2004 / 2005 - The Play offs

Brian Horton signed a five-year rolling contract with John Askey remaining as his assistant. Early signings included defender Michael Briscoe from Coventry City, experienced 'keeper Alan Fettis, experienced defender Tony Barras, veteran forward Mike Sheron and Ian Brightwell who was appointed reserve team manager. Amongst those players released during the close season were George Abbey, Karl Munroe, Chris Priest and Martin Carruthers. The Football Leagues were renamed with Division Three becoming the Coca-Cola League Two.

There was a wonderful start to the season with three straight victories against Leyton Orient, Shrewsbury Town and Swansea City taking the Silkmen to the top of the table but two drawn matches saw them end the month in fifth position. Jon Parkin had an electric start to his season scoring five league goals in the month.

And so the scene was set for the best season the Silkmen had experienced since their first season as members of the Football League but not without encountering a few problems along the way. Results in September ensured that only one place was lost in the League table but disappointing defeats in local derbys at Bury and Rochdale saw the side slip to 10th position by mid-October. But after wins against Yeovil, Oxford and a draw with Cambridge, the Silkmen returned to sixth position.

November and December saw Jon Parkin regularly on the score sheet and a consistent set of results including wins against Rushden & Diamonds (2-0), Lincoln City (2-1), and Wycombe Wanderers (2-1). In the Wycombe match, the Silkmen were leading 1-0 only to see Wycombe equalise in the 90th minute but such was the form of the team thaton-loan Alan Navarro snatched the winner only seconds from the end of the match. By the end of the year the side were in a healthy fifth position.During December left-back/left side midfielder Kevin McIntyre was signed from Chester City.

In the first round of the Carling Cup, Hull were the victors by 2-1, but Jon Parkin was on the score sheet again.The first round of the LDV Vans Trophy saw Macclesfield's first ever win (in eight seasons) when they overcame Chesterfield 2-1.This was followed by a 4-0 demolition of Mansfield Town which included a further two goals by Jon Parkin.This match was a significant milestone in Brian Horton's managerial career when it became his 1000th career managerial match, a landmark which only 11 managers had achieved before Brian.A strong and well organised Tranmere Rovers side won the third round by a single goal.

The New Year started badly with defeats by Chester City and Darlington. Central defender Danny Swailes was signed from Bury for club record transfer fee of £40,000 and another central defender Dave Morley was signed from Doncaster for a fee of £15,000 which triggered a run of eight consecutive league matches without defeat, a club record since promotion to the Football League. Highlights included a 5-0 defeat of Notts County with Jon Parkin scoring a hat-trick, a 3-1 win against Yeovil Town with full-back Graham Potter scoring twice anda Matthew Tipton hat-trick in the 3-0 win against Rochdale.This fine set of results lifted the side to third in the table.

The first match in March, against Northampton Town, was Macclesfield's 4000th competitive League matchsince the inception of the club, but the automatic promotion place could not be maintained and with only two wins in March, the best against Leyton Orient (3-1), and top-scorer Jon Parkin dismissed for violent conduct at Swansea, the side dropped back into the play-off positions. April was a poor month for results with only one win, but victory against Rushden and Diamonds by a Jon Parkin goal on the last day of the season saw the Silkmen finish in fifth position reaching the play-offs for the first time.

Lincoln, with Keith Alexander as manager, won the first leg of the semi-final by a single goal. In the second leg Lincoln stretched their lead further when they score in the 15th minute leaving Macclesfield with an uphill task.But the introduction of Danny Whitaker and John Miles during the second half gave Macclesfield more impetus and following a Paul Harsley goal in the 76th minute Macclesfield assaulted the Lincoln goal but the just could not find the equaliser.

Overall a successful season although the ending was rather frustrating. Jon Parkin was the top scorer with 26 goals in all competitions, which remains a club Football League record.

2005 / 06 - Alarm bells

There were some surprises when the list of players released was announced including Matthew Carragher, Graham Potter, and Steve Wilson with Matthew Tipton and Michael Welchmoving to other clubs at the same time.Initial replacements included David Beresford (Tranmere Rovers), Martin Bullock (Blackpool), Kevin Sandwith (Lincoln City) and Kevin Townson (Rochdale).

With Matthew Tipton released and Jon Parkin out of action having been injured in a pre-season match against Manchester City, there was a slow start to the season. Leyton Orient were the opponents on the opening day for the second consecutive season but the Silkmen were defeated in the 90th minute which seemed to set the stage for the season. The match scheduled for 13th August at the Moss Rose against Rushden & Diamonds had to be postponed following a deluge which left one corner of the pitch flooded.

