Introduce this Sunday Division Club With 1,800 Top-Flight Appearances
How do you improve a outstanding experienced squad who have won consecutive titles, including a league-cup double with 30 victories from thirty-two games?
Bring in a group of ex- professionals who have performed at the elite level of club and international soccer as you aim for further trophies.
One Greater Manchester club fields an non-professional veterans squad with nine ex- Premier League footballers in their active lineup.
Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Goals, Three Hundred Twenty-Five International Caps
Wythenshawe Vets Over 35s are based in south the city and play in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Premier Tier.
Their lineup this campaign boasts 9 ex- Premier League footballers, with a total 1,801 top-flight appearances.
This star-studded squad also boasts 222 Premier League scores and over 320 international caps.
The squad include one forward, who netted thirty-seven goals in over 100 appearances for Newcastle United after joining them for £9m from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in January 2012.
He had his debut for the team in their last home-field game against reigning title holders their rivals and scored all six scores in a six-two win - including a half-hour opening period hat-trick.
Wythenshawe's team for this campaign also includes former pros such as English and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley midfielder George Boyd, Toffees striker Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League title winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.
Together, the ex- top-flight players have secured fifteen significant trophies and transferred for total transfer fees of approximately £123m.
Famous Figures and Global Stars
Ireland began turning out for the side in pre-season this summer through good mate and current team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then asked other former professionals, who all play in a weekly small-sided match, to join in.
Ex- Senegal forward Oumar Niasse, who netted twelve goals in sixty-five Premier League games for Everton and even now attends their matches at Goodison Park, also had his debut against the opposition - who are located in the city and wear an Everton training kit as their strip.
"My mate Stephen Ireland said 'join and have a game, it's good fun'," said the striker.
"After that he told me we were playing a team from Liverpool and the surprise I had when I noticed them sporting Everton kits - I thought this is wrong for me!
"When you still enjoy the game and you know you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?
"The fans who turn up and see are happy and to give a moment if they see us playing there and to ask us questions - it's more like the pleasure of us having a place we can enjoy football, with structure of course."
So great is the squad depth at the club, Niasse had his first game at full-back.
"It's a little different but then, I love running and just move inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.
"I warn my defender 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to continue attacking.
"The running is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."
'Surreal Scenario
Along with the forward's 6 scores on his first game, Stephen Ireland has netted 8 in 3 appearances for the side, while George Boyd scored five on his first match and Lescott, a defender by trade, notched a hat-trick in one match as a striker.
The team are top of the Top Division with 3 victories from three and a GD of +19.
Paul Barrow, 38, who features on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Latics full-back Figueroa on Sunday - and had to explain his young son who Emile Heskey was.
He has played at 2 global tournaments for Honduras, in addition to playing in over two hundred Premier League matches.
"The news was spreading like wildfire they had all these former top-flight players," remarked Barrow.
"I think I was a little starstruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.
"Also Emile [Heskey] got on and he's got over 60 England caps.
"We held our own for a good 20 minutes but then we had a man sent off and it was tough.
"Our group literally have not ceased chatting about it - I was calling my mum and sibling on the journey home.
"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of normal guys.
"Now we can't wait for the second fixture."
'We'll Still Take the League'
Andy Kirby coaches the opposition vets side, who secured the Premier Division championship the previous campaign, together with his co-manager.
"Our team scored one-nil ahead and had a