Calamity on the coast - the inquest
5-1 thrashing v Fylde dissected
Welcome to this latest edition of the Silkmen News as we attempt to make sense of what happened at Fylde - what went wrong last night, the need for some perspective and patience, plus some insight into where the team’s real problems rest.
John Rooney’s men came crashing down to reality with a bump after a sobering 5-1 hammering at AFC Fylde in a game in which Macclesfield were run ragged and totally outclassed by a livelier and hungrier home side who picked us apart at will.
Although the Silkmen have put together a fine nine-match unbeaten sequence (8 wins and 1 draw, including going five unbeaten in the league), only one of those results had been achieved on the road - a 1-0 away victory at bottom-of-the-table Leamington.
Second-placed Fylde was therefore seen as a more accurate barometer of our ability to get results on our travels against a promotional rival. And, in all honesty, the team and coaches failed their acid test miserably as the below stats highlight. I’m not going to descend into a match report - you can find those details elsewhere - however I will provide a comprehensive take on where our issues lay.
Match stats
Shots on target: Fylde 12, Macc 1
Shots off target: Fylde 7, Macc 2
Corners: Fylde 5, Macc 1
‘Invincible’ Fylde
Fylde might be flying high in second place in the table behind South Shields, but their patchy home form offered real cause for optimism for a fresh Silkmen team who were unbeaten in five league games (winning 4).
Fylde were also without experienced trio Ryan Colclough (winger), Danny Mayor (attacking midfielder) and Chris Merrie (defensive midfielder). In addition, top scorer Danny Ormerod had gone five games without a goal.
I’m not suggesting they were there for the taking, but nor do I think the Coasters are a shoe-in for promotion either.
Until last night Fylde had lost their previous home games against Buxton and South Shields. Fylde’s home league record now stands at won 5, drawn 2, lost 3,
In contrast Fylde have the best away record in the NLN, winning 8 and losing 1 of their 9 fixtures on the road
Fylde have failed to keep a clean sheet in 9 of their 10 games at home, and in none of their last 7 home games
Fylde have also conceded the joint highest number of goals (17) at home in the NLN, level with third-placed Merthyr Town
Player ratings
Dearnley 6 - can’t blame him for any of Fylde’s goals, although he seemed fortunate on their disallowed effort in the second half when getting bullied on a corner. Made one smart save low down from dangerman Thomas.
Fensome 5.5 - had a tough night up against winger Ustabasi. Lost Ormerod on the corner for Fylde’s opener and fell awkwardly in the build-up to Fylde’s second. Withdrawn soon afterwards, hopefully as a precaution as he had regained his feet and was prepared to play on
Heathcote 6 - too slow in and out of possession. Long balls out of defence were mostly inaccurate tonight as he only completed six out of 17 passes to a blue shirt.
Menayese 8 - excellent. Took on Fylde almost on his own with several key blocks and clearances - won 8 out of 13 ground duels, 6 out 11 aerial duels, made 19 recoveries and 6 interceptions. It was also Rollin’s pressing in the build-up which led to Elliott winning the penalty following Lacey’s cross. Menayese’s best two performances have come against South Shields and Fylde. Needs better help alongside him.
Lacey 6 - presumably picked ahead of Lee for his free-kick and corner deliveries, except they were terrible last night. Started the game well with some good tackles, then struggled. Did put in one decent cross which resulted in Elliott’s penalty and had a tame effort saved from 20 yards.
Dawson 5 - sent off after two yellows, both avoidable. The first one was needless as the ref had already given us a free-kick for a foul on Mellor. The second yellow late on was sheer petulance / frustration - silly lad, now banned for Slough.
Needs a rest and his overdue hernia operation which has been put on hold since September! Has been one of our best players recently - Totton and Peterborough Sports to name two. And last night he was the only player to show any quality when clipping a delightful through ball into Duffy which culminated in the subsequently overturned penalty.
