🔗 Share this article

How can you boost a excellent veteran team who have claimed back-to-back titles, including a league-cup double boasting thirty wins from thirty-two games?

Bring in a collection of ex- professionals that have performed at the elite tier of club football and international soccer as you aim for further honors.

A Manchester club boasts an non-professional veterans squad with nine former top-flight players in their current lineup.

222 Top Division Scores, 325 Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are situated in southern the city and play in the Cheshire Veterans League Top Division.

The roster this campaign boasts 9 former top-flight players, with a collective over 1,800 Premier League appearances.

This high-profile roster also includes over 220 Premier League scores and over 320 global caps.

The squad include one forward, who scored thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse made his first appearance for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field match versus reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored all six goals in a 6-2 win - including a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's roster for this campaign also features ex- pros such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the ex- Premier League players have secured fifteen big trophies and moved for combined transfer fees of approximately £123 million.

Well-Known Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland started playing for the team in preseason this summer through good mate and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly small-sided match, to participate.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 goals in 65 Premier League games for the Toffees and even now goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are located in the city and wear an Blue training kit as their strip.

"A mate Stephen Ireland told me 'join and play, it's enjoyable'," said the striker.

"After that he informed me we were facing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue kits - I thought this is strange for me!

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

"The people who come and watch are pleased and to make a moment if they see us playing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us having a place we can play, with structure of course."

So great is the strength in depth at the club, Niasse had his debut at defender.

"It's a bit unusual but then, I love sprinting and just go inside - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

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

"That movement is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

Dreamlike' Experience

Along with Cisse's 6 scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a triple in one match up front.

The team are leading of the Top Tier with three victories from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for the opposition, came up against ex- Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Heskey was.

He has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in over 200 top-flight matches.

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had these former top-flight players," said the player.

"I felt I was a little awestruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

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

"We competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was hard.

"We really 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 game - it was like playing a bunch of regular guys.

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

We Will Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition veterans side, who secured the Premier Tier title last season, together with his co-manager.

"Our team went one-nil up and had a