Meet the Sunday League Club With Nearly Two Thousand Premier League Games
What do you enhance a outstanding experienced team that have claimed back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double with thirty wins from thirty-two matches?
Bring in a group of ex- professionals that have played at the highest tier of club and global football as you aim for additional silverware.
A Greater Manchester club fields an non-professional vets squad with 9 ex- top-flight players in their active squad.
Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Appearances
Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are located in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire-based Veterans League Top Division.
The roster this season includes 9 ex- Premier League players, with a total over 1,800 elite games.
This high-profile team also includes 222 top division goals and over 320 global caps.
The squad include one forward, who netted thirty-seven scores in 117 games for his former club after signing for them for £9m from Bundesliga side Freiburg in January 2012.
Cisse made his debut for Wythenshawe in their most recent home-field game against reigning champions their rivals and scored all six goals in a 6-2 victory - featuring a 32-minute first-half triple.
Wythenshawe's squad for this season also includes ex- professionals such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic full-back Maynor Figueroa, City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.
In total, the ex- Premier League players have claimed 15 major honors and moved for total transfer fees of approximately £123 million.
Famous Figures and International Stars
Stephen Ireland began playing for the team in pre-season this season through close mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the ex- Irish midfielder then asked other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek small-sided game, to participate.
Ex- Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 goals in sixty-five Premier League games for the Toffees and even now attends their home games, also made his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.
"A mate Stephen told me 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," commented the striker.
"After that he told me we were playing a side from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Blue shirts - I say this is strange for me!
"If you still enjoy the game and you know you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to do?
"Those people who come and see are pleased and to give someone's moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's more like the joy of us getting somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."
Such is the bench strength at the club, Niasse made his debut at full-back.
"That's a little different but then, I love running and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he added.
"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue running.
"The running is what I'm after. It's good fun."
Dreamlike' Feeling
Along with Cisse's 6 scores on his first game, Ireland has scored eight in 3 games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored 5 on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a triple in one match as a striker.
The team are leading of the Top Tier with three victories from three and a goal difference of +19.
One opponent, thirty-eight, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Emile Heskey was.
Figueroa has played at 2 global tournaments for his country, in as well as playing in more than 200 top-flight games.
"The news was going round like wildfire they had these former top-flight stars," remarked Barrow.
"I think I was a bit starstruck facing Figueroa to be honest.
"Even Emile [Heskey] got on and he's has 60-odd English caps.
"We held our own for a good 20 mins but then we had a player dismissed and it was hard.
"We literally haven't ceased talking about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the way home.
"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a group of regular fellas.
"Now we can't wait for the return fixture."
We Will Still Win the Title'
The manager coaches the opposition veterans team, who won the Top Tier title last season, along with his co-manager.
"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a