The game was already lost at 3-1 when Dawson, yet again, lost his head in his latest show of indiscipline. He shouldn’t have lost his head, but neither should his teammates have downed tools. Was always an accident waiting to happen and Rooney should have hooked him to protect Dawson from his own stupidity.
Edmondson 5 - hasn’t been the success many hoped he would be in his second loan spell from Blackburn. Still only 20 and a talented lad learning his trade, but one whose limitations are becoming more apparent.
Lucky to stay on the pitch last night after avoiding a second yellow when the referee wrongly identified Heathcote as the culprit for Fylde’s penalty. Edmondson is a good ‘on top’ player when allowed to settle into a groove. But defensively he struggles when pressed, often turning over possession in dangerous areas and he lacks the mobility and strength to adequately protect our back four when the team is under pressure. Last night he was dribbled past on three occasions and won only 2 of 13 ground duels.
Johnson 6 - harshly scapegoated by Rooney and substituted at half-time. Barely involved from an attacking aspect, but he was still working hard for the team as evidenced when he tracked back several yards to thwart Ustabasi in a sprint.
Mellor 5 - totally ineffective in four separate positions - attacking midfield, upfront, right wing back and left wing back. Costly error when conceding possession which ultimately led to the corner from which Fylde took the lead from.
A tireless grafter but no longer influential in the National League North as a creative midfielder. Last night he made just nine passes in Fylde’s half and just 21 in total throughout the entire game.
Duffy 6 - harshly hooked at half-time despite being the only Macclesfield player to show any sign of attacking flair. Won the penalty that was later overturned. Needs a run in the side, especially given Josh Kay’s absence. Duffy would surely have been more effective behind the strikers than sub Max Woltman. A baffling decision by Rooney.
Elliott 6.5 - zero service but scored a well taken penalty for his 10th league goal of the season.
Subs:
Rogers 6 - the Wigan loanee did ok in central midfield when making his debut in difficult circumstances. Decent positional awareness and movement, willing to put his foot in. Looks more natural as a defender but promising nonetheless.
Woltman 5.5 - came on with Rogers at half time in the hole just behind the strikers. Industrious but struggled to get on the ball and made little impression.
Buckley-Ricketts 5.5 - replaced the injured Fensome at right-back. Tried his best in an unfamiliar position without making any attacking headway.
McLeod - no rating. On for Lacey with 15 to go. Flashed one header wide but generally poor hold-up play.
Griffiths - no rating. On for Edmondson. Becoming a boo boy target but he simply isn’t a creative, progressive midfielder and never has been during his career.
Bad nights at the office are common in the National League North
I’m not trying to deflect from a woeful Silkmen performance. However, it’s worth pointing out that other teams in the National League North have been guilty to having off nights in a division where anyone can beat anyone.
AFC Fylde
Lost 3-2 at home to Worksop
Merthyr Town
Lost 4-0 away at King’s Lynn
Lost 5-0 at home to Radcliffe
Lost 6-4 away at Spennymoor
Marine
Lost 4-1 at home to Darlington
Lost 4-1 at home to Radcliffe
Lost 4-0 at home to Curzon Ashton
Radcliffe
Lost 3-0 away at Peterborough Sports
Lost 2-0 away at Southport
Kidderminster
Lost 5–1 at home to Radcliffe
King’s Lynn
Lost 4-0 away at Chorley
Spennymoor
Lost 5-0 at home to King’s Lynn
Lost 5-0 at home to Fylde
There are other examples I could illustrate from this crazy league, but you’ll get the jist. As infuriating as last night was, it’s the first time Macc have been put to the sword this season and it may not be the last!
Rooney loses the plot but deserves support
Both tactically and emotionally John Rooney lost the plot for the first time in his fledgling managerial career against Fylde. After an abysmal first half, Rooney made two surprising changes at half-time. Our only attacking threats - Luke Duffy and Justin Johnson were withdrawn and replaced by youngsters Jack Rogers and Max Woltman.
