🔗 Share this article

What do you enhance a excellent veteran side that have secured consecutive titles, featuring a league-cup double with 30 wins from thirty-two games?

Recruit a collection of ex- pro players that have played at the highest tier of club football and international football as you aim for further trophies.

A Manchester side fields an non-professional veterans team with nine ex- top-flight players in their present squad.

222 Premier League Goals, 325 Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are situated in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets League Top Division.

Their roster this season includes 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a combined over 1,800 top-flight appearances.

This star-studded roster also contains 222 Premier League goals and over 320 global caps.

The squad feature one forward, who scored 37 goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his debut for the team in their most recent home-field match versus defending title holders their rivals and netted every one of the six scores in a six-two victory - including a half-hour opening period triple.

Wythenshawe's roster for this campaign also includes former professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former Premier League footballers have secured fifteen major honors and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Famous Figures and Global Players

Ireland began playing for the side during pre-season this summer through good mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side game, to join in.

Former Senegal striker Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five top-flight matches for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are based in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

"A mate Stephen told me 'join and play, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

"After that he told me we were facing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Everton kits - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still love football and you know you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"Those fans who turn up and watch are pleased and to give someone's day if they watch us competing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his debut at defender.

"That's a little different but then, I enjoy running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I tell my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running.

"That movement is what I'm looking for. It's good fun."

Dreamlike' Experience

In addition to Cisse's six goals on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a hat-trick in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are top of the Premier Tier with three victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced former Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

He has played at two World Cups for his country, in as well as featuring in over 200 top-flight matches.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had all these former top-flight stars," said the player.

"I think I was a little awestruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

"Even Heskey got on and he's got over 60 England appearances.

"Our side competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

"We really have not stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the way home.

"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of regular fellas.

"Now we can't wait for the second match."

'We'll Still Take the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate veterans side, who secured the Top Tier championship the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"We scored one-nil up and had a