Rooney’s New Year warning: ‘Shape up, or ship out’
Silkmen boss turns on some players following defeat to Chester
John Rooney has issued a New Year ultimatum to some underperforming Macclesfield players following back-to-back league defeats over the festive period.
In a scathing post-match interview following Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to Chester, the Silkmen boss suggested that some squad members will need to shape up, or ship out, as he seeks reinforcements to address Macclesfield’s recent slump. To add fuel to the fire, director Rob Smethurst also confirmed on social media that he will be appointing a new Head of Recruitment imminently.
Rooney’s warning was not a knee-jerk reaction in the aftermath of a tame Cheshire derby surrender, but spoken from a man who is aware that changes in personnel could be imminent. In reality, hiring the club’s new Head of Recruitment has been in progress since November with a formal announcement expected next week.
No more Mr Nice Guy
Rooney’s brutally honest outburst was unexpected, but as timely as it was relevant. Transitioning from a senior player in last season’s title-winning squad to being catapulted into management at short-notice was always going to be a white-knuckle ride, even before the loss of the team’s leading stars.
On occasions, Rooney has arguably been too patient as his former teammates have struggled to adapt to the step-up to the National League North. But if we thought Roons was going to shield some players from criticism as they come to terms with the tragic loss of Ethan McLeod, Tuesday’s interview amounted to a cutting of the apron strings.
Whilst both the club’s players and staff will be traumatised by Ethan’s passing for a long time, the performances against Buxton and Chester were flat and surprisingly devoid of passion.
Buxton were on a dismal run of only one win in eight (six defeats) before travelling to the Moss Rose yet coasted to victory. Whilst Chester, despite being hampered by illness and injury plus two consecutive losses, rolled their sleeves up in a manner in which the Silkmen were unable to match.
It’s worth reflecting on how cutting Rooney’s comments were at Chester and may suggest the writing is already on the wall for some.
“Since I’ve took over it’s probably the most frustrated I’ve been”
“You’re only as good as your forward players. Without Danny Elliott we didn’t look like scoring”
“What forward players are contributing at the minute, apart from Danny?”
“Are you going to change, or do we have to bring in new players now? The amount of time they’ve (Macclesfield’s forwards) had to improve and start hitting the back of the net, or creating goals, and they’re not doing it on a consistent basis.
“They (Chester) wanted it more than us”
(On Chester’s second goal: “Chester were willing to put their head in where it hurts. You don’t see that when we’re attacking set pieces”
“We’ve got to the level now (National League North) where some are finding it tough”
It remains to be seen whether Rooney’s outburst was fuelled by kicking players up the backside, or chucking them under the bus. Possibly a combination of both, with a sprinkling of self-preservation as the rookie boss seemingly absolves himself from responsibility for the team’s tactics and lack of cutting edge.
An over reliance on Danny Elliott
Rooney’s praise of top scorer Danny Elliott, who was absent at Chester due to sustaining a knock on Boxing Day, represented a clear broadside at the Silkmen’s other forward players.
But isn’t he missing the bigger picture? And if he is, isn’t that more concerning in itself?
Even Elliott, who has scored 11 league goals in 20 appearances in the NLN, has tended to feed off scraps with goalscoring chances few and far between (Buxton aside), not helped by a lack of energy, bravery on the ball and creativity from Macclesfield’s midfield and full-backs.
Macclesfield could have played until next Christmas and still not scored against Chester, so bereft were the team of attacking impetus in the second half. Isaac Buckley-Ricketts was the only player to be specifically mentioned by Rooney for failing to convert either of his two decent goalscoring opportunities. The winger, a summer signing from Curzon, couldn’t turn home Sam Heathcote’s spilled free-kick in the third minute, whilst his weak shot from a tight angle was easily saved just before half-time.
Silkmen supporter Jack Underwood, a long-time reader of this website, has conducted some interesting analysis in the Star Lane End Facebook group on how little Macclesfield’s other forwards have contributed towards our goals tally.