Rooney elected to leave on both Edmondson and Dawson who had been cautioned, switching to a 3-4-1-2 formation with Heathcote, Dawson and Menayese the three centre halves, Fensome and Lacey as wingbacks, Rogers and Edmondson as the midfield anchors, and Woltman in the hole behind a front pairing of Mellor and Elliott.
No matter what Rooney tried last night, Macclesfield simply got overrun and were too slow and predictable against a quicker more enterprising Fylde team.
I’m not sure of Rooney’s logic in hooking Duffy and Johnson. Given we almost ‘won’ a penalty on the stroke of half-time, surely it would have been more sensible to have given the team 10 minutes at the start of the second half to see if they could gain a foothold in the match? And in changing formation, wouldn’t Duffy have been more effective in the attacking midfield berth in preference to the rather raw Woltman? And why wasn’t Brandon Lee brought on to replace Lacey at wing-back?
Roons classed last night’s calamity as a bad night at the office against a fitter, full-time Fylde side. Bullshit. Macc hadn’t played a league game for 10 days and should have been fresher against the home side who had played against Buxton on Saturday. Furthermore, the Silkmen’s fitness has never been in doubt this season. In fact, we’ve scored more goals (seven) between 76 and 90 minutes compared to any other 15 minute sequence in the league which is testimony to the team’s stamina and ability to play until the final whistle.
In Rooney’s defence, he is learning on the job and has shown that he is capable of making tactical improvements. He has endeavoured to push our full-backs further forward to play in the opposition’s half. He recognised that Josh Kay is more effective in an advanced midfield role, switching D’Mani Mellor to the right of midfield where he’s generally been more involved.
I’m sure he’ll learn a lot about himself and the team in the wake of the Fylde debacle and we must now see if he can put things right.
The three penalties
I’ve watched it back several times and I can’t understand why Duffy’s penalty decision was overturned. He was clearly taken out by goalkeeper Zak Jones but the referee, influenced by his assistant, instead gave a corner. Surely if he didn’t think it was a penalty then Duffy should have been booked for simulation.
As for Macclesfield’s eventual penalty which Elliott converted, I think you can make an argument for and against it being given. Fylde defender Whelan got to the ball first from Lacey’s cross but took out Elliott in doing so and, more often than not, referees will always point to the spot in those instances.
In contrast, I think Fylde were somewhat fortunate to be handed their own penalty two minutes later in a crucial time in the game. McFayden drove into the box and Edmondson cut across him to try and intervene and the Fylde player launched himself to the ground with seemingly minimal contact. The referee didn’t hesitate in awarding the spot kick, which was somewhat ironic given how long he deliberated over Duffy’s in the first half.
Did the penalty decisions alter the course of the game? Probably not - Fylde were simply the better side. However had Macclesfield gone in 1-1 at the break who knows how this might have changed the dynamic of the second half? And indeed, had the referee waved away Fylde’s penalty appeal instead of awarding it, the Silkmen still had 20 minutes to draw level and have scored late in many games already this season as mentioned above.
Dawson IS a problem, but isn’t THE problem
I don’t wish to dwell too much on Dawson’s sending off as I feel this will distract from the team’s main issues. Yes, our captain once again should have kept his head and set a better example, but surely Rooney should have known the red mist was about to descend as Dawson became increasingly agitated?
Rightly or wrongly given his history, why didn’t Rooney take the pragmatic approach and remove Dawson out of the firing line with the game effectively over at 3-1?
As for stripping Dawson of the captaincy…. who is going to take his place? Lewis Fensome at a push maybe, but even Fenners lacks the same authority as Daws. The truth is the squad lacks any obvious leaders and vocal presence on the pitch. That doesn’t mean that Dawson’s latest brush with the law should go unpunished, but it does mean that Rooney has to address this problem and our general lack of energy and authority in midfield urgently.
