Paul Aldridge, son of John, and striker Neil Robinson were the only summer signings.

There was a disappointing start to the season with only three wins coming in August and September leaving the club in 21^st position.Results included a 2-0 win at Hartlepool with late goals by Danny Adams and Danny Whitaker and a 3-1 win at Hull City which included a 40-yard strike from Michael Welch. The third victory against Bristol Rovers with a score of 2-1 was televised from the Moss Rose by Sky television.

In October the team's form improved with three wins against Boston United, Oxford United and Kidderminster Harriers where David Eaton scored with his first touch on his debut to take the side to 16^th place, the highest position achieved during the whole season. In November and December only a total of three points were picked up leaving the fans disappointed but David Moss was confident that the side would not be relegated.

In Cup competitions, after a first round bye in the LDV Vans Trophy the Silkmen were knocked out by, Tranmere Rovers who won with a 116^th minute 'Golden goal'. In the Worthington Cup, Barnsley were soundly beaten 4-1 in the first round when Danny Whitaker scored a barnstorming extra time hat-trick but there was a 2-1 defeat in the second round against Preston North End, Preston scoring their winning goal in the fifth minute of additional time.The FA Cup saw the Silkmen reach the third round again. A 3-0 victory at Hull City was followed by a live televised second round tie by Sky television at the Moss Rose when it took two late goals to overcome non-League Vauxhall Motors. However, in the third round, two clinical finishes by Watford at the Moss Rose ended the Silkmen's FA Cup run for the season.

In an attempt to bring some stability to the side both loan and permanent signings were made including Neil Ross who moved from Stockport County for a fee of £30,000.Battling performances produced five points in January including a 3-1 victory at Wrexham on New Year's Day but due to postponements only three matches were played in February earning just one point leaving the side in 22^nd position.

Results improved significantly during March which proved to be a busy month with a total of eight matches played, some of which resulted from earlier postponements.The best performances were a 3-1 victory against Leyton Orient and a 2-0 victory against Kidderminster Harriers where the goals were scored in a two-minute spell,and with an overall tally offour wins, two draws and two defeats the side completed the month in 19^th position.During the monththe side had been further strengthened by the signing of Matt Haddrell, defender, from Vauxhall Motors and at the end of the month on-loan strikers Colin Little and John Miles joined the squad. The arrival of Little and Miles heralded the start of a six match unbeaten run.

Football League status was sealed during April and the Silkmen celebrated in style when they won the last match of the season 3-2 against Rochdale at the Moss Rose.With Rochdale leading 2-1 veteran striker John Askey was introduced from the substitutes' bench for his very last appearance for the Silkmen and in the 88^th minute levelled the scores with Matthew Tipton scoring the winning goal in the 90^th minute to secure 16^th position.And so John Askey's playing career for the Silkmen came to an end scoring in his last match as he done in his very first appearance in December 1984 at Morecambe. John had made over 650 appearances and scored over 150 goals in all competitions for Macclesfield Town.

2003 / 2004 - The start of the Horton era

Striker Martin Carruthers, midfielder David Flitcroft were signed in the close season and John Miles and Colin Little having been on loan, moved to the Moss Rose on a permanent basis.Youngsters Michael Carr and Steven Brackenridge were awarded their first professional contracts and just before the start of the season goalkeeper Boaz Myhill was signed on a three-month loan deal from Aston Villa. In addition, George Abbey gained his first international cap when he represented Nigeria in the African Nations Cup and John Askey was given the role of assistant manager. But there was disappointment when defender Darren Tinson moved to Shrewsbury Town having been a member of the squad since February 1996.With 297 appearances in all competitions, Darren still holds the Macclesfield Town record for the most number of appearances by any player since promotion to the Football League. And for the first time ever the Silkmen played on foreign soil when they made a pre-season tour to Norway.

Hopes of a better season were soon dashed having to wait until the last match of the month for a victory, but this was gained in fine style by 4-1 with two goals from Martin Carruthers and two from Danny Whitaker.And the same pattern occurred in September with just one victory in the last match of the month against Rochdale by 2-1 to leave the side in 18^th position. The misery continued in October with four league defeats and only one win at Carlisle by a single goal saw the side in 20^th position.After the 2-1 defeat by Southend at the Moss Rose at the end of October and at a time when the supporters were expressing their frustration, the board took the decision to dismiss manager David Moss appointing John Askey as his replacement.

John's first match in charge was an entertaining 2-2 draw at Hull City with Danny Whitaker scoring the 90^th minute equaliser. There continued to be a mixed bag of results with few wins although completely against the run of play there was a 4-0 demolition of Huddersfield Town in December with goals from Matthew Tipton (2), John Miles and Chris Priest. By the end of the year there was little improvement in the League position..

In Cup competitions, Sheffield United were 2-1 victors in the first round of the Carling Cup and for the seventh consecutive season the Silkman were knocked out of the LDV Vans Trophy at the first hurdle by Chesterfield. However, progression to the third round of the FA Cup was achieved again.There was a 3-0 win against Boston United in the first round and an exciting encounter against Cambridge United in the second round. At the Moss Rose Matthew Tipton put the Silkmen ahead in the 22^nd minute only to see Cambridge equalise a minute later but an heroic performance by Steve Wilson including saving two penalties ensured the score remained 1-1. In the replay the score was 1-1 again at full time but Matthew Tipton scored in extra time only to see Cambridge United equalise in the 119^th minute.With Steve Wilson in excellent form yet again, the Silkmen won the penalty shoot-out 4-2. An away tie in the third round at Swansea City saw a weakened Macclesfield side through suspensions, injury and illness exit the competition 2-1 with both the Swansea goals coming from Lee Trundle.

In the second half of the season John Askey strengthened the squad with the signings of defender Graham Potter, midfielder Paul Harsley, and forward Jon Parkin, all of whom were to make an impact at the Moss Rose once they had settled in. He also brought back former Silkmen favourite defender Steve Payne. After the win against Bristol Rovers in the middle of Januarythere were no other victories until, ironically, the 2-1 win against Swansea City at the Moss Rose in the middle of March but this was immediately followed by a 4-1 win at Kidderminster Harriers with two goals from Matthew Tipton and one each from Martin Carruthers and Paul Harsley. By the end of March only 39 points had been accumulated and the side were in the relegation zone in 23^rd position which resulted in John Askey returning to the position of assistant manager. Brain Horton, former manager at Port Vale and Manchester City, was appointed manager on 1 April with the brief to retain Macclesfield's Football League status in the remaining seven matches.

Three straight wins against York City (Jon Parkin scoring against his former employers), Leyton Orient and Rochdale saw the side climb to 18^th position. A draw against Hull City was followed by a defeat by a single goal at Scunthorpe but on the first Saturday in May the Silkman retained their Football League status in a bizarre match which they won 2-1 with both goals scored by the opposition which was fortunate as there was a defeat by 2-0 at Bury in their final match.Finishing in 20^th position Brian Horton had achieved what had looked an impossible task when he took over. The senior side finished top of the Nationwide Third Division Fair Play league.

The Youth team completed their season in seventh position in their League and fifth position in the Merit League but reached the third round of the FA Youth Cup for the first time. A first round victory by 3-2 against Blackpool saw the team travel to York City for the second round which they won 1-0 but Walsall won 2-1 at the Moss Rose in the third round, their winning goal coming from a penalty.