The Silkmen have made a solid (if unspectacular) start to life in the National League North. Two wins, one defeat and back-to-back draws, the latter achieved with ten men at Spennymoor as John Rooney’s squad showed their togetherness in digging deep to preserve a point with a threadbare squad running on empty.
No one’s pretending that Macclesfield have been entirely convincing thus far, but five games into the new season we currently sit ninth in the table, one point outside the play-offs and above expected promotion contenders Kidderminster, Chester and Buxton. All things considered - after an unexpectedly curveball of a summer, adjusting to a more competitive league and combined with a mounting injury list, its been a decent start in response to adversity.
But one topic won’t go away. INVESTMENT. For a club that has become accustomed to a conveyor belt of new players with money being thrown around like confetti thanks to Rob Smethurst’s generosity, Macclesfield’s lack of transfer activity when the squad is down to the bare bones is coming under greater scrutiny from some supporters.
This article will debate the main lines of thought and, as ever, offer an independent take on the merit of these concerns with some perspective on the perceived bigger picture.
A lack of signings, or a lack of available quality?
Two months on, the club are still to replace Tre Pemberton, Laurent Mendy and Neil Kengni who followed Robbie Savage to Forest Green. And when you factor in that John Rooney has elected to retire to focus on managing full-time, Macclesfield’s first-team has been significantly weakened when most were hoping (and expecting!) it to be strengthened to spearhead another promotion tilt.
Replacing the calibre of Pemberton and Mendy at short-notice is no easy task. Both players are thriving in the National League at table-topping Forest Green, only underlining how important they were to how the Silkmen played with energy and tenacity going forward and tracking back.
Time will tell whether Luke Matheson proves to be an adequate replacement for Pemberton, while it is hoped that Brandon Lee (and more recently) Luis Lacey will fill the void left by Kengni. But you can’t always legislate for the unexpected. Matheson is expected to be out for 8 weeks with a hamstring injury, whilst Lee (who also strained his hammy) is likely to be absent for another fortnight.
Undoubtedly midfield is the squad’s main shortfall with the loss of Mendy’s grit and Rooney’s creativity becoming more apparent with each passing game. The club IS working hard to address this. Former Accrington and Livingston midfielder Mo Sangare, a 6ft3 destroyer, was lined up to replace Mendy only to elect to join newly acquired Morecambe at the eleventh hour. As fans we can take some comfort though in the fact that Rooney is identifying the right player profiles he needs to improve the team.
And although less decorated, new short-term signing (for now) Luke Griffiths (no relation to Regan) should prove to be an excellent acquisition – 40 appearances for Curzon Ashton last season contributing 5 goals and 4 assists which earned him rave reviews in Tameside. Griffiths will bring proven experience at National League North level, is the right age (27) who will add much-needed tenacity and ability into Macclesfield’s midfield, particularly given the absence of captain Paul Dawson who requires a hernia operation.
While some supporters may question a perceived lack of quality from our recent new arrivals, Rooney and his recruitment team continue to work hard to bolster a squad that arguably needed more depth adding even before Tre, Mendy and Kengni moved on.
Since the end of last season, 9 new players have arrived. Isaac Buckley-Ricketts (for a significant five-figure fee), Ethan McLeod (injured), Josef Yarney, Regan Griffiths, Luke Matheson (injured), Carlos Dos Santos, Luis Lacey, Joe Nicholson (GK) and now Luke Griffiths.
The playing budget
As was highlighted at the recent Supporters Evening, a significant proportion of THIS season’s playing budget has been dictated by decisions made on players who were signed LAST season. The majority of which had promotion clauses built into their contracts which were automatically triggered (with wage increases!) when Macc cantered to the Northern Premier League title.
Most of last season’s 109 points, 109 goal heroes are entirely deserving of their rewards given their outstanding contributions. However, adopting a high risk / high reward recruitment model is laid bare to scrutiny by those funding it when signings don’t work out.
And for a variety of reasons, the Silkmen have had far too many of these – players effectively signed on two-year contracts (when you factor in the promotion clause extension trigger), some of which are rumoured to be on a weekly four-figure wage packet. Such extravagance is simply not sustainable at Step 2 level, but Macclesfield have been operating like this since last season!
So while some may argue this season has begun with a lack of ‘investment’, in reality sizable sums of investment have already been committed to by the Board who were prepared to back Savage without exception, until it dawned on them that the dice can only be rolled so many times.
Existing players who appear to be surplus to Rooney’s plans still pose challenges. Many are on good deals and are understandably reluctant to take a wage cut. Whilst those who are prepared to eventually go out on loan (Elliott Whitehouse and Dontai Gabidon) remain predominantly Macclesfield’s financial responsibility – Peterborough Sports (Whitehouse) and Warrington Town (Gabidon) are contributing less than half towards both Silkmen players’ wages.
Macclesfield’s ambitions and relentless willingness to effectively buy the leagues, earning them three promotions in four seasons, has potentially created a rod for their own back. Both in terms of setting supporter expectations and other clubs / players testing them financially when it comes to contractual negotiations.
