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How do you enhance a excellent experienced squad that have won back-to-back championships, including a double triumph boasting thirty victories from 32 matches?

Recruit a raft of ex- professionals that have competed at the top level of club and global soccer as you aim for more trophies.

A Greater Manchester team boasts an non-professional veterans team with nine former Premier League players in their active lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, 325 Global Caps

Wythenshawe Veterans Over 35s are located in southern the city and play in the Cheshire-based Vets Division Top Tier.

The lineup this season features 9 former top-flight players, with a total over 1,800 top-flight games.

The high-profile squad also contains over 220 top division scores and 325 international appearances.

The squad feature one forward, who scored thirty-seven goals in 117 games for his former club after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga club SC Freiburg in 2012.

He made his debut for the team in their most recent home match against defending champions Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six goals in a six-two victory - including a 32-minute opening period hat-trick.

The team for this season also includes ex- pros such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Everton forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Collectively, the ex- top-flight footballers have won fifteen significant honors and moved for combined transfer sums of around £123m.

Famous Figures and Global Players

Stephen Ireland began playing for the side in pre-season this season through good friend and present team teammate Blake Norton, and the ex- Republic of Ireland player then invited additional former professionals, who all compete in a midweek small-sided match, to join in.

Former Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse, who netted 12 goals in 65 Premier League matches for Everton and still goes to their home games, also had his first appearance against the opposition - who are located in Liverpool and use an Blue training kit as their strip.

"My mate Stephen Ireland said 'come and have a game, it's good fun'," commented the striker.

"After that he informed me we were facing a team from the city and the surprise I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I say this is wrong for me!

"When you still love the game and you feel you can still play, anywhere you can play, what are you going to do?

"The spectators who turn up and see are happy and to give a day if they see us playing there and to pose us questions - it's really about the pleasure of us having somewhere we can enjoy football, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at the club, he had his debut at defender.

"It'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 defender 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running.

"The running is what I'm after. It's good fun."

'Surreal Feeling

Along with the forward's six goals on debut, Ireland has netted 8 in three games for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit 5 on his first appearance and Lescott, a defender by position, scored a triple in one match as a striker.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Tier with three victories from 3 and a GD of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the flank for Collegiate OB, came up against ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his nine-year-old boy who Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in addition to playing in over 200 top-flight matches.

"It was spreading like wildfire they had all these ex-Premier League players," said the player.

"I think I was a bit awestruck facing Figueroa to be honest.

"Also Heskey came on and he's has 60-odd England appearances.

"We held our own for a good twenty mins but then we had a player sent off and it was hard.

"Our group literally have not stopped chatting about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the way home.

"They were all friendly, shaking our hands after the match - it was like facing a bunch of normal guys.

"Now we are eager for the return match."

'We'll Still Take the Title'

The manager coaches the Collegiate veterans side, who secured the Premier Tier championship last season, together with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored 1-0 ahead and had a