🔗 Share this article

How can you improve a outstanding veteran side that have secured back-to-back titles, featuring a double triumph with 30 victories from 32 games?

Sign a group of former professionals that have played at the top level of club football and global soccer as you target more honors.

A Manchester side fields an amateur veterans squad with 9 ex- top-flight players in their current lineup.

222 Premier League Scores, 325 International Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are based in southern the city and compete in the Cheshire Vets League Top Division.

Their squad list this campaign boasts nine ex- Premier League players, with a collective 1,801 Premier League appearances.

This high-profile squad also includes 222 Premier League scores and over 320 global caps.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from German league side Freiburg in 2012.

He had his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match versus defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals in a six-two victory - including a half-hour opening period triple.

The team for this campaign also features ex- professionals such as England and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the former top-flight players have secured fifteen major trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Names and Global Stars

Ireland started turning out for the side in preseason this season through good mate and current Wythenshawe teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a weekly small-sided match, to participate.

Ex- Senegal striker Niasse, who netted 12 scores in sixty-five Premier League games for Everton and still attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

"My friend Stephen Ireland said 'join and play, it's good fun'," commented the striker.

"After that he informed me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Everton kits - I say this is strange for me!

"If you still enjoy football and you know you can still play, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?

"The people who turn up and see are pleased and to give a moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the joy of us getting a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he had his debut at full-back.

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

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

"The movement is what I'm after. It's good fun."

Dreamlike' Experience

Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Ireland has scored 8 in three appearances for the side, while George Boyd hit 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a hat-trick in one match up front.

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

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to playing in more than 200 top-flight matches.

"It was spreading like wildfire they had these former top-flight stars," said Barrow.

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

"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has 60-odd English appearances.

"Our side held our own for a good 20 mins but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"We literally haven't stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and sibling on the way home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return match."

'We'll Still Win the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets side, who won the Premier Tier championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We went 1-0 up and had a