What's gone wrong, and can it be fixed?
3 defeats in 4 have set alarm bells ringing
Back-to-back defeats against South Shields and Spennymoor have taken the gloss off Macclesfield’s impressive charge to the National League North play-offs. Whilst fourth place in the league and a play-off quarter-final at home against whoever finishes seventh is guaranteed, the Silkmen’s slump in form is genuine cause for concern.
Three losses in four games, make that four defeats in five at home which used to be a ‘fortress’. So what’s gone wrong, and what does manager John Rooney need to fix to give Macc the best chance of winning promotion?
Back Ravenhill or re-instate Dearnley
The debate over who should play in goal rumbles on and came to a head once more on Saturday as some supporters took issue with Rogan Ravenhill. The on-loan keeper from Barnsley came under fire for his performance against Spennymoor and didn’t help himself when appearing to mock a supporter in the Star Lane End.
No matter what, Ravenhill will always be public enemy number one for some due to replacing fan-favourite Max Dearnley between the sticks. At times the youngster has flattered to deceive during his 16 appearances for the Silkmen, combining some shaky moments (Marine and Darlington away) with some breathtaking saves (Fylde at home and South Shields away).
After two excellent displays against Merthyr and South Shields, it appeared that Rogan had turned a corner. However, his capabilities were again called into question during the Spennymoor setback.
I felt Ravenhill may have done better to keep out the away side’s opening goal after just five minutes. Whilst Macclesfield were carved open by a routine ball through the middle, goalscorer McKeown’s shot wasn’t venomously struck and appeared to go underneath Ravenhill at his near post. It wasn’t quite the pea roller that the goalkeeper conceded away at Marine, but one of those shots where he may have done better.
After that, Ravenhill got lucky when flapping at a corner having completely misjudged the flight of the ball. He could have done nothing to keep out Spennymoor’s second - a superb strike from Ramshaw from the edge of the box, although some thought Ravenhill could have prevented the corner in the first place from which the visitor’s duly doubled their lead.
In total, Rogan has made 16 appearance in a Silkmen shirt, registering four clean sheets. He’s conceded 26 goals – an average of 1.6 goals per game. In contrast, Max Dearnley has made 28 appearances, 4 clean sheets, conceding 40 goals (1.4 goals per game). Pro-Dearnley supporters conveniently seem to overlook the errors Max made in a less than convincing start to 2026.
I’ve conducted some analysis on both goalkeepers a few weeks ago – see here. Personally, I don’t think there’s a lot between them, although my gut feeling is the defence does seem calmer when playing in front of Dearnley. Unfounded rumours suggest that Ravenhill’s parent club Barnsley has insisted that their goalkeeper must start for Macclesfield, unless he is unavailable through injury or suspension.
Regardless of whether Ravenhill has a clause in his contract or not, I feel that now is the time for Rooney to break his silence on this matter and ask for Silkmen supporters to put their differences to one side. Either publicly back him to the tune of…
“We’re lucky to have two great keepers at the club, but right now Rogan is my number one. He’s young and he’ll make mistakes, but please can all supporters get behind him. He was outstanding at Merthyr and again at South Shields, and I’m confident that he will be a huge asset to us in the play-offs etc etc.”
Or…. if Rooney is in any doubt after Ravenhill’s ability, now is the time to re-instate Max Dearnley and restore him in goal for our final two league games against Southport and Radcliffe.
Decide who is our first-choice defence
Injuries (Cameron Borthwick-Jackson) and suspension (Sam Heathcote) have disrupted Macclesfield’s defence. We’ve changed our back four in each of our previous three games, and before that have frequently alternated between Luke Matheson and Lewis Fensome at right back, and Luis Lacey and Kacper Pasiek at left back.
It would seem that Rooney’s preferred defensive line-up is Matheson, Heathcote, Borthwick-Jackson and Lacey, however this combination has started only 3 of our last 10 games.
Rollin Menayese, once a mainstay of the side, has endured a disastrous week. Torn to shreds at South Shield as Rooney adopted a high defensive line, Rollin was also at fault for Spennymoor’s opener on Saturday. He needlessly got drawn out of defence to track striker Glen Taylor who had dropped deep to collect the ball.
That created space for Spennymoor to float the ball over Matheson’s head into the area Menayese had vacated, Borthwick-Jackson couldn’t get across in time to prevent to McKeown’s strike and Macc were once again 1-0 down inside five minutes.
Spennymoor’s second goal also came about from a defensive mix-up as Borthwick-Jackson and Menayese both went to clear the corner. Borthwick-Jackson’s weak header fell to Ramshaw who leathered it past Ravenhill, but Menayese was arguably better placed to clear the danger.
Did Rollin call for it, or not? Like with Chester’s opener on Easter Monday, this was another example of a total lack of communication between the Silkmen’s centre backs (on that occasion Heathcote and Borthwick-Jackson).
It’s very late in the day now, but if Rooney is intent on protecting Sam Heathcote from suspension then maybe it’s high time to give Lewis Fensome an opportunity in his preferred position of centre back instead of as a makeshift full-back?
