🔗 Share this article

How can you enhance a stellar experienced team who have secured back-to-back titles, featuring a double triumph with thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Sign a raft of former pro players that have competed at the top level of club football and international football as you aim for further silverware.

A Manchester team boasts an amateur vets team with 9 ex- Premier League footballers in their present lineup.

222 Top Division Scores, 325 Global Appearances

The team Veterans Over 35s are situated in south the city and play in the Cheshire Vets League Top Tier.

Their squad list this campaign features 9 ex- top-flight footballers, with a total nearly 1,800 elite appearances.

The star-studded squad also includes 222 top division goals and over 320 global caps.

The squad include one forward, who notched thirty-seven scores in 117 games for his former club after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their last home match against reigning champions their rivals and scored every one of the six scores in a 6-2 victory - featuring a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also includes former professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the former top-flight players have secured 15 big trophies and transferred for total transfer sums of about £123 million.

Household Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland started playing for the side during pre-season this summer through good mate and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve scores in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Blue training kit as their strip.

"My friend Stephen told me 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"After that he informed me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I saw them wearing Blue kits - I say this is wrong for me!

"If you still enjoy football and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?

"The fans who come and watch are pleased and to give someone's moment if they watch us competing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with structure of course."

So great is the squad depth at the club, he had his debut at full-back.

"It's a little different but then, I love running and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he said.

"I warn my centre-back 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running.

"The running is what I'm seeking. It's good fun."

'Surreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a triple in one match up front.

The team are top of the Premier Tier with 3 wins from 3 and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against former Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two global tournaments for his country, in addition to playing in over 200 top-flight games.

"It was going round like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked Barrow.

"I felt I was a bit starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

"Also Heskey came on and he's has over 60 England appearances.

"Our side held our own for a good 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group literally haven't stopped chatting about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the journey home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of normal guys.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

We Will Still Win the League'

The manager coaches the Collegiate vets side, who won the Premier Tier championship last season, along with his co-manager.

"Our team went 1-0 up and had a