Savage seeks the X-Factor as Macc host open trial
5 July event for out-of-contract players
The X-Factor may have disappeared off our screens, but Macclesfield FC are staging their own footballing talent show for out-of-contract players seeking a new club.
Ahead of the new season, the Silkmen are accepting applications for a ‘showcase event’ taking place on 5 July at the Leasing.com stadium. The one-day event amounts to a trial for players ‘with experience of professional academy, along with Step 1 to Step 3 of the non-league pyramid’. The application deadline for players to complete a registration form and provide details of their football CV is 5pm this Friday (20 June).
Is this event exclusive to Macclesfield FC?
Although the Silkmen are organising and hosting the event, it will provide an opportunity for out-of-contract players to impress scouts and managers from other non-league clubs. In essence, Macclesfield FC are creating a shop window to enable players to get fixed up for the new season, whilst other non-league managers and scouts get to observe talent who may not have been on their radars previously. A win-win for everyone.
Who is the event for?
For players with experience of professional academy, along with Step 1 to Step 3 of the non-league pyramid. Professional academy players in England typically range from nine to 23-years-old, and many youngsters at Premier League and English Football League clubs sadly get released at this time of year having being deemed surplus to requirements.
Step 1 to Step 3 of the non-league pyramid spans from the National League (Step 1), the National League North and National League South (Step 2), and the Northern Premier League – Premier, the Isthmian League – Premier, the Southern League – Premier Central and the Southern League – Premier South (Step 3).
What will be the format of the trial?
The day (Saturday 5th July) will begin with a welcome meeting covering the club’s vision, player pathway and team structure, followed by a series of internally organised matches in the afternoon featuring all attendees.
How many registrations have Macclesfield FC received so far?
According to a social media post by Robbie Savage, the club has received over 100 registrations from interested out-of-contract players. But this post was from a few weeks ago and the number may have increased / decreased depending on how many players have found a club for the 2025/26 season, or have been released.
Macclesfield’s recruitment team will review the applications and decide how many players make the cut and receive invitations to play at the showcase event on 5 July. Understandably, expect the identities of those involved to be kept tightly under wraps.
Will the Silkmen be looking to sign any players who impress on the day?
Here’s the element of intrigue. Manager Savage has stated that recent new arrival Isaac Buckley-Ricketts will be the only permanent addition to Macclesfield’s squad this summer, given the club has retained every player from last season’s Northern Premier League title triumph.
The Silkmen have also pointed out that ‘coaches and scouts from other clubs have also been invited to attend’.
However… you’d have to be naive to think that Savage and his coaching staff won’t have a vested interest and first pickings on any star performers who stand out on the day. After all, Macclesfield FC are a business, not a charity, and they’ll want a return on their investment having gone to the trouble to arrange the event in the first place!
It’s interesting to note that the event is only open to players from Step 3 and above, i.e. none lower than the standard at which Macclesfield were competing at last season in the Northern Premier League. In addition, the timing of the event is one week before the Silkmen play the first of seven pre-season fixtures, starting at home against Mansfield Town on 12 July. Presumably, any player (s) Savage likes the look of will be invited to take part in our friendlies so the coaching staff can take an extended look at them. That’s the theory… we’ll see how things pan out in practice.
What specific positions is Robbie Savage likely to be interested in?
