Macclesfield FC - The Journey So Far...

Photograph: Courtesy of BBC iPlayer

'Robbie Savage: Making Macclesfield FC' is a documentary currently airing on BBC iPlayer that looks at how ex-Premier League footballer Robbie Savage and businessman, Robert Smethurst, were able to rebuild a football club for the town of Macclesfield, after Macclesfield Town FC was officially wound up in September 2020. But where exactly did it all go wrong for the Silkmen and how did they go from having no club to now being crowned champions of the 2021/22 North West Counties Premier Division?

The town of Macclesfield in East Cheshire has had a football club since 1874. Throughout its 146 years old history, the football club has provided many happy memories for its community-driven fanbase collecting many honours along the way including 3 FA Trophies, 3 National League Championships and 21 Cheshire Senior Cups. Local supporters of the Silkmen also enjoyed watching their team compete in the Football League for 12 seasons between 1997 and 2020.

It's safe to say that whilst it is devastating for a football fan to watch their team lose a cup final in the last minute or suffer the burden of relegation, quite possibly the worst thing that could happen to a football fan is for their club to simply be no more. This is what happened to Macclesfield Town FC in September 2020.

The first signs of financial issues came in early 2019 when players did not receive payment for three months. This led to a first winding-up order being issued against the club, yet the hearing for this was adjourned 11 different times. The club manager at the time, Sol Campbell, claimed to be owed £180,000 in total by the club and parted ways with them by mutual consent in August 2019. Just two months after Campbell's departure, players again claimed failures of being paid on time. This led to the EFL conducting a formal investigation into why the club was struggling to pay its staff. The conclusion of this investigation meant that the Silkmen were charged with misconduct by the EFL, which would be followed by a points deduction in December. This was due to players refusing to train and play in games as they continued to still be owed money by the club's owners.

After more fixture postponements, interventions from the EFL and now also the PFA, in April it was reported that the club had once again failed to pay its players for the fifth time. In the same month, players, backroom staff and most office staff were furloughed as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic. A further seven points were deducted from Macclesfield in May as a result of not being able to fulfil a fixture against Plymouth in December 2019. The beginning of June then saw the club hit with further misconduct charges from the EFL.

After further suspended point deductions became activated, Macclesfield Town was relegated to the National League in August 2020, with Stevenage reprieving their Football League status. A 12th adjournment was given to the club when a takeover from Robert Benwell was reported to be at an "advanced stage".

Yet, after months of financial struggle behind the scenes at the club, eventually, Macclesfield Town FC was legally identified as unable to repay its debts within a reasonable period. With debts totalling over half a million pounds, Macclesfield Town FC was pushed into liquidation on the 16th of September 2020. Despite efforts to save the club by The Silkmen Supporters' Trust, the club was suspended by the National League on the 20th of September, before being officially expelled from the League on the 12th of October. Macclesfield Town FC was officially no more.

A day after the club's expulsion from the National League, local businessman Robert Smethurst bought the assets of the liquidated club. The BBC iPlayer documentary details the journey of Smethurst purchasing the assets and Robbie Savage becoming Director of Football at the club, looking at how the pair managed to get a new club up and running and entered into the North West Counties Premier Division (The ninth tier of English football).

Smethurst's business plan to revive the club revolved around completely refurbishing the stadium, installing a new bar and gym at Moss Rose and utilising revenue from these in order to help fund the first team. In addition, Smethurst had a 3G pitch laid down in place of a traditional grass pitch. This was so that the pitch can be used by all of the community and not just the first team. The new pitch was projected to bring in an additional £200,000 in revenue a year. Moss Rose was also renamed "The Leasing.com Stadium", as Macclesfield FC secured a three-year stadium sponsorship deal with the car leasing comparison site.

Club legend Danny Whittaker was appointed as player-manager. Alongside Savage, he had the task of picking a squad to then compete in the 2021/22 North West Counties Premier Division. Four weeks before the start of the season, the club finally signed their first few players to kick off this brand new era at Macclesfield.

During the documentary, Smethurst and Savage detail the tough and strenuous process it has been building a football club, and the sacrifices they've had to make in their personal lives in order to make Macclesfield FC happen. 318 days after Macclesfield Town FC was liquidated, the new and reformed Macclesfield FC participated in its first league game and got off to a winning start in a 1-0 win over Burscough. Fast forward to March 2021, and the Silkmen fulfilled Smethurst and Savage's desperate aspirations of securing promotion to the 8th tier of English football within their first season, with a 4-0 win against Ashton Athletic.

You can watch the full 2-part documentary here, to really see what it took for Robbie Savage and Robert Smethurst to build a title-winning football club in just nine months.

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