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What do you improve a outstanding veteran squad who have claimed consecutive championships, featuring a double triumph boasting 30 wins from 32 matches?

Recruit a group of ex- professionals who have performed at the elite tier of club and international soccer as you aim for further silverware.

A Greater Manchester side boasts an amateur veterans squad with nine ex- Premier League footballers in their active roster.

222 Premier League Goals, 325 Global Appearances

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are located in southern the city and compete in the Cheshire Vets Division Premier Tier.

The squad list this season features nine ex- Premier League players, with a combined 1,801 top-flight matches.

The star-studded squad also boasts over 220 top division scores and over 320 global appearances.

They include one forward, who notched 37 goals in 117 appearances for Newcastle United after moving to them for £9m from German league club SC Freiburg in 2012.

He made his first appearance for the team in their last home match against defending champions their rivals and netted all six goals in a 6-2 victory - including a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

The roster for this season also features former professionals such as English and Anfield striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- Premier League footballers have won 15 big trophies and moved for combined transfer fees of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Figures and Global Stars

Ireland began turning out for the side during preseason this summer through good mate and current team player Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then asked additional ex-pros, who all compete in a weekly nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 top-flight matches for the Toffees and still attends their home games, also had his debut versus the opposition - who are based in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

"My mate Stephen Ireland said 'come and play, it's good fun'," commented Niasse.

"After that he informed me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them sporting Blue kits - I say this is wrong for me!

"When you still love football and you know you can still do it, anywhere you can play, what are you going to choose?

"Those fans who come and watch are happy and to give a moment if they watch us competing there and to ask us queries - it's really about the pleasure of us getting a place we can play, with organisation of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he had his first game at defender.

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

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

"The movement is what I'm seeking. It's enjoyable."

Unreal Experience

In addition to Cisse's six goals on his first game, Ireland has netted eight in three appearances for the side, while Boyd scored 5 on his debut match and Lescott, a centre-half by trade, scored a triple in one game up front.

The team are leading of the Premier Division with three wins from 3 and a goal difference of plus nineteen.

One opponent, 38, who features on the wing for Collegiate OB, faced former Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to featuring in more than two hundred top-flight games.

"The news was spreading like a rumor they had all these ex-Premier League stars," remarked the player.

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

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

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

"Our group really have not stopped talking about it - I was calling my mother and sibling on the journey home.

"The opponents were all really nice, shaking our hands after the game - it was like facing a group of normal fellas.

"Now we are eager for the second match."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

The manager manages the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Premier Tier title the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a