2006-2007 Chelsea

Throughout this season there was a significant turnover of players.In the summer of 2006 players leaving the club included Michael Briscoe, Alan Fettis, Paul Harsley, Kevin Sandwith, Kevin Townson, Clyde Wijnhard and Danny Whitaker. Moving into the club saw loanees from the previous season, Matty McNeil and Tommy Lee, sign permanent contracts, and other major signings were Jonny Brain, Carl Regan, Jimmy McNulty and Jamie Tolley.

The season got off to the worst possible start with a 4-0 defeat at Darlington followed by the only 'success' of the month, a goalless draw against Hartlepool, which was followed by three defeats.In an attempt to change the fortunes of the side, Brian Horton drafted in former Silkman Matthew Tipton on loan, young striker Spencer Weir-Daley from Nottingham Forest and defender Rob Scott. September proved to be another month without a win with the only points coming from three drawn matches.The home match against Barnet set the scene for the season where the Silkman had equalised at 2-2 only to see Barnet score the winning goal.Again against Torquay the Silkmen had a 2-1 lead only to see the visitors take a 3-2 lead, but on this occasion Danny Swailes equalised in the 90^th minute. Following a 1-0 defeat at Hereford United, having only gained a total of four league points and firmly rooted to the bottom of the table seven points adrift of 23^rd place, the directors dismissed Brian Horton as manager.Ian Brightwell was appointed acting manager but during his short tenure he did not fare any better with one draw and three defeats.

On 23 October former England captain Paul Ince was appointed manager, his first managerial appointment. Ray Mathias was appointed assistant manager and Duncan Russell fitness coach.Paul lost no time in making his first signing when striker John Murphy came on loan from Blackpool and a week later Simon Wiles also came on loan from Blackpool. Initial results continued in the same vein.In his first match Mansfield Town won3-2with a 90^th minute goal, there was a goalless draw at Wrexham, a goalless draw in the first round of the FA Cup against Walsall (see later) and a 3-2 defeat by Boston United. However, the 1-0 win at Walsall in the FA Cup first round replay saw the end of a 21-match run without a win and the start of a 10-match unbeaten run in all competitions to equal the club Football League record set the previous season. But on the down side, in the following match at Stockport, in a collision Jonny Brain and Andrew Teague both broke a leg.To make matters worse on-loan Simon Wiles was stretchered off. The following week during training Jimmy McNulty also broke a leg.

The first match in December saw the Silkmen win their first League match of the season by a single Matty McNeil goal against Rochdale but with only 10 points on the board the side remained in 24^th position. The second League win of the season came in the next match with a 2-1 victory over Notts County and there were further wins against Swindon Town, Chester City and Torquay Inuted.An unbelievable 16 points had been earned during December and with a total of 23 points the Silkmen were in 23^rd position. In the meantime in Cup competitions, Leicester City were the victors in the first round of the Carling Cup and Stockport County knocked the Silkmen out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in the first round.

But there was great excitement in the FA Cup. As previously mentioned, there was a goalless draw at the Moss Rose against Walsall in the first round but Jimmy McNulty's 83^rd minute goal in the replay saw the Silkmen progress to the second round. A Kevin McIntyre penalty and a John Murphy header ensured a 2-1 victory against Hartlepool at the Moss Rose.In the draw for the third round there were only four balls remaining with Chelsea drawn next and then Macclesfield to set up the most exciting FA Cup tie since the match against Fulham in the 1967/1968 season. There was tremendous pre-match build-up which included extensive media coverage, a Radio 5 live broadcast from the McIlroy Suite, Betbrokers offering £1M if the Silkmen won, reduced ticket prices and the club laying on free coach transport..

The day began at Lyme Green where thousands of fans were milling around trying to find their designated coach, Betbrokers handing out flags and television cameras both on and off coaches. Arriving in London some fans made for the hostelries on the King's Road whereas others made their way directly to Stamford Bridge. The match was a sell-out with the crowd of 41434, the largest crowd that a Silkmen side had ever played in front of, including 4887 Macclesfield fans. Frank Lampard opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 16^th minute but in 40^th minute Ricardo Carvalho failed to clear the ball leaving big John Murphy clear on goal sending his shot through the legs of the diving Hilario to equalise for the Silkmen much to the delight of the travelling supporters. But the joy was short lived when in the next minute Frank Lampard restored the lead for Chelsea and so the score remained 2-1 at half time.But disaster struck early in the second half when Andrei Shevchenko appeared to stumble into Tommy Lee, but the referee judged that Tommy Lee had fouled Shevchenko, awarded a penalty and dismissed Lee. With no 'keeper on the bench, captain Dave Morley took over the gloves and as they say the restis history with Chelsea winning 6-1.To make matters worse the Silkmen finished the match with only nine men when John Miles was injured and could not continue.Nevertheless this had been a fantastic day out and one which will be remembered for years to come.

