Discover the Weekend Division Squad With Nearly Two Thousand Top-Flight Matches
How can you improve a stellar veteran side that have claimed back-to-back championships, including a double triumph with 30 victories from thirty-two games?
Bring in a raft of ex- pro players who have performed at the highest level of club football and international soccer as you pursue more honors.
One Greater Manchester club boasts an amateur vets squad with nine ex- Premier League players in their active lineup.
222 Premier League Scores, 325 Global Appearances
Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are situated in southern the city and compete in the Cheshire Vets Division Top Tier.
Their squad list this campaign features nine ex- Premier League footballers, with a total over 1,800 elite games.
This star-studded team also boasts 222 top division goals and over 320 global appearances.
They include Papiss Cisse, who scored thirty-seven goals in over 100 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for nine million pounds from German league club Freiburg in January 2012.
He made his debut for the team in their most recent home match against defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and netted every one of the six goals in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.
Wythenshawe's roster for this campaign also features former professionals such as England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.
Together, the former top-flight players have claimed fifteen major trophies and transferred for combined transfer fees of around £123 million.
Famous Names and International Stars
Stephen Ireland started turning out for the team during preseason this summer through close friend and present Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then invited other former professionals, who all play in a weekly nine-a-side match, to join in.
Ex- Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 scores in sixty-five Premier League matches for the Toffees and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his first appearance against the opposition - who are based in the city and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.
"A mate Stephen said 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," commented Niasse.
"After that he informed me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is wrong 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?
"The fans who turn up and watch are happy and to make a day if they watch us playing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the joy of us having a place we can enjoy football, with organisation of course."
Such is the strength in depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his debut at defender.
"That's a bit different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go forward - I'm not staying back that much," he said.
"I tell my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue running.
"The running is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."
'Surreal Feeling
Along with Cisse's 6 scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in three appearances for the side, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one match up front.
Wythenshawe are top of the Top Division with three victories from three and a goal difference of plus nineteen.
One opponent, thirty-eight, who plays on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics defender Figueroa on the weekend - and had to explain his young boy who Emile Heskey was.
Figueroa has played at two global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to playing in more than 200 top-flight matches.
"It was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League players," remarked Barrow.
"I think I was a bit starstruck facing Figueroa to be honest.
"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's got over 60 England caps.
"We competed well for a good twenty minutes but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.
"Our group literally haven't ceased talking about it - I was calling my mother and brother on the way home.
"The opponents were all friendly, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of regular guys.
"Now we can't wait for the return match."
We Will Still Win the League'
The manager coaches the opposition vets team, who won the Top Tier title the previous campaign, along with Paul Maguire.
"We scored one-nil up and had a