🔗 Share this article

What do you improve a outstanding veteran team that have secured back-to-back titles, featuring a double triumph with thirty wins from 32 games?

Bring in a collection of former professionals that have competed at the top tier of club football and international soccer as you aim for additional silverware.

One Greater Manchester club has an non-professional veterans squad with nine former top-flight footballers in their present squad.

222 Top Division Goals, 325 International Appearances

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

Their squad list this campaign includes 9 ex- Premier League players, with a combined 1,801 top-flight matches.

The high-profile roster also boasts 222 top division goals and 325 international caps.

The squad feature one forward, who scored 37 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 the team in their most recent home match versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a six-two victory - featuring a half-hour first-half hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's roster for this season also features former professionals such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight players have won 15 major trophies and moved for combined transfer fees of about £123m.

Well-Known Figures and International Stars

Stephen Ireland started playing for the side during pre-season this summer through good friend and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked additional former professionals, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to join in.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who scored twelve goals in sixty-five top-flight games for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also had his debut against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Blue training kit as their uniform.

"My friend Stephen told me 'join and play, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.

"After that he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Blue shirts - I say this is strange for me!

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

"Those fans who come and watch are pleased and to make someone's day if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the pleasure of us getting somewhere we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his first game at defender.

"That's a little unusual but then, I enjoy running and just move forward - I'm not staying back that much," he added.

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

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

Unreal Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six goals on his first game, Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by position, notched a triple in one match up front.

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

Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the flank for the opposition, came up against former Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young boy who Heskey was.

He has appeared at 2 World Cups for his country, in addition to playing in more than 200 top-flight games.

"The news was going round like wildfire they had all these former top-flight stars," remarked Barrow.

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

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

"We competed well for a solid twenty minutes but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"Our group literally have not ceased chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the way home.

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

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

'We'll Still Win the Title'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Top Division title the previous campaign, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored one-nil ahead and had a