Far from pulling the plug, there does however seem to be a shift in strategy from the Board to obtain better value and exercise more prudence to ensure the Silkmen remain competitive in the short, medium and long-term.
And competitive we are, even up in our highest ever division where money is being lavished by National League North clubs like never before. Clubs who are anticipated to struggle are still thought to have playing budgets of around £400,000, while play-off contenders will allocate budgets of £500,000+. At the other end of the scale, those chasing automatic promotion are expected to have budgets exceeding £1 million, a truly eyewatering sum of money at this level.
Macclesfield are believed to have a very competitive but not the biggest budget in the league, and nor should they given where the club has come from since being reformed. A play-off push remains the aim for the Silkmen this season though and Rooney is being handsomely backed accordingly.
The club’s annual financial report, published in April 2025 for the year ending June 2024, illustrated a largely optimistic picture into our finances with revenues increasing year-on-year coupled with a healthy balance sheet.
As always, some of the devil is in the detail. The following sentence in the report underlined the need for realism and balanced expectations.
“However, it is permanent to highlight an area of increased expenditure allocated to the 1st team. While this demonstrates a strategic investment in the club’s core sporting activities, it is an area to monitor in future financial strategies to ensure sustainable growth.”
Macclesfield are and will continue to be well-run and backed financially, but Smethurst, the board of directors and investors do not have a bottomless pit of money to spend in what remains a difficult and uncertain trading environment.
Recruitment challenges
Even not withstanding the increasing financial demands of players operating at Step 2 and above, Rooney has been dealt a challenging set of cards as he desperately seeks to bring in new additions with the right quality to improve the first-team. Money remains readily available and key signings will be willingly sanctioned by the Board, but the scattergun one in, one out transfer model of old now appears to be redundant. Not before time.
The Silkmen have effectively evolved from a quarter of a million, pay-as-you-play recruitment budget to a contractual model that probably has more than doubled in just over 12 months. Supporters should be more concerned if the Board wasn’t exerting a greater level of financial scrutiny now they can no longer rely on Savage’s judgement, or justify such expensive shopping sprees at Step 2 of the football pyramid.
Given the figures involved when you factor in transfer fees, payments to agents (which we started to dip our toe in the water last season) and rising player wage costs, Macclesfield’s recruitment model must evolve to meet these challenges.
Bringing new players in has to be a balancing act. With the majority of last season’s squad retained for the 2025/26 campaign, the players have earned the right to prove themselves in the National League North. Some will cut it, some won’t, but Rooney and his staff probably won’t know for sure until another 10 games or so. This is likely to influence future recruitment decisions, beyond the immediate need to upgrade our midfield.
The timing of Pemberton’s, Mendy’s and Kengi’s exits was unfortunate on several levels. They left in early July at a time when most players who were in demand had either penned new deals to remain with their existing clubs, or signed new contracts to join new ones. The point being that the very players Rooney will have been interested in will now require a transfer fee to prize them away in addition to a healthy wage packet.
Whichever way you cut it, Macclesfield were caught on the hop and had the rug pulled from under them when they were least expecting it.
Will the closure of the EFL transfer window boost our recruitment chances?
The closure of the English Football League summer transfer window on 1 September may offer some solace for Rooney. Championship clubs are then required to confirm their squads of a maximum of 25 players with League One and League Two clubs allowed to name up to 22 players. These player totals exclude goalkeepers and players under 21 at the start of the calendar year. Clubs must also include a minimum of 8 ‘home grown’ players (defined by EFL rules) in their squad.
It's possible then that some EFL players who fail to make the cut may appear on Macclesfield’s radar, either as loans or permanent signings. Competition from National League and some National League North and South clubs will be fierce, however. And in this scenario, the Silkmen’s current part-time training model may prove a hindrance more than it proves a help.
Whilst the Silkmen are extremely competitive on wages, the reality is that some full-time players don’t want to drop down to part-time. Furthermore, EFL clubs may be more tempted to send their younger players to full-time non league teams to acquire experience which they deem to be better for their longer-term development. You only have to look at how Buxton were able to reap the rewards of the loan system by acquiring players from the likes of Leeds and Manchester City last season after they went full-time.
The bigger picture
Silkmen fans have got a lot to be optimistic about right now, even if we encounter some frustrations in what may prove to be a season of consolidation. This writer would argue that a midtable / play-off challenge would still represent success, and there’s still no reason to discount our chances of making the top 7 at this early stage. And if we do, then who knows what is possible?
We’ve got a committed, talented group of players who appear to be embracing Rooney’s transition into management. And in Rob Smethurst, we’ve got a fiercely ambitious and committed chairman who has been galvanised by the challenge ahead.
According to a Silkmen News source, the club is currently contemplating switching to a full-time operating model and evaluating the financial planning considerations around what would represent a major signal of long-term intent. It remains to be seen whether a decision will be made for the 2026-27 season, but what does seem clear is that Macclesfield’s ambitions are only heading in the right direction.