I don’t want to steal Jack’s thunder (go take a read!), but the long and short of it is that Mellor, Buckley-Ricketts, Duffy, Johnson, Duffy, Woltman, Kay, Etaluku and Ethan McLeod have only scored two more goal league and cup goals between them in comparison to Elliott’s current tally of 16.
Is Rooney justified in criticising our forwards?
Yes… but there are some mitigating factors. Whilst their form has been patchy and they must assume accountability, in my opinion IBR, Johnson, Mellor and Duffy have been mismanaged by Rooney at various points.
Or expressed in another way, I believe all four of these players CAN and WILL contribute more with a better midfield behind them from a manager who is tactically astute to play to their strengths.
Buckley-Ricketts, championed by Savage as one of the best attacking talents in the NLN, has been the biggest bust of the season so far and is averaging only 39 minutes of playing time per game. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t come good. It seems like a long time ago since IBR began the season impressively – two goals in consecutive away games at Oxford and Southport, only to be benched after a difficult game at home to Alfreton in which the whole team struggled.
Isaac was excellent though in the 2-1 home win vs Darlington, even despite him failing to convert a golden chance when rounding the keeper. But after the 3-1 home defeat to Merthyr, Buckley-Ricketts was confined to the bench again. In, out, in, out.
It’s worth pointing that Isaac has only started six league games for Macclesfield. Before Chester, his previous league start came against Leamington in October. Whilst Rooney has shown unwavering faith in some players, in contrast it has been in short supply towards Buckley-Ricketts. It must be stated though that the winger hasn’t helped himself due to some anonymous appearances in the FA Cup qualifiers, and IBR was responsible for a glaring miss from six yards in the FA Trophy at South Shields.
Justin Johnson has probably been the pick of our wide players, yet was on the verge of leaving in October as he became increasingly agitated by his lack of game time which has restricted him to nine league starts. In fact, Johnson only got on the pitch once in our opening five league games as a 92nd minute substitute on the opening day against Worksop.
It wasn’t until JJ was introduced as an 88th sub against Darlington and involved in the build-up to Mellor’s winning goal that the penny dropped to Rooney that the wayward winger might still have a part to play. Johnson remains a Macclesfield player more by luck than design.
Undoubtedly the departure of Sean Etaluku and Buckley-Ricketts’ erratic form has helped Johnson’s cause, but he has seized his chance. An assist off the bench at Chorley, two goals including a tremendous winner at home to Curzon from his favoured left wing position underlined the threat Jonson still carries at this level.
Yes, he’ll go missing on occasions, but don’t JJ’s strengths far outweigh his weaknesses?
An indifferent spell in November led to Rooney benching Johnson once again, but positive cameos against Slough and King’s Lynn saw Johnson restored to the starting line-up where he scored at Bedford. Three goals and two assists from a player restricted to only nine starts (from 17 appearances), averaging 41 minutes of time on the field per game, for a team that has the joint fourth worst goal tallies in the league (just 27 from 21 games) should be taken into consideration.
Perhaps out of everyone, D’Mani Mellor’s dip in goals and assists output has been most disappointing – four goals in total, three in the league and no assists, despite averaging 86 minutes per game on the field as Mellor appears seemingly undroppable by Rooney. It’s possible that the stock of last season’s fan favourite was elevated due to the Silkmen’s total dominance of the Northern Premier League.
A decent chunk of Mellor’s 20 league and cup goals came from him playing as a central striker, whilst he only generated a handful of assists despite his outstanding contribution to the team’s overall success.
The step up to the NLN, combined with us losing Mendy and Rooney from central midfield in our starting line-up, has hurt Mellor more than most. You only have to look at D’Mani’s overall positional ‘heat map’ (pictured above) to see just how deep he is having to drop to receive the ball, and that since the arrival of Josh Kay in September Mellor has been mainly played as a winger by Rooney, which patently isn’t his strength.
At his best, Mellor is an energetic, unselfish, quick forward who presses tirelessly with a keen eye for goal. So instead of sticking rigidly to a 4-2-3-1 / 4-1-4-1 formation, maybe it’s time for Rooney to accept that Mellor’s worth to the side is in an advanced, central position at the top end of the pitch to provide Elliott with some much needed support.
