🔗 Share this article

What do you enhance a outstanding veteran squad that have secured back-to-back titles, including a double triumph with 30 victories from 32 matches?

Recruit a group of former professionals who have played at the highest tier of club and global football as you target further silverware.

A Greater Manchester club has an non-professional veterans team with nine ex- Premier League players in their current roster.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, 325 Global Appearances

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

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

This elite roster also contains 222 top division goals and over 320 global appearances.

They include Papiss Cisse, who netted thirty-seven scores in over 100 games for Newcastle United after joining them for nine million pounds from German league club Freiburg in January 2012.

Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home game against defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six scores in a 6-2 win - featuring a half-hour opening period triple.

The squad for this campaign also includes ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the former Premier League players have won fifteen big trophies and moved for total transfer fees of around £123 million.

Household Names and Global Stars

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the team in pre-season this season through good friend and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish player then invited additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side match, to join in.

Ex- Senegalese forward Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 top-flight games for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also made his debut against the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and use an Blue training kit as their strip.

"A friend Stephen said 'join and have a game, it's enjoyable'," commented the striker.

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

"When you still enjoy football and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"The spectators who come and see are pleased and to make someone's day if they see us competing there and to ask us questions - it's really about the joy of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the squad depth at the club, he had his first game at full-back.

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

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

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

'Surreal Feeling

In addition to the forward's six scores on his first game, Ireland has scored eight in 3 appearances for the side, while Boyd scored five on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by position, scored a triple in one game up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Division with three victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

One opponent, 38, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Latics defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.

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

"The news was spreading like wildfire they had these ex-Premier League players," remarked Barrow.

"I felt I was a little awestruck playing against him to be honest.

"Even Heskey came on and he's got 60-odd England caps.

"Our side held our own for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was tough.

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

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

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

'We'll Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby coaches the Collegiate vets team, who secured the Top Tier championship the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a