🔗 Share this article

What can you enhance a outstanding veteran side who have secured consecutive titles, including a double triumph with 30 victories from 32 matches?

Sign a group of ex- professionals that have competed at the top level of club football and global soccer as you aim for more trophies.

A Manchester club fields an non-professional vets squad with 9 former top-flight footballers in their current lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are located in south Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Vets Division Top Division.

The roster this campaign boasts nine ex- Premier League players, with a combined over 1,800 top-flight appearances.

This elite squad also contains over 220 Premier League goals and over 320 global appearances.

The squad feature Papiss Cisse, who scored 37 goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home-field match against reigning title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted all six scores in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

Wythenshawe's roster for this campaign also includes former pros such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former top-flight players have secured 15 big trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of around £123m.

Household Names and International Players

Ireland started playing for the team during pre-season this season through good friend and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Irish midfielder then invited other former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who scored twelve scores in 65 Premier League matches for Everton and even now goes to their home games, also made his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are located in the city and wear an Everton training kit as their strip.

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

"Then he told me we were playing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I saw them sporting Everton kits - I thought this is strange for me!

"If you still love football and you feel you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

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

So great is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, he made his debut at full-back.

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

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

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

Dreamlike' Scenario

In addition to Cisse's six scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in three appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a hat-trick in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Top Division with three victories from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at two World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in more than 200 Premier League games.

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

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

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

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

"We literally have not stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the journey home.

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

"Now we are eager for the return fixture."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

The manager coaches the Collegiate vets side, who secured the Premier Tier title last season, together with his co-manager.

"We scored one-nil ahead and had a