Trying to second guess the Silkmen gaffer, especially when he’s publicly stated he’s happy with the current make-up of Macclesfield’s squad, isn’t easy. As we stand, the first-team squad looks like this:
Goalkeepers (1)
Max Dearnley
Defenders (7)
Tre Pemberton
Lewis Fensome, Rollin Menayese, Paul Dawson, Sam Heathcote
Neil Kengni, Brandon Lee
Midfielders / Wingers (9)
Laurent Mendy, John Rooney, Elliott Whitehouse, Danny Whitehead, Freddie Savage
Sean Etaluku, Justin Johnson
Luke Duffy, Dontai Gabbidon
Forwards (3)
D’Mani Mellor, Danny Elliott, Tom Clare
Savage’s scrutiny of the trialists may be influenced by any of the following aspects:
New for the coming season, National League North clubs will be able to name up to seven substitutes(up from five previously), meaning that Macclesfield could select a matchday squad of up to 18 players. Given our current first-team squad comprises 20 players (I’ve included Freddie Savage as he featured at the end of last season), if you factor in injuries and eventual suspensions, Savage may welcome bringing in additional, permanent reinforcements
Given the introduction of seven subs, there’s no reason for the Silkmen not to name a back-up goalkeeper on the bench next season, if we have one! We’ve been without a ‘number 2’ between the sticks ever since Tom Scott left the club in September citing work commitments. Recruiting a goalkeeper to effectively sit on the bench and play second fiddle to Max Dearnley isn’t an easy sell. But if any goalkeepers impress at the trial, they stand a good chance of entering Savage’s thinking
Defensive cover. We don’t have natural cover at right back for Tre Pemberton, although Lewis Fensome has proven to be an able deputy. Similarly, it will be interesting to see whether Savage sees captain Paul Dawson playing mainly at centre back or in midfield. If the latter, the Silkmen boss may be receptive to bringing in another defender, especially if he elects to operate a formation with three centre backs next season
Do we need another midfielder? The emphatic response would be ‘no’ given we have a plethora of options in the middle of the park. However, if Paul Dawson is deployed at centre back that leaves Elliott Whitehouse and Danny Whitehead as the next viable options – two players who rarely featured last season due to injury and/or being out of favour when fit. The assumption is that Whitehouse and Whitehead will be part of next season’s squad, but it’s also conceivable that they could be deemed surplus to requirements and leave the club as transfer activity intensifies over the summer
Are we light upfront? Apart from our goal machine Danny Elliott, we don’t have another natural striker in the squad – then again, not many clubs have a player of Elliott’s quality on their books! Of course, D’Mani Mellor is a superb forward player who will score goals, but he is more of a support striker / ‘number 10’. Savage has said that new signing Isaac Buckley-Ricketts can play out wide and centrally across the forward line, however the smart money would be on him starting as a conventional winger
That leaves the typically AWOL (but capable) Tom Clare as an alternative striking option, and makeshift (but effective) target man Sam Heathcote as an impact forward sub to introduce off the bench if Macc are chasing a game. But is there room for one more, and might Savage uncover a striking gem at the trial?
Aren’t Macclesfield more likely to utilise the loan market instead of signing permanent players, even if they are out-of-contract?
Most probably, yes. Savage has an enviable network of contacts and the calibre of player that Macc can attract is likely to be much higher now we are playing at Step 2. The Silkmen boss has hinted at the possibility of loaning young players from Manchester United, and in a potential dress rehearsal Macclesfield will play a behind closed doors friendly against United at Carrington on 17 July.
But beyond that, Savage won’t be short of offers from other clubs looking to secure regular gametime for their young talents at Macclesfield to aid their development. Blackburn Rovers are a good example having loaned us midfielder James Edmondson and goalkeeper Joe Hilton previously.
The loan market offers an attractive and flexible way for non-league clubs to boost their squad throughout the season until the National League’s transfer window closes towards the end of March.
Clubs can have up to a maximum of 12 Short Term Loans during a season. The minimum period of a Short Term Loan transfer must be 28 days with a maximum period to the end of the season. National League clubs cannot have more than two Short Term Loan transfers to or from any one Club, including Premier League and Football League Clubs, at any one time.
Clubs may have up to a maximum of 6 Long Term Loan Transfers of any age during a season. Long Term Loan Transfers shall be for a full playing season; or from any date prior to 31st August to any date between 1st and 31st January; or from any date between 1st and 31st January (the January transfer window) to the end of the playing Season
National League clubs are limited to 6 players loaned in and 6 loaned out at any given time. However, players under 21 and those who are ‘club-trained’ (having spent three seasons with the club between ages 15 and 21) are exempt from these limits.
Unlimited Youth Loan Transfers shall be allowed to or from clubs at Steps 1-4 of the National League system. Clubs playing in competitions at Steps 1 to 4 of the National League System may register players on a Youth Loan from clubs in the EFL. To be eligible for a Youth Loan, players must aged 20 or under on 1 July immediately preceding the start of the new season. The minimum period of a Youth Loan shall be 28 days, thereafter a break clause may be included. Youth Loans cannot extend beyond the date immediately preceding the date of the player’s 21st birthday and/or the player’s contract period with their parent club
And finally, but importantly, a club may name up to a maximum of 5 players on a team sheet who are either a Short Term Loan, Long Term Loan or a Youth Loan
So when you consider all of the above options, Macclesfield might be like kids in a sweet shop in the loan market if Savage decides he needs to freshen up the squad at any point.
But for now, it will be interesting to be a fly on the wall to see which out-of-contract players rock up at our ‘showcase’ trial event on 5 July!
The Silkmen News will bring you further updates on this if we manage to gleam additional information.