Success was hard to come by and victories were scarce.In August there was two wins against Bury and Barnet and in September a solitary victory, 3-1 against Rushden & Diamonds. Then there was a wait until the last Saturday in October before another victory came along, this time against Bristol Rovers leaving the Silkmen languishing in 23rd position. Alan Navarro (previously on loan) was signed from Accrington Stanley andexperienced striker Clyde Wijnhardmoved on loan from Darlington.

There was good news when Jon Parkin returned to action at the beginning of November and commencing with a 1-0 win at Darlington on 19th November the Silkmen started a 10 match unbeaten record in all competitions to set a club Football League record. Victories in the Football League Trophy (see later) counted towards the record but five consecutive league draws were followed by the club's biggest Football League win against Stockport Countyby 6-0 on Boxing Day with goals from Clyde Wijnhard (2), Jon Parkin (2) Martin Bullock and John Miles. A single Kevin McIntyre goal saw victory over Chester City and the New Year started with a dramatic 5-4 win at Wycombe Wanderers. In this match Macclesfield went three goals up in the first 13 minutes only to see the home side draw level and then take the lead through a David Morley own goal, but a minute later Jon Parkin levelled the scores and four minutes later he scored the winner.

In the Carling Cup there was a superb 3-2 victory at Nottingham Forest in the first round.Drawn away at Cardiff in the second round saw the Silkmen take the lead in the fifth minute but Cardiff proved the stronger side in the second half scoring two goals to win the tie. In the first round of the FA Cup the Silkmen faced a fast flowing Yeovil side and did well to hold them to a 1-1 draw at the Moss Rose.Yeovil easily won the replay by 4-1.

However, in contrast to indifferent league form the Silkmen enjoyed their best run in the Football League Trophy which had been renamed on the demise of LDV Vans. Yet again Chesterfield were the opponents in the first round, but on this occasions the Silkmen won 2-0 but only in front of a crowd of 796. An away win at Rotherham with goals from Jon Parkin and a brilliant free-kick from Kevin Sandwith saw a second round victory by 2-1 to reach the Northern Area Quarter Final which saw a 4-2 victory against Cambridge United at the Moss Rose. The Northern Area semi-final saw another home tie, on this occasion Hereford United, who were defeated by 2-0. The Northern Area final was played over two legs, the first at Carlisle who won the leg 2-1 through a 90th minute goal. In the second leg Macclesfield were 2-0 up in the first half hour but Carlisle pulled a goal back before half time to leave the tie evenly balanced with an aggregate score of 3-3,both sides having scored an away goal. There were no goals in the second half but in extra time Carlisle took the lead with a precious second away goal although Kevin Townson scored in the 120th minute to give the Silkmena second leg win by 3-2. However, with a final aggregate score of 4-4 including two away goals, Carlisle went through to the final.Macclesfield had missed an appearance at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff by a whisker.

Early in the New Year Jon Parkin scored his last goal for the Silkmen in the 3-1 defeat at Boston United . Five days later he moved to Hull City for an undisclosed fee. January saw the Silkmen finish the month in 17th position after ironically beating Carlisle 3-0. There was sadness around the club when it was announced that former physio and more recently assistant physio, Eric Campbell had died.Eric was a real character who loved refereeing the training 5-a-side matches when he would give some questionable decisions on purpose. Later the home dressing room was named as 'The Eric Campbell Dressing Room' in his memory.

Results continued to be mixed with the side slipping to 19th position in April but a draw at Grimsby Town saw them rise one place to 18th in the penultimate match.But the Silkmen retained their Football league status witha 3-2 win over Bristol Rovers in the last match of the season with striker Marcus Richardson, who had only been signed on loan from Chester City in March, the hero scoring two goals including an 89th minute winner.

Off the pitch alarm bells rang when in December 2005 the Football Association levied a fine of £62,000 and ordered them to repay £195,000 to the Football Foundation following an investigation into the financing of the McAlpine stand, with the Football Foundation repayment to be made by the end of January 2006. A 'Save Our Silkmen' Appeal was launched with the owners setting the ball rolling with a contribution of £30,000. The fans were galvanised into action raising funds through various means including sponsored activities, donations and collections. In addition, a Fans United Day and an All Stars versus Macclesfield Legends football match were held. By the end of February 2006 £128,500 had been raised.In the meantime there had been successful negotiations to extend the initial repayment dates and £130,000 was repaid to the Football Foundation in February with the balance to be paid by the end of 2006, and it was agreed that the FA fine would be repaid in instalments by the end of 2008.