Inside the Sunday League Team Featuring Ex-Premier League Stars
Imagine turning up for weekly Sunday League kickaround and you are met with a slew of ex Premier League stars warming up on the opposite side of the pitch?
That has been the reality for a number of old boys plying their trade in the Cheshire Veterans Football League this season.
In recent times Wythenshawe FC have gone viral for their stacked over 35's squad, which has a total of 1801 Premier League appearances amongst those signed on.
As seen in footage doing the rounds, former Manchester City trio Stephen Ireland, Joleon Lescott and Nedum Onuoha have all been rolling back the years, as have household names like Emile Heskey, Papiss Cisse, Maynor Figueroa, George Boyd and Oumar Niasse.
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But as the squad list on the FA website shows, the talent pool they can call upon does not stop there. Danny Drinkwater, a Premier League title winner with Leicester City, is also signed on.
So far this season the Wythenshawe side have played three games in the Premier Division, taking maximum points and scoring 23 goals - conceding just four to give them a goal difference of 19.
The kicked off the league campaign with a 7-1 thrashing of AFC Monton, with Lescott, operating as a striker, bagging a hat-trick and Ireland scoring four times.
Ireland replicated his four-goal haul in a 10-1 humbling of Radcliffe FC Old Boys, with Boyd notching five and Lescott getting in on the act.
But in the latest fixture, Cisse, famous for an incredible catalogue of strikes for Newcastle - hit a double-hat-trick when he scored all six of Wythenshawe's goals in a 6-2 win over Collegiate Old Boys.
Why are Premier League players playing in Sunday League?
On Tuesdays, via a WhatsApp group with 70 participants, many of the aforementioned players turn out regularly in a high-level 10-a-side game which the author of this article gained access to for a one-off showing before never getting a second invite.
They are now strutting their stuff in the wonderful world of Sunday League and proving that age is just a number.
"I just wanted to get out of the house and have some fitness and kick a ball around on a Sunday morning! Ireland, now 39, told SPORTbible when asked about so many professionals coming together to form a super-team.
"It's been fun and I am enjoying it, all the lads I play with are great guys and it's perfect for fitness."
"This isn't my thing, I was invited to play so I said yes and went along and loved it so I continued to play and more ex pros followed for the same reasons as me."
He added: "I love to play as much as I can - I haven't got much else going on so it keeps me fit and competitive too.
"At the moment myself Joleon Lescott, Papiss Cisse, Nedum Onuoha, Maynor Figueroa, George Boyd, Oumar Niasse and Emile Heskey have all played but there's no pressure on any of them to play every game - they just decide when they want or can play as everyone is busy."
Wythenshawe have been attracting strong crowds for their games on Sunday mornings, with players happily posing for pictures with young supporters.
According to Ireland, things are going smoothly so far with no fines for lateness or unpaid subs and a positive atmosphere amongst the groups.
There are eight ex Premier League players in the ranks so far but more could yet be in the mix, with Ireland admitting, "I have had some messages off others asking to come so there may be more added in time."
Back in 2018, Monica Star FC graced the Central Warwickshire over 35s League - with a side that contained future England manager Lee Carsley, Darren Byfield, Lee Hendrie and Paul Devlin getting to the final of the Birmingham veterans.
But you'll do well to find a more complete collection of players than the one ripping up the Cheshire Vets' league and they are in action again on Sunday when they take on St John's in Manchester FA Veterans County Cup for a 1pm kick-off.
Topics: Premier League, Spotlight, Man City
Josh Lawless