Discover the Weekend Division Team With Over 1,800 Top-Flight Matches
How can you improve a stellar experienced squad who have won consecutive titles, featuring a league-cup double with thirty wins from 32 games?
Recruit a group of ex- professionals that have performed at the highest tier of club and international soccer as you target further honors.
One Greater Manchester club has an amateur vets team with nine ex- top-flight players in their present roster.
222 Premier League Goals, 325 Global Appearances
Wythenshawe Veterans Over-35s are situated in south the city and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans Division Premier Division.
The roster this season boasts 9 former top-flight footballers, with a combined 1,801 top-flight appearances.
This elite team also contains over 220 top division scores and 325 international caps.
They feature Papiss Cisse, who notched 37 scores in over 100 games for Newcastle United after signing for them for £9m from Bundesliga side Freiburg in 2012.
Cisse had his debut for Wythenshawe in their last home match against reigning champions their rivals and scored all six goals in a 6-2 win - featuring a 32-minute opening period triple.
Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also includes ex- pros such as England and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.
In total, the former Premier League players have won 15 big trophies and transferred for combined transfer sums of approximately £123 million.
Famous Figures and International Stars
Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side during pre-season this season through close mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland player then asked additional ex-pros, who all play in a midweek small-sided game, to join in.
Former Senegalese striker Niasse, who scored twelve goals in 65 top-flight games for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his first appearance against Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and use an Everton warm-up gear as their uniform.
"My mate Stephen said 'join and have a game, it's a laugh'," said Niasse.
"After that he told me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I say this is wrong for me!
"When you still love the game and you know you can still do it, wherever you can play, what are you going to choose?
"The people who come and watch are happy and to give a moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the joy of us getting a place we can play, with organisation of course."
So great is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, Niasse had his debut at defender.
"It's a bit different but then, I enjoy running and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.
"I warn my defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running.
"The running is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."
'Surreal Scenario
In addition to the forward's 6 scores on debut, Stephen Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by position, notched a hat-trick in one game up front.
Wythenshawe are top of the Top Division with three victories from 3 and a goal difference of +19.
Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics defender Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his nine-year-old son who Heskey was.
Figueroa has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in over 200 top-flight matches.
"It was going round like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League stars," said Barrow.
"I felt I was a bit awestruck facing Figueroa to be honest.
"Also Heskey got on and he's got 60-odd England caps.
"We competed well for a good 20 minutes but then we had a man dismissed and it was hard.
"Our group literally haven't stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mum and brother on the journey home.
"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a group of regular fellas.
"Now we can't wait for the return match."
We Will Still Win the Title'
Andy Kirby manages the Collegiate vets team, who won the Premier Tier title last season, together with his co-manager.
"We scored 1-0 up and had a