🔗 Share this article

What can you improve a stellar experienced side who have won consecutive championships, featuring a league-cup double boasting thirty victories from thirty-two matches?

Sign a raft of ex- professionals that have competed at the highest tier of club football and global football as you aim for more silverware.

A Greater Manchester side has an amateur vets team with 9 ex- Premier League players in their current roster.

222 Premier League Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are located in southern Manchester and play in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Tier.

Their roster this campaign includes nine ex- top-flight footballers, with a total over 1,800 top-flight appearances.

This star-studded roster also includes over 220 Premier League scores and 325 global appearances.

The squad include one forward, who notched thirty-seven goals in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game versus defending title holders their rivals and scored every one of the six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a half-hour opening period triple.

The roster for this campaign also includes former professionals such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the former Premier League players have claimed fifteen big trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of around £123 million.

Well-Known Figures and International Players

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side during pre-season this season through close mate and present Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Irish player then invited additional former professionals, who all play in a midweek small-sided match, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 top-flight matches for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and use an Blue training kit as their uniform.

"A mate Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," said Niasse.

"After that he informed me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Everton kits - I thought this is wrong for me!

"If you still love football and you feel you can still play, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"The fans who come and watch are happy and to make a moment if they see us playing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

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

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

"I tell my centre-back 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep running.

"The movement is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

Dreamlike' Feeling

In addition to Cisse's 6 goals on debut, Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored five on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, notched a hat-trick in one match up front.

The team are leading of the Top Tier with three wins from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"It was going round like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League stars," remarked the player.

"I felt I was a bit awestruck facing him to be honest.

"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got over 60 English caps.

"Our side competed well for a good 20 minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

"Our group really haven't ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return match."

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans side, who secured the Top Division championship last season, together with his co-manager.

"We went 1-0 ahead and had a