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 90th 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 23rd 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 90th 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 24th 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 23rd 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 83rd 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 16th minute but in 40th 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 22nd position. February was an excellent month for results with only one defeat and a move up to 20th 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 20th 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 22nd 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 22nd position with 48 points and live to fight another day in the Football League.In this final match Paul Ince made an 85th 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 90th 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 19th 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 22nd 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 19th 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 500th 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.
2008/09 - A frustrating time
Keith Alexander was rewarded with a two-year contract for his success in the final matches of the previous season. He released six players and signed left-back Ahmed Deen from St Albans, midfielder Lee Bell from Mansfield Town, striker Neil Harvey, who had been a prolific scorer at Retford Town, and veteran striker Simon Yeo.Defender Sean Hussey made his loan move permanent from Chester City and was appointed team captain.Midfielder Jamie Tolley also returned having initially been released.
There was a disappointing start to the season with a 4-0 defeat at Shrewsbury Town which set the scene for the month of August when no goals were scored, 14 goals were conceded and for the first time in their Football League history the Silkmen completed the month without gaining a single point.
Simon Yeo then kick-started the season scoring six goals in the next nine matches. In September the Silkmen won three matches and only lost one but frustratingly a 4-1 victory at Port Vale was followed by a defeat by the same margin at home to Exeter City.Inconsistency was the order of the day when only five further victories were recorded by the end of December. There were excellent victories, at home against Aldershot Town (4-2) and Chester City (3-1) and away against Barnet (3-1) and Chesterfield (4-2).But to counter these achievements there were heavy defeats against Wycombe Wanderers (0-4), Dagenham & Redbridge (0-4) and Morecambe (1-4), nevertheless a lower mid-table finish was achieved by the turn of the year.
The departure of two key players, midfielder Terry Dunfield and striker Martin Gritton, in the January transfer window without replacement had an adverse effect on results, with the Silkmen sliding down the table.In the second half of the season, notable victories came at home against Brentford (2-0) Shrewsbury Town (3-0) and Barnet (2-1), completing a rare season double over Barnet.In the end, the season fizzled out with the Silkmen finishing in 20th position but, at least, they had secured their Football League status following the 44th League match, marginally earlier than in recent seasons.
It had been impossible to field a settled side throughout the season initially because of the number of suspensions, and then injuries took their toll and with reliance on younger members of the squad it was necessary to rest them from time to time.
There was better news in Cup competitions.Championship side Blackpool were beaten 2-0 at the Moss Rose in the first round of the Carling Cup and in the second round at Upton Park, West Ham United were being held to a 1-1 draw at the end of 90 minutes.Unfortunately the Silkmen had to play the whole of extra time with only 10 men resulting in the Hammers winning the tie 4-1. The third round of the FA Cup was reached again, with Premier League side Everton visitors to the Moss Rose.Due to inclement weather there was a Herculean effort by many supporters, officials and professional firms to clear the pitch of snow and then thaw out the ground to ensure that the match could go ahead. A crowd of 6008 were treated to a fine encounter.It took a first half top-drawer strike by Leon Osman to win the tie for Everton and a brilliant save by 'keeper Tim Howard to deny the Silkmen a time added on equaliser.
Season 2009-10 - Farewell to Keith
It was all-change in the close season with 14 players leaving and a similar number signing resulting in a new-look team gaining a creditable 0-0 draw at Northampton in the first match of the season. This match saw the Silkmen become only second to Wycombe Wanderers for continuous membership of the Football league since automatic promotion was introduced. During the first three months only four victories were recorded - Port Vale (2-0), Torquay United (2-1), Darlington (1-0)and Cheltenham Town (2-1). In November there was a dearth of goals and only two points were gained leaving the side in 19th position.
Fortunes changed in December, after a defeat at Rochdale, goals started to flow with home wins against Hereford United (3-1) and Crewe Alexander (4-1) and a 2-2 away draw at Shrewsbury, the team finishing the year in 17th position. Hamza Bencherif sustained a broken ankle at Rochdale at a time when he was top-scorer and was a force to be reckoned with in midfield, resulting in him missing the remainder of the season.Hamza's injury was the prelude for other midfielders being injured, depleting the team of first choice players. Whilst younger members of the squad filled in well there was a knock-on effect with the reserve team often having to field a weakened side, although this gave useful experience to members of the youth team.In turn this impacted on the youth team who had to fall back on schoolboys. Nevertheless, for the first time the youth team progressed to the Northern Area Final of the Youth Alliance Cup, where they narrowly lost 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out against Stockport County.
The New Year saw the postponement of five consecutive matches due to severe weather conditions. Unfortunately, because of this enforced break, the team lost their momentum and only mustered five points, all from drawn matches, to the end of February leaving them in 21st position.
March started no better with a 1-0 defeat at Notts County but the team's league position was irrelevant when it was announced on 3 March that manager Keith Alexander had passed away suddenly at the age of 53. Hundreds of tributes poured into the club from all over the country from ordinary fans to well known personalities in the world of football. In addition there were many floral tributes on display at the Moss Rose.The following Saturday the Silkmen won 2-0 at Hereford and days later drew 1-1 at Accrington. At the following match there was a 2-0 home victory against Bury, before which there was a minute's silence, several wreaths were laid and 53 white doves were released. Such was Keith's standing that his funeral service was held in a packed Lincoln Cathedral.
Gary Simpson, Keith's long-time assistant, was appointed caretaker manager and with favourable results Gary was appointed manager in April. In fact of the 14 matches Gary was in charge he won six and drew four, guiding the team to an end-of-season 19th league position.
There was no good fortune in the major cup competitions, with the Silkmen falling at the first hurdle in each competition.
Geoff Knights
