History
SILKMEN HISTORY
Macclesfield Football Club is a successor to Macclesfield Town FC which was founded back in 1874.
Macclesfield Town was liquidated and expelled from the National League in 2020 because of debts of over £500,000. Its assets were put up for sale – including the Moss Rose Stadium on the Rightmove property website.
In October 2020, the Stadium and all remaining assets were purchased by Robert Smethurst with the aim of returning professional football to Macclesfield by creating the phoenix Club, Macclesfield FC.
Smethurst appointed the Welsh former professional footballer Robbie Savage as Director of Football, with Silkmen legend Danny Whitaker ascending to the role of First Team Manager.
In addition to this, Smethurst also invested heavily in upgrading the Stadium to improve the commercial viability of the new Club. At the time of writing, the investment stands at over £4 million.
In May 2021, it was announced that Macclesfield FC would be placed in the NWCFL Premier Division for their inaugural season.
Robbie Savage also announced that the Club would be partnering with his Foundation in order to offer free tickets to all its participants in a bid to encourage youth attendance.
On 31 July 2021 Macclesfield FC played their first competitive match – a 1–0 home win against Burscough in the NWCFL Premier Division which was witnessed by 2,018 people.
Leon Arnasalam wrote his name into the history books that day, as he became Macclesfield FC’s first-ever goal scorer.
The Club’s first away match was on 3 August 2021. In what proved to be an encapsulating affair, four Tom Clare goals saw The Silkmen claim a share of the spoils in a 4 – 4 draw at Winsford United.
On 7 August 2021 Macclesfield FC played their first Emirates FA Cup match, beating Burscough 4–0 in the Extra Preliminary Round, but were then eliminated from the competition in the Preliminary Round losing 6 – 4 at Squires Gate.
On 11 September 2021, Macclesfield FC played in the Buildbase FA Vase for the first time – losing 3 – 2 at Northern Counties East League Premier Division side Winterton Rangers in the First Qualifying Round.
The Club was featured in a two-part BBC Sport documentary, entitled “Robbie Savage: Making Macclesfield” which was first broadcast on 13 November 2021 and has enjoyed over three million views to date.
In March 2022, Macclesfield FC became the first Club within the top nine tiers of English football to secure promotion.
An emphatic 4 – 0 victory against Ashton Athletic on 12 March clinched the title – with Danny Whitaker’s side ultimately finishing fifteen points clear of second-placed Skelmersdale United.
In addition to this, many of the Club’s other teams also enjoyed a vast amount of success during their debut season – with the Women’s First Team lifting the Cheshire Women’s & Youth Football League – Championship East title and the Under-16s side claiming a unique quadruple.
The following season saw a continuation of the Club’s exponential rise, as they secured the Northern Premier League – West Division title at the first time of asking.
Back-to-back promotions was sealed following a 3 – 1 home victory against Trafford on 1st April, with Macc going on to win the division by fourteen points.
Their success came at a price however, with Danny Whitaker relieved of his duties after a 2 – 0 home reversal against Guiseley in the Buildbase FA Trophy.
Former Warrington Rylands Manager David McNabb was installed as his successor, yet his tenure was to be short-lived before he stepped-down due to work commitments.
Neil Danns then took charge of First Team affairs – assisted by fellow player and former Premier League midfielder, Mark Duffy.
The Silkmen would enjoy a remarkable run that saw them unbeaten in their last twenty-two league matches as they stormed to the West Division title.
Skipper Laurent Mendy, together with Tre Pemberton, Neil Danns and James Berry were all named in the Northern Premier League – West Division Team of the Season at their prestigious end-of-season Awards Night.
Berry also claimed the Golden Boot and the Player of the Season Award to cap what was a sensational season – both on an individual and collective basis.
Macclesfield’s Women’s First Team also continued their successful start, by winning the League Cup and the Club also secured a whole array of accolades at youth level.
Going into the 2023/24 campaign, The Silkmen committed to keeping on their upward trajectory, with Mark Duffy taking over as Head Coach after Neil Danns departed for Tranmere Rovers over the summer.
Despite this, Duffy was relieved of his duties in October 2023 and was replaced by former Hull City and Ipswich Town defender Alex Bruce.
Bruce would take The Silkmen into the play-off places before departing for Salford City in February 2024 and was replaced by former Warrington Rylands Manager Michael Clegg.
Under Clegg, The Silkmen reached the Izusu FA Trophy semi-final, where they were narrowly beaten 2 – 1 by Vanarama National League side Gateshead.
Courtesy of finishing as runners-up in the Northern Premier League – Premier Division, The Silkmen also qualified for the play-offs.
After a 3 – 1 semi-final victory against Worksop Town, Macclesfield were denied promotion when they were defeated 2 – 1 by Marine at the Leasing.com Stadium.
Shortly after, Manager Michael Clegg stepped down from his role and was replaced by Robbie Savage.
The Club’s Women’s Team did secure yet another promotion, however, as they continued their progression up the football pyramid.
The 2024/25 campaign was a special one as The Silkmen won the Northern Premier League – Premier Division in convincing fashion, brushing off the heartbreak of the previous season’s play-off defeat.
Macclesfield secured their spot in the National League North courtesy of a comeback victory over Bamber Bridge on 22nd March, and with it became the first side in the top seven tiers to secure promotion.
The Silkmen would ultimately go on to win the league by a staggering 26 points, finishing the season with 12 consecutive victories.
Robbie Savage’s first season in management could not have gone any better, with his side smashing plenty of club records and breaking the all-time points record in the Northern Premier League with 109 points.
On July 1st, 2025, it was confirmed that Robbie Savage had departed his role as Head Coach to take up the vacant manager position at Enterprise National League side Forest Green Rovers.
Later the same day, we were delighted to announce that John Rooney would become Macclesfield FC manager, which ended an illustrious playing career.
It would be a rollercoaster of a first season in management for Rooney and assistant Francis Jeffers.
The season would provide one of the darkest days in the history of Macclesfield Football Club, as well as one of the greatest.
On Tuesday, 16th December 2025, The Silkmen travelled down to Bedford Town for a league fixture, but one player wouldn’t return home from the game.
Forward Ethan McLeod was tragically killed in a car accident on the M1 while travelling home from the Eyrie Stadium that night.
The footballing community came together to remember the life of McLeod, with the Silkmen subsequently retiring the Number 20 shirt in memory of Ethan.
Ethan will forever be in our hearts and will forever be our EM20.
2026 brought some special memories to the Leasing.com Stadium, none more prominent than those of Saturday 10th January.
The Silkmen welcomed Premier League side and current FA Cup Holders Crystal Palace in the Third Round of the competition.
Goals from Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts will be etched into the footballing history books for years to come as John Rooney’s side defeated The Eagles 2-1 on a special day in the history of the competition.
With 117 places separating the sides on the day, it will go down as the greatest shock in the history of the FA Cup, which saw the World’s Media flooding to cover the Silkmen’s story.
The Fourth Round saw another of England’s elite travel to Cheshire as Premier League Brentford were the next test for the record-breaking Silkmen.
Macc pushed The Bees all the way and eventually only lost by a solitary goal on another memorable day in which the Fifth Round draw was also held in Bar Twenty Seven.
League form had picked up in the second half of the campaign, with John Rooney’s side reaching the Enterprise National League North Play-Offs in their first season in the division.
Rooney was also recognised for his hard work on two separate occasions, winning the Enterprise National League North Manager of the Month in both January and March.
A 99th-minute winner from Luke Duffy saw past Chester in dramatic fashion in the eliminator before the Silkmen would ultimately lose out to eventual promotion winners Kidderminster Harriers in the Semi-Finals.