Whilst D’Mani was anonymous as a lone striker at Chester, he clearly possesses the attributes to contribute more in the final third. After all, it was Mellor’s excellently timed run and pace which won the penalty at Slough. And most recently on Boxing Day, it was Mellor’s pressing which led to Buxton turning the ball over which was seized on by JJ who found Duffy, only for Elliott to somehow sidefoot Duffy’s centre wide with the goal at his mercy. If it wasn’t for Mellor’s endeavour, Elliott’s chance would never have materialised.
Luke Duffy is another player who is struggling to adapt under Rooney. Duffs has certainly not been the creative, goalscoring force he was last season playing on the left of midfield. But when switched (credit to Rooney) to the centre of midfield Duffy has provided much needed quality, tenacity and creativity in the ‘Rooney role’. Against Darlington at home, Duffy was a revelation in the holding midfield role, registering an 81% pass accuracy with over three-quarters of his passes taking place in Darlington’s half.
Disappointingly, Duffy was dropped to the bench for our next league game against Merthyr as Rooney opted for a midfield two of Dawson and Regan Griffiths. If Duffy had sustained a knock against Darlington there was no mention of it. Those who witnessed the 1-0 away victory at Leamington will recall that Duffy was excellent in the ‘number 10’ position as he produced some silky skills to release Elliott who went on to bag the winner. Yet four days later he found himself on the bench against South Shields which Macclesfield won 1-0 to hand the league leaders their first defeat of the season.
Playing Duffy centrally is an experiment which Rooney subsequently abandoned, preferring the impressive but defensively reckless Josh Kay in the holding and attacking midfield roles.
More recently, Rooney did play Duffy in the holding midfield role against South Shields in the FA Trophy, where Duffy scored the winner in his best display of the season. In the league, Duffy hasn’t produced often enough from his 15 starts, but like Mellor, perhaps he could contribute more if played centrally rather than on the wing.
Midfield matters and where is Dawson more effective?
For all of Rooney’s criticisms of Macclesfield’s forwards, midfield remains the team’s biggest area of weakness that still hasn’t been addressed by the events of the summer.
Against Chester the Silkmen enjoyed 66% of the possession and registered more than double the number of passes (501 vs 221). Yet such was the negativity of our sideways and back build-up play we seldom threatened going forward.
Is this due to tactical reasons or a safety-first / lack of bravery on the ball from the players?
Buxton was a similar story. 58% possession for Macc, 371 passes vs 232, but it was Buxton who looked more lively and inventive in and around the 18-yard box. Often our tempo is slow from the back, we lack the ability to beat a man and the team’s play seems perennially stuck in second gear without any urgency.
Ironically only Fylde, Southport and South Shields had more possession than Macclesfield when we played them in the league, and two of those games we won (Southport and South Shields). As the old saying goes, it’s not always about having the ball, but what you do when you’ve got it!
The debate over where Paul Dawson’s best position is rumbles on. The captain has been very impressive when switched to centre back versus King’s Lynn, South Shields and Bedford, but most will argue that Dawson’s drive, tenacity and eye for goal lends itself better to midfield. I’m not so sure.
Whilst Dawson has excelled in central midfield against Worksop, Peterborough Sports and Totton, he’s also appeared laboured and ineffective against teams with better movement and energy in the middle of the park – Merthyr and Fylde being two examples which spring to mind.
When playing at centre half, Macclesfield are able to utilise Dawson’s excellent range of passing to get the ball forward more quickly. On occasions, there is an argument to suggest that the Silkmen’s captain goes too long, too often, effectively bypassing our midfield in the process. But this is preferable to the often monotonous build-up play when Heathcote and Menayese are deployed in central defence.
Revamping the Silkmen’s midfield will be a pressing priority for the club’s new Head of Recruitment. The on loan James Edmondson will return to parent club Blackburn Rovers at the end of this month, having not quite hit the heights of his inaugural loan spell last season, his wonder strike against Slough in the FA Cup aside.