We don’t ask enough questions away from home
Generally Macclesfield’s away form has flattered to deceive this season - won 2 (Southport and Leamington), drawn 2 (Kidderminster and Spennymoor) and lost 3 (Oxford City, Chorley and Fylde).
Apart from at struggling Leamington and a fifteen minute spell against Chorley, we generally look devoid of attacking ideas on opposition’s grounds and struggle to create any clear cut chances, despite generally dominating possession. Take a look at the below stats as evidence.
Fylde - 47% possession, 2 shots, 1 on target
Leamington - 64% possession, 20 shots, 8 on target
Chorley - 68% possession, 11 shots, 5 on target
Kidderminster - 53% possession, 9 shots, 3 on target
Spennymoor - 43% possession (we played for an hour with 10 men after Menayese was sent off), 0 shots
Southport - 37% possession - 14 shots, 4 on target
Oxford - 68% possession - 20 shots, 7 on target
Rooney has worked hard to get the team to have more control of the ball away from home, but we still look flat going forward and generally starve Danny Elliott of quality service.
We lack a spark without Kay
Josh Kay was again absent from our 18-man squad, just as he was against King’s Lynn at the weekend. There has been no explanation, as ever, from the club’s social media team or Rooney as to whether Kay is likely to be out short-term or for an extended period.
Let’s hope it’s the former as Kay’s absence was really apparent last night. We lacked any kind of energy, movement and directness going forward, not to mention any tenacity and bravery on the ball which have been Kay’s hallmarks since he joined on a season-long loan from Oldham.
One option open to Rooney would be to play Luke Duffy in the ‘number 10’ position behind striker Danny Elliott, or alongside James Edmondson in a deeper central midfield role whilst Dawson serves a suspension. Duffy excelled in this position against Darlington which was arguably our most free-flowing performance at home in the league this season.
Mellor is no longer effective in midfield
D’Mani has been outstanding since joining the club, but he’s not longer effective as an attacking midfielder in the National League North. One of our biggest problems earlier in the season was due to Mellor having to drop so deep because we had so little control and penetration in midfield. But this in turn left us virtually non-existent as an attacking threat in the final third.
Last night was a prime example of that as Mellor returned to the attacking midfield position after recently playing wide right. In the build-up to the corner which led to Fylde’s opening goal, Mellor came short to collect a tame pass out from the back from Sam Heathcote. But before he could turn and look forward Fylde had already anticipated this and Mellor was promptly dispossessed. Menayese eventually blocked the home side’s effort on goal, only for poor marking to lead to Ormerod finding the net with a glancing header. But don’t understimate Mellor’s part in the build-up.
D’Mani simply isn’t creative or direct enough to play as a creative midfielder in the NLN. His workrate, pace and finishing ability remain his best assets though, which is why I think he and the team would be more effective if he played with Elliott in a more potent striking partnership.
We’re too ponderous and safe when attempting to build from the back and the squad lacks pace and athleticism
I’m going to sound like a broken record, but the loss of Pemberton, Kengni, Mendy and latterly Etaluku has stripped the majority of pace and energy from our team. We are more laboured in midfield and are slow to bring the ball out of defence, entrusting players who are not naturally comfortable in possession to launch our attacks.
We desperately need more directness and pace in our full-back areas, combined with more tenacity and energy in central midfield - someone who can put their foot on the ball AND break-up the opposition’s attacks and get us going on the front foot. This has been the problem since the start of the season and we’ll continue to get outclassed by more mobile teams of the likes of Fylde unless something is urgently done to address our squad’s main deficiency.
Could 4-3-3 be the solution?
Perhaps it’s time to abandon our trusted 4-2-3-1 formation and go for more legs in midfield. Against Scarborough on Saturday, a midfield three of Edmondson, Danny Whitehead and Duffy might give us more control in the middle of the park, supplemented by a more attack-minded forward line of Justin Johnson, D’Mani Mellor and/or Isaac Buckley-Ricketts to support Danny Elliott.
Either way, Rooney’s men owe themselves and Silkmen supporters a big response!