Midweek musings: 5 talking points post Gainsborough
View from Gainsborough, Keogh appointment, Savage's selection headache
Its been a busy few days at Macclesfield FC with lots to talk about. Rather than bombard your inbox with multiple messages, I’ve attempted to condense the main discussion topics into one post that you can mull over with a coffee, or your favourite tipple – no ‘dry January’ judgement here ;-).
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The view from Gainsborough
Gainsborough manager Russ Wilcox was magnanimous in defeat after Macc’s 4-0 win at the weekend, but at times seemed saltier than a sailor’s ankle in his post-match interviews with local media representatives. Here’s a snippet of Wilcox’s comments.
“Disappointed with the scoreline. I don’t think we deserved to get beat 4-0. There are aspects of our performance today that were very good, but if you don’t do the basics well, if you don’t defend your box well…. I think the main one was conceding a goal on their first attack – we actually started the game really well. We got on the front foot, created some pressure, then they literally scored with their first attack.
“They’ve got quality throughout their ranks and quality off the bench, so a difficult afternoon for us. They were clinical and took their chances. It’s not a 4-0 scoreline, but it is a 4-0 scoreline, as that is what it will say in the newspaper. I can’t wait for them to get out of this league to be honest and I hope they’ve won it by February because the gulf (in class) is there for everyone to see. They are a top, top team – unlike York they didn’t allow us to grow into the game today.
“We spoke before the game to say this was similar to the York game, where we’ve got to sit off and play the same shape, but you’ve got to defend your box better than that. We were unlucky with the second goal – I thought it was offside as well but he (Danny Elliott) has got two ricochets and it’s come back off Dylan (a Gainsborough defender) as well for a tap-in. So I think everything went their (Macclesfield’s) way today.
“But they are a top outfit – that’s why they’ve won 20-odd games this season. I thought 4-0 flattered them, but it is what it is and we have to move on quickly. We spoke about the next goal when we were 2-0 down. If we score it’s game on, but at 3-0 it’s game over, then we made changes to freshen up as we have games coming up Saturday-Tuesday. If you look at their fixtures they haven’t got one midweek game left – the only midweek one they’ve got is on Easter Monday (when Macc travel to Leek).
“They get 3,000+ through their gate every week and it allows you to have investment – that’s the difference. I don’t know what their budget will be compared to ours – it will probably be ten times more than ours. They’ve got players coming off the bench towards the end of the likes of Justin Johnson who was at Chorley last year who can’t even get in their team. The gulf is there, but still a tinge of disappointment in how we defended today.”
What will Nigel Keogh bring to the Silkmen’s coaching staff?
Robbie Savage has appointed Nigel Keogh as Macclesfield FC’s first team coach. In a statement released by the club yesterday, Savage said: “I am delighted to welcome Nigel to our backroom staff which will compliment the strengths of John McMahon and Peter Band. As a tutor on our Youth Academy programme, we now have a clear alignment between our First Team and Youth Academy Programme.”
Savage’s reasoning for hiring Keogh is understandable given his reputation regionally. A UEFA licensed B coach, Keogh is renowned for his commitment, knowledge of Steps 2 and 3 in the non-league pyramid and coaching ability, particularly when it comes to developing young players.
Keogh recently left his post as Assistant Manager of National League North club Warrington Town. It was a position he had taken up in August 2024 working alongside longstanding manager Mark Beesley. However, Beesley subsequently resigned his position on 15 September and Town re-hired former boss Paul Carden as his replacement. Beesley has since taken over at FC United of Manchester.
Prior to that, Keogh spent 18 months as first team coach at Ashton United where he reunited with Steve Cunningham following the pair’s successful spell at Buxton, which saw the Bucks win the Northern Premier League title in 2022. Keogh’s departure from Ashton took some by surprise, but both Cunningham and Keogh were quick to quash speculation that there may have been a rift between them and heap praise on one another for the success they achieved together.
Why in football does someone showing ambition automatically lead others to think that: a) there must have been a falling out, or b) indicate disloyalty? From the outside looking in, Keogh has earned his stripes, arrives with glowing feedback from his previous employers and appears to have been a victim of circumstance by the managerial changes at Warrington. On paper, Keogh and the Silkmen look an ideal fit. We shall see.
Nigel Keogh’s pedigree
UEFA licensed B coach
Macclesfield born
Experience of running youth academies, including Edukick Manchester and Ellesmere College, and propensity for developing young players
Warrington Town (Assistant Manager) Aug 2024-Jan 2025
Ashton United (First Team Coach) Jan 2023-Aug 2024
Newcastle Town (Assistant Manager) Jun 2022-Jan 2023
Buxton (First Team Coach and Head of Academy) 2019-2022
Is Rollin Menayese the final piece of the jigsaw?
Robbie Savage has suggested that Rollin Menayese is the final piece of transfer business that the Silkmen will do this season (the Northern Premier League transfer window officially closes in mid-April).
Experienced centre back Menayese, who has played over 100 games in the English football league, joined Macc last week following his departure from National League club Aldershot. Rollin was an instant hit with Silkmen supporters following his winning debut at Gainsborough which saw Savage’s men keep back-to-back clean sheets.
Speaking to the Silkmen Mixlr commentary team before the game, Savage explained that he had been weighing up whether to sign a centre back or a midfielder, prior to Menayese becoming available. The Silkmen Head Coach went for a centre back partnership of Menayese and Sam Heathcote at Gainsborough with captain Paul Dawson and Tre Pemberton suspended, prompting Savage to play Lewis Fensome at right back and push Laurent Mendy into midfield alongside John Rooney.
