The Silkmen defied odds in the 2017-18 season under John Askey and got promoted to Football League as Champions from National League.

But off-the-field, it was a contradicting story to their success. There were issues like players, staff not getting paid and Club not being run properly.

One of the prime examples of this was John Askey leaving because of mismanagement by Mark Blower.

When Your team gets Promoted, the last thing you would expect your chairman not to do is communicate with the manager over future plans.

But that is exactly what Mark Blower did. Which meant, it was no brainier for John Askey to join Shrewsbury Town.

That meant the club had to bring in a new man for the job. They decided to go with Mark Yates. He helped the team reach Third round of Football League Cup for the first time in their history.

But, plethora injuries lead the team going on a 12 league game winless run. Add to that 8-0 Trashing in EFL Cup meant that he was sacked.

Board took nearly one and a half month to appoint a new manager. During that period Danny Whitaker and Neil Howarth guided them to 2 wins 7 games.

The board has decided to go with Former England International Defender Sol Campbell as permanent appointment, At the time of his appointment which was at the end of November, Macclesfield Town was at the bottom of the league with only two wins from 19 matches.

They have secured their Football League status on the final match day with a point against Cambridge United. One might say a team survived what is different about them. Now let’s see the circumstances under which they achieved this.

2018-19 Off-The-Field Summary

As discussed above they weren’t able to retain the services of their promotion-winning manager John Askey.

After appointing Mark Yates, they didn’t have a budget for a proper Training camp and still ran the club like a semi-professional team till the start of the season.

Midway through the season, they started paying players and Staff wages late. Late payments happened on a total of four instances last season.

Players had to train at a school field almost 20 miles away in Northwich last season. The club came close to winding up due to their unpaid bill to Her Majesties Revenue and Customs Department.

The home fixture against Exeter City was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

They had to close London Road Terrace and Weston Park Care Homes stands or limit them to Season Ticket holders at the end of the last season amid fan protests.

Fans have participated in many peaceful protests aimed at the board due to the disappointment and anger at the way their club was being run.

Players even considered boycotting their final matchday fixture over unpaid wages.

Finally, in May of 2019, Club chairman Mark Blower was removed from the job which is considered by fans as the first step in many needed to take the club in the right direction.

In June of 2019, They paid HMRC £73,000 that was owed in the form of bills but still have ongoing cases in the Court.

Reading all this one can clearly understand the situation Players, Staff and fans had to endure last season. So, we can say surviving Relegation last season was a mammoth task.

Macclesfield Town Manager

When you hear Sol Campbell, you will be reminded of a player who was at the core of “The Invincibles” or a North London kid who switched Red from white or a former English International who made 73 appearances for Senior team and expect his life to be all gilts and glamour.

If you are not a follower of his career post-retirement and if you don’t follow Lower leagues of English football then you are in for a shock.

Sol Campbell wanted to become a manager since 2016 when his bid to enter into politics was not fruitful.

He applied for numerous positions at various football clubs but the answer has always been no. At one point he even said that he doesn’t want a salary and is ready to work with only performance-based bonuses.

To help his bid at interview success, he even did his Uefa Pro Licence coaching badges.

All that and the only job he had before Macclesfield Town was as Assistant coach under Dennis Lawrence in Trinidad and Tobago national team set up.

He gained respect from the whole footballing community with the job he has done at Macclesfield Town under the circumstances they were in last season.

He has a record of 7 Wins and 11 draws from 27 games that he has been in charge at the club.

He has made it clear that he wants to remain at the club but expects Non-Football related side of the club to become better.

Player departures

A total of 11 players have left the club which includes 10 players that were released. they are as follows

Harry Smith

Harry Smith was their second highest goalscorer only behind Scott Wilson last season. The 6ft 5in frontman will undoubtedly be a big miss for The Silkmen this season.

As he scored 9 of their 48 goals last season but on the plus side, he commanded fee from Northampton Town.

This might not please some fans but you can’t expect players to stay even if the owner doesn’t pay their wages in time.

10 Players that were released from the club this summer are

Rhys Taylor,
Stelios Demetriou,
Jamie Grimes,
Jared Hodgkiss,
Keith Lowe,
Koby Arthur,
Ryan Lloyd,
Liandro Martis,
Enoch Andoh,
Shamir Mullings.

New Signings

While their competitors were busy bringing in new signings, Macclesfield Town was embroidered in Court cases. They were able to bring the following players till now.

Joe Ironside

Joe Ironside is a 5 ft 11 in Centre-Forward who is the product of Sheffield United academy. He has spent most of his career in National League North and has five and half years experience playing Non-league football.

He is known for his Finishing and uses his strength to his advantage. He is also capped by the England C team.

He is an unproven commodity at this level as he has only made 22 appearances in the Football League most of which were as a substitute.

Jak McCourt

The 23-year-old is a 5 ft 10 in the midfielder who is a product of Leicester City Academy. He has been on books of 7 different clubs in his six-year career as a pro.

He made 100+ appearances in the football league before the start of 2019-20 season. He is a versatile midfielder who can play as Attacking, Defensive, Central and Right Midfielder.

Last year he was with Swindon Town and missed November and December due to the dislocated shoulder which he suffered at Port Vale.

He made 26 appearances for Swindon Town last year but was deemed surplus by Richie Wellens in summer and was subsequently released.

Emmanuel Osadebe

Emmanuel Osadebe is a versatile midfielder who can play in the middle as well on both flanks. He is a product of Dundalk and Tottenham Hotspur Academy.

Some of The Silkmen fans might remember him from the 2017-18 season where he made three substitute appearances in a 2-month loan spell with the club.

He was unable to make a breakthrough in Cambridge United squad and is subsequently released by the club where he spent two years. During the Two year spell, he only managed to make 23 appearances for The U’s.

He has initially joined Macclesfield Town on the trail this summer and seems to have impressed Sol Campbell. Before joining Cambridge United he made 52 appearances for league one side Gillingham during his 2-Year spell after leaving Tottenham and before joining Cambridge United.

He is also a former Irish U-21 international who is 6 ft 2 with a good jumping reach. He is still 22 so there is still room for improvement in his game.

Macclesfield Town 2019-20 Away Journey

Macclesfield Town fans have to travel 2828 miles if they want to attend all away matches in 2019-20 campaign, which means they have to make an average trip of 123 miles per game.

The longest trip for which will be the Plymouth Argyle match for which they have to make a 266-mile trip.

Macclesfield Town 2019-20 Odds

With all the Chaos surrounding the club. Bookmakers are predicting a Relegation for them this season.

Macclesfield Town 2019-20 Fixtures

To read more club previews click here or visit 72 in 72 section from the menu.