Josh Kay, on loan from Oldham until the end of the season, has clearly added creativity and energy to Macclesfield’s midfield, when available. The frustration though is that due to a combination of two suspensions after his red cards against Marine and Bedford, plus a month out injured, Kay has only been available for selection in 12 of Macclesfield’s 22 fixtures since the Oldham loanee joined us in September.
Set piece vulnerability and an absence of leaders
Macclesfield have conceded 30 goals from 21 league games, with over a third of these coming from dead-ball situations – 5 corners (Alfreton, Merthyr, Fylde, Buxton and Chester), 3 penalties (Chorley x2 and Fylde), 2 free-kicks (Merthyr) and 1 long-throw (Chorley).
Our inability to defend from corners needs urgently addressing.
Alfreton (Lund outmuscled Mellor to head in at the back post)
Merthyr (Handley lost Fensome to sidefoot home)
Fylde (Omerod got the run on Fensome to score with a glancing header)
Buxton (Ward lost Fensome to steer home)
Chester (Carlos Dos Santos was beaten in the air, and Leak beat Heathcote to prod home the loose ball)
I don’t mean for this to be a witchhunt against Lewis Fensome, who generally has adapted well after filling in at right back following the sale of Pemberton and Luke Matheson’s subsequent injury. But clearly Fensome has been found wanting in terms of concentration and aerial dominance at times. If I’m being ultra critical, Fensome was also outmuscled following Chorley’s long-throw which led to their late winner.
Both in midfield and at the back the Silkmen lack leaders. There is no vocal presence in the team outside of Dawson, whose temperament (as we know) can be fragile. We desperately need physically imposing, dominant characters in central areas to become more competitive in the NLN.
Rooney’s problems to solve
This piece might come across as being overly negative on Rooney. Quite rightly, the Silkmen’s boss gets a pass for inheriting a challenging situation in the aftermath of Savage’s exit.
And yet for all of the challenges he’s been presented with, Chester was the first time he’s shown any obvious signs of frustration. Rooney has shown flashes of turning Macclesfield into genuine play-off contenders, as highlighted by our four consecutive league wins over Curzon, Leamington, South Shields and Peterborough. There’s also the ‘small’ matter of him leading us to the third round of the FA Cup for next Saturday’s money-spinner against cup holders Crystal Palace, and we remain in the FA Trophy.
This season’s brief was consolidation in the league, a play-off push and a cup run. From the outside looking in, aiming any criticism Rooney’s way therefore sounds preposterous and wholly unfair. The nagging feeling remains though that Macclesfield’s amazing cup run has papered over the cracks, some of which Rooney shouldn’t be exempt from criticism for…
Rooney’s recruitment has been a stick which some supporters have chosen to beat him with – only Kay and Edmondson from Rooney’s 12 signings have cemented themselves in the startling line-up. However, Rooney’s hands have firmly been tied financially as a result of Savage’s lavish spending, and the timing of his appointment when most sought after players had already committed to their new clubs in the summer.
My issue with Rooney is not linked to recruitment, but moreover our style of play, lack of attacking intensity and his team set-up and selections. Don’t even get me started on his preference for Lacey over Brandon Lee prior to Brandon’s latest injury setback at Slough.
I do agree wholeheartedly with Rooney’s assertion that every goal, every point and every victory has been hard-earned for Macclesfield. To underline this, in the league we have been in the lead for an average duration of just 15 minutes per match (based on a 90-minute duration) – only Leamington and Hereford have had less ‘control’ than us in comparison. Our tally of 27 goals is the joint fourth worst in the NLN and we’ve kept only three clean sheets in 21 league fixtures.
Despite this, the Silkmen’s season remains very much alive IF Rooney can address some of our very obvious deficiencies. We currently sit in 15th place, but only six points outside of the play-offs with three / four games in hand over our rivals. Whilst January and February’s fixture pile-up may do more harm than good to our chances of climbing the table, IF we can utilise some of the FA Cup money to freshen up the squad all is not lost.
Rooney retains the public backing of the Board and there’s no suggestion that his position is under review. But burying heads in the sand, expecting performances to magically improve and turning a blind eye to the underlying data is a risky strategy.
For many reasons, the Crystal Palace game can’t come soon enough.