However, I wonder if a potential financial windfall due to former Silkmen James Berry’s imminent move to League One promotion chasers Wycombe Wanderers may tempt Savage back into the market, should an opportunity present itself?
Cult hero Berry was sold to Chesterfield for a club-record (undisclosed) fee in August 2023 after a dazzling two-year spell after he initially arrived at the Leasing.com stadium on loan from Altrincham. He has subsequently negotiated the leap to the National League and League Two with ease following Chesterfield’s promotion, contributing 10 goals and four assists this season.
It is thought Macc negotiated a sell-on percentage with Chesterfield for Berry in the event of the winger being sold by the Derbyshire side which is about to come to fruition with the player undergoing a medical at Wycombe.
How much is Macc’s sell-on percentage? Due to commercial sensitivity clubs rarely disclose such figures regarding transfers anymore, but some on social media have speculated it could be in the region of 20, or even as high as 30% (which sounds ambitious!). But x% of what?
Local journalists in Chesterfield have said that Berry’s transfer to Wycombe is ‘six-figures’ for a player with 18 months remaining on his contract who, for all his promise, isn’t a guaranteed starter for the Spireites. It seems that Berry’s fee is more likely to be closer to £500,000 then than the £1 million mark.
Welcome selection headaches for Savage vs Basford
Robbie Savage faces a selection dilemma ahead of NPL strugglers Basford United’s visit to Macc on Saturday – keep the winning team who demolished Gainsborough 4-0, or restore captain Paul Dawson to the starting line-up following his return from suspension?
Dawson, who was in attendance at Gainsborough along with fellow suspended teammate Tre Pemberton, can have few complaints if he is only named on the substitutes bench. His disciplinary record due to being sent off against Altrincham in the FA Trophy and earning ten yellow cards in the league has meant he has been unavailable for five out of Macc’s last nine fixtures. And in his previous outing, it was Dawson who committed a needless foul in the last minute to concede the free-kick which Ashton subsequently scored from to hand the Silkmen a 1-0 defeat in the league.
But putting his petulance to one side, Savage and every Silkmen supporter knows what a talisman and tremendous asset Dawson is when he is on the pitch. And with promotion within touching distance to Macc, Daws could play a massive role in getting us over the line.
When he does eventually make his return, it will be interesting to see where Savage plays him. The Silkmen Head Coach suggested that Laurent Mendy’s holding midfield role at Gainsborough is set to continue, citing that Mendy has been clamouring to play in the engine room since playing predominantly as a central defender for the last 18 months. Mendy repaid the gaffer with a superbly industrious and disciplined performance.
Dawson switched to centre half at the start of this season but has played in a more familiar central midfield position recently due to John Rooney’s absence, former loanee James Edmondson returning to Blackburn and the injured Elliott Whitehouse being unavailable for approaching five months. Savage is a huge admirer of the Silkmen captain’s presence as a dominant, ball-playing defender where he has been outstanding, so he could stick with Mendy in midfield and Dawson at the back for the final 14 league games.
Tre Pemberton will serve the final game of his two-match ban against Basford. Will Savage play Lewis Fensome again at right back in a back four against Basford? Or will he be tempted to play a more attack-minded back three in Dawson, Menayese and Heathcote, with Fensome switching to right wingback? The Silkmen Head Coach is a master at keeping supporters and opposition managers guessing!
We’ve entered the final third of the season – who has the easiest promotion run-in?
Two consecutive victories have left Macc on 69 points after 28 games, 16 points clear of second-placed Guiseley but who have two games in hand. In the worst case scenario, the Yorkshire club could reduce the deficit to ten points and still have Macc to play at home on 12 April.
Guiseley are on a formidable run - unbeaten in 15 league games and they defeated Macc’s next opponents Basford 1-0 on their own patch at the weekend, but had their goalkeeper to thank for a second-half penalty save to preserve their win.
With points in the bag and a healthy cushion, it would take a huge collapse from the Silkmen and an unbelievable effort from Guiseley if Robbie Savage’s men blew promotion from this position. But stranger things have happened. So, what can we can deduce from the ‘business end’ of the season?
Macclesfield
Of their remaining 14 fixtures, Macclesfield have 7 at home and 7 away
3 of the Silkmen’s home games are against teams currently occupying the bottom 6. Their hardest home fixture is against fifth-placed Ilkeston who yesterday sold their top scorer Tom Cursons to Harrogate Town in League Two.
Macc’s away fixtures are harder on paper against mid-table sides, plus they must travel to seventh-placed Hebburn Town and second-paced Guiseley
Macc will face two sides who have already beaten them in the league: Mickelover (home) and Leek (away)
Guiseley
Of their remaining 16 fixtures, Guiseley have 7 at home and 9 away
3 of their next 4 games are away, starting with a trip to third-placed Worksop on Saturday and a final day visit to FC United of Manchester
Guiseley face 6 of the current top 10, including Ashton (third), Macc (first) and Ilkeston (fifth)
They have to play 3 of the current bottom 6: Prescot, Blyth and Gainsborough
Perhaps I’m looking at this with rose-tinted glasses, but I still can’t see anything other than Macclesfield romping to the Northern Premier League title. My original prediction that the Silkmen may need up to 89 points to seal promotion feels about right, although 86 points might be enough to get us over the line which amounts to six more wins from our final 14 games.
Based on our current points-per-game trajectory, Robbie Savage’s men are on course to smash the 100 points barrier and finish on 103 points. I’m sure gaining promotion to the National League North, whatever the eventual points tally, will be more than sufficient for Silkmen supporters!