New Year, New Future?

By Jen Kelly on January 1, 2020

Jen Kelly – a.k.a. Cheshire’s Revenge / The Word Nerd – brings ilovemacc her own take on the highs and lows of The Silkmen

The life of a lower league football fan can be tough at the best of times.

Trying to compete with the big boys for media coverage and attempting to hold on to the players that might just be the difference between promotion and relegation. Standing on a cold terrace on a dark night, willing your team on through layers of warm clothing. Having the piss taken out of you by fans of more successful, more ‘sexy’ clubs.

As a Macc fan this year, it’s felt the toughest it’s ever, ever been.

For the more observant among you, you will have noticed that I’ve taken a short break from blogging over the festive season. In all honesty, I needed to give my brain a rest from it all. In fact, I needed a rest so badly that I spent Christmas 2,500 miles away in Tenerife. I know, it’s a hard life! But in all seriousness, I was so glad to put the miles in between me and the ongoing heartbreak unfolding at the Moss.

Argyle Agro

It’s almost as if someone has been digging through the depths of the footballing rule book, looking to find a new issue that Macc can fall foul of. Ahead of the Plymouth game a few days before Christmas, it was the turn of the Moss Rose itself to cause the problems.

Our wonderful little ground has been holding strong for a long time, in spite of the neglect it has long been subjected to. But the Plymouth game was one step too far for it, it seems. The safety certificate had expired and, in spite of the truly heroic efforts of the office staff and others, it became clear that the game was going to be the latest victim. A few Plymouth fans tried to suggest that it wasn’t fair on them but most expressed their solidarity and support for poor little Macclesfield Town.

Of course, if we’d have all listened to Captain Charisma, both sets of teams and fans would’ve turned up at the ground ready to play the fixture. Amar’s statement stinks of blind panic and complete lack of reality:

I am aware of press releases which suggest that tomorrow’s game against Plymouth Argyle has been postponed. I would like to state that we have never asked the EFL to play the game behind closed doors and as far as I am concerned, the game will be played as scheduled.
Some more utter tripe from the mouth of our fearless leader…

Thankfully, everyone ignored him. Seems like the best course of action these days.

Going fishing for Boxing Day

Another game, another few hours checking to see if it will actually go ahead. By this point I was sunning myself by the pool, but in the back of my mind I did wonder whether we’d have another casualty before the year was out. Thankfully, the MTFC elves had pulled off a Christmas miracle and the Grimsby game went ahead.

As is always the case when one of us misses a game, my dad dutifully texted me his match report at full time. Reporting from his seat in the Main Stand, having been shifted from the terraces to apparently save on stewarding, the word he used to summerise the game was ‘strange’. It’s probably the most suitable word to sum up the last 6 months. The rumour mill stated that the safety certificate problems were down to yet another bill not being paid, which not one person even raised an eyebrow at. Another week, another unpaid bill.

And another draw. The fact that we’re managing to pick up any points at all should be massively applauded. Every single point will be crucial if we’re to have any chance of fending off relegation at the end of the season. And that’s without the good old EFL kicking us when we’re well and truly down.

Forest Green Friends

With the 6 points deduction taking us down to 22nd ahead of the Plymouth non-game, it became brutally clear that every single kick of the ball was going to matter between now and May. Unfortunately, it was perhaps inevitable that we’d struggle down FGR. So the fact that it was only a 1-0 loss should be saluted, especially as some of our key talismen seem to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

In a move that reminds you why the footballing family can be truly brilliant, FGR donated the proceeds of their raffle to the SST hardship fund. It perhaps goes to show that every single person that has even a passing interest in football understands and sympathises with our plight. Thank you FGR, you don’t know how much your support is appreciated.

Softness aside though, a loss is not going to do anything for us at this point. All we could do was dust ourselves off and look towards the next challenge; Vale away on New Year’s Day.

It seems like the dust has been well and truly removed, at least for now.

Valiant at Vale

Try as I might, I couldn’t muster up the enthusiasm to make the trip to Burslem this afternoon. Full of a stinking cold (perhaps my punishment for sodding off to the sun for Christmas!), I decided to set up camp in front of the fire with a lemsip and iFollow for company.

Seems like I made the absolute wrong decision!

Not only did we give Vale a hell of a game, we really could’ve won it by all accounts. It’s great to see Ironside’s name on the scoresheet without the word ‘penalty’ next to it, and it sounded like our defence were still putting their absolute everything on the line for the cause.

Another point takes us to 20 as we stare into the new decade with a nervous disposition. Thankfully, Amar got it right on the final roll of the dice, and the wages landed on time at the 12th time of trying. Just goes to show he can manage it when he puts his mind to it! Or is the PFA that have made sure the money goes to its rightful owners this time around? Who knows, but I for one am so glad that our players and staff can at least fill their fridges and pay their bills this time around.

New Year, New Dawn?

2020 is going to be make or break for the Silkmen, there’s no doubt about it. Suggestions there are now three potential buyers complicate an already messy situation. Talk of players jumping ship is rife, with more stable vessels lining up with life jackets to throw to our boys in blue. One of those vessels is rumoured to be the good ship Sol, perhaps looking for some sweet revenge after Amar added his name to the long list of people he has monumentally shat on from a great height. And there’s also the potential of more punishment from the EFL that could drop at any time they fancy.

But look. New year is all about new starts and second chances. So maybe, just maybe, our second chance is just around the corner. There is no way of knowing if one of these potential buyers is the answer, or whether they are just going to hammer more nails in the ever collapsing MTFC coffin. There is certainly no way of knowing if Amar will even admit defeat and sell. For all we know, he could be planning to dig in his heels once more, and bury us in the football history books alongside, well, Bury. But we have to hold out hope that it’s all going to work out.

Because, without hope, what the hell have we got?

Happy New Year Silks.

#againstallodds https://thewordnerd.home.blog/