But it was back to the League where the priority was retention of Football League status. January saw the side move out of the relegation zone for the first time in the season following a 3-0 win against Hereford but two defeats saw a month end finish in 22^nd position. February was an excellent month for results with only one defeat and a move up to 20^th position.By now everyone believed that relegation was no longer a foregone conclusion. March saw two defeats, two draws and only one victory against Mansfield Town but 20^th position was retained.

April saw the nerves starting to jangle again with three straight defeats at the end of the monthagainst Rochdale (5-0), Bristol Rovers (1-0) and Accrington Stanley (3-2)and 22^nd position seemed precarious sitting only one point above Boston United and one point below Wrexham although Wrexham and Boston had to play each other in the final match.On the last day late goals gave Wrexham a 3-1 victory and a 1-1 draw at the Moss Rose against Notts County saw Macclesfield complete the season in 22^nd position with 48 points and live to fight another day in the Football League.In this final match Paul Ince made an 85^th minute appearance from the substitutes' bench and even got himself cautioned by the referee.One outstanding performance of the season came from Kevin McIntyre who scored nine consecutive penalties.

2007-2008 Another Relegation Battle

The omens looked bad even in summer when it was announced that manager Paul Ince was moving to MK Dons leaving his successor, Ian Brightwell, little time to build a squad. Asa Hartford became assistant manager. In the end there were eleven summer signings including Maltese defender Luke Dimech, strikers Martin Gritton and Francis Green, experienced defender Richard Edgehill and midfielder Terry Dunfield.Players leaving the club included Martin Bullock, John Miles, Matty McNeil, John Murphy, Alan Navarro and Danny Swailes, the latter two moving to MK Dons.

August saw three drawn matches with Macclesfield having taken the lead in all three encounters, the most disappointing came against MK Dons when the Silkmen were leading 3-1 only to see MK Dons equalise in the 90^th minute. However, September saw the first league win of the season at Hereford by a single goal which had come some three months earlier than the previous season. Victories were hard to come by but the 3-2 win against Wrexham saw the Silkmen scoring twice during additional time. A resounding 5-0 defeat at Mansfieldat the beginning of November was a low point but this was followed by victories against Brentford (1-0) and Notts County (1-0), however, the number of drawn matches continued to increase and by the end of December the side were in 19^th position with 23 points.

In the Carling Cup, Leeds triumphed in the first round by a single goal but in the first round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy a penalty gave the Silkmen victory at Wrexham, but the Silkmen were knocked out in the second round by Stockport County. In the first round of the FA Cup there was a disappointing 3-1 defeat at non-League Rushden & Diamonds.

The January transfer window saw Ian Brightwell bring in a further five players, all on loan but Jimmy McNulty left for Stockport County and Carl Regan went to MK Dons. Despite the influx of players the New Year started in the same manner with two defeats and two draws and after six straight defeats in February Ian Brightwell and Asa Hartford were dismissed at a time when the side were in 22^nd position and the teams below them, Mansfield Town and Wrexham, had games in hand.

Keith Alexander, former Lincoln City manager, was appointed as manager with Gary Smith as his assistant with the brief to ensure that Football League status was retained in the remaining 12 matches.In the end a total of 19 points were earned with wins against Dagenham & Redbridge (1-0), Shrewsbury Town (2-1), Barnet (3-0), Accrington Stanley (2-1) and Chesterfield (1-0) with Football League status retained in the penultimate match.After a goalless draw at Chester City in the final match the Silkmen completed the season in 19^th position with a tally of 50 points.

One milestone of note took place in March when the match against Barnet at the Moss Rose became the Silkmen's 500^th consecutive League match, a landmark which only two other clubs had achieved since automatic promotion from the Conference was introduced.

With John Askey in charge as manager, the Youth team enjoyed a very successful season finishing in fourth place in the Puma Youth Alliance North West Conference and reached the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup for the first time. In the first round they beat Bradford City 2-1, Rotherham 2-1 in the second round, Blackpool 3-2 in the third round before bowing out at Sunderland by 2-1.