse played for the club between 2016 and 2020 "A friend Stephen said 'come and have a game, it's good fun'," commented Niasse. "After that he told me we were facing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them wearing Everton kits - I thought this is wrong for me! "If you still enjoy football and you know you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose? "Those fans who come and watch are happy and to make someone's day if they watch us playing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course." Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse made his debut at full-back. "That's a little unusual but then, I love running and just move forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said. "I warn my centre-back 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep attacking. "That running is what I'm seeking. It's good fun." Ex- Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team Dreamlike' Experience Along with the forward's 6 scores on debut, Ireland has scored eight in three appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one match as a striker. Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Division with 3 victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen. One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for the opposition, faced former Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was. Figueroa has appeared at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in over 200 Premier League matches. "It was spreading like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League players," remarked Barrow. "I felt I was a little starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest. "Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has over 60 England appearances. "Our side held our own for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a man dismissed and it was tough. "We literally have not ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the way home. "The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of normal guys. "Now we are eager for the return match." 'We'll Still Win the League' Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans team, who secured the Top Tier title last season, together with Paul Maguire. "We scored one-nil ahead and had a