Less we forget, Fensome starred during the run-in to our Northern Premier League title success and was even preferred to Paul Dawson at centre back by Robbie Savage! Other than coming off the bench on Saturday to play in central defence, the only other time I can recall Fensome playing there this season is when he lined-up in a back five away at Spennymoor in August!
Address the drop-off in our attacking play
The drop-off wasn’t immediate, but over the last 6 games our attacking play in the final third has deteriorated and we now seem to be struggling without the potency, pace and tireless energy of D’Mani Mellor playing as a central striker. Here’s some stats:
Last 6 games vs Spennymoor, South Shields, Merthyr, Chester, Buxton and Hereford.
· Goals scored: 9
· Total shots: 83
· Shots on target: 24
· Shots inside the box: 42
· Shots outside the box: 41
· Crosses: 74 (20 accurate)
Previous 6 games vs Alfreton, Hereford, Telford, Curzon, Marine and Chorley.
· Goals scored: 12
· Total shots: 99
· Shots on target: 37
· Shots inside the box: 54
· Shots outside the box: 45
· Crosses: 85 (33 accurate)
Commentary: Comparing our last 6 games with the 6 games prior to that, we’ve scored 3 fewer goals, our total number of shots have reduced by 16%, shots on target by -35%, shots in the box by -22% and our total number of crosses by -12%.
In conclusion, we’re scoring fewer goals due to a significant drop-off in getting shots on target, having less efforts on goal and creating less quality chances (fewer shots inside the box).
In hindsight, perhaps the signs have been there. The free-flowing football which saw Macc sweep aside Radcliffe (3-1), Kidderminster (5-1), Worksop (4-2), Marine (4-2) and King’s Lynn (4-0), has been replaced by the Silkmen grinding out results in recent weeks. Against Curzon (20 shots) and Hereford (25 shots), we only had 4 and 3 shots respectively on target.
It was a similar story in our home defeats against Chorley (17 shots, 5 on target), Chester (16 shots, 4 on target) and on Saturday vs Spennymoor (17 shots, just 5 on target again) with Theo Chapman and James Gale particularly wasteful.
The 6 previous games Mellor started vs Darlington, Scarborough, Fylde, King’s Lynn, Leamington and Kidderminster before he was sold:
· Goals scored: 17
· Total shots: 90
· Shots on target: 40
· Shots inside the box: 52
· Shots outside the box: 38
· Crosses: 83 (36 accurate)
Commentary: I think it’s worth noting that we scored almost double the amount of goals WITH Mellor in the side (17) compared to our last 6 league games (9). And these 17 goals came against four sides who are in and around the promotion and play-off mix, albeit five of them came in the crushing victory over Kidderminster.
Don’t abandon 4-3-3 in favour of 4-2-3-1
Rooney adopted a more cautious 4-2-3-1 formation against Spennymoor, handing a debut to new signing Harry McHugh in a holding midfield role alongside James Edmondson. It simply didn’t work without Paul Dawson in the engine room.
Since abandoning 4-2-3-1 in favour of a more attack-minded 4-3-3, or a 4-1-4-1 set-up with Elliot Osborne policing just in front of the defence, the Silkmen have been scoring goals for fun. Luke Duffy has been transformed playing effectively as a right winger / inside forward, and the midfield trio of Dawson, Edmondson and Osborne complement each other well.
Striker James Gale is clearly struggling, no goals in 6 games, and just 2 since D’Mani Mellor jumped ship to Forest Green. Initially played as an impact sub, Gale had been tasked with starting 12 consecutive games before he was benched for our 4-1 to defeat at South Shields. He was re-instated against Spennymoor, but asked to play as a lone striker – a position he lacks the mobility and hold-up play qualities for.
The big man does know where the net is, he’s scored 8 goals in 20 appearances for the Silkmen, so let’s hope he comes good for the play-offs. Maybe Gale would benefit from a rest, but with loan striker Anjola Popoola absent from the squad at Spennymoor for reasons unknown, Gale may have to soldier on.
Our reliance on Dawson
Our dependency on captain fantastic Paul Dawson was again evident on Saturday. Rested as a precaution to avoid getting a 15th yellow card and another suspension, Dawson’s absence and the impact on the team was plain to see. We simply lacked tenacity in the middle of the park and his leadership presence, not to mention his goalscoring threat which has seen him score 12 goals in 37 league appearances this season.
Our record in the league with and without Dawson bares some scrutiny, and highlights that we can ill afford to be without him for the play-offs.
With Dawson:
Appearances: 37
Started: 35 (25 in midfield, 10 at centre back)
Won: 20
Drew: 5
Lost: 10
Win percentage: 57%
Without Dawson starting:
Played: 9
Won: 3
Drew: 2
Lost: 4
Win percentage: 33%
*NB Dawson did come on at half-time in the 2-1 home win against Darlington when the score was 1-1, and late on in the away defeat at Chorley when it was 2-2.
With Dawson playing at centre half:
Played: 10
Won: 5
Drew: 3
Lost 2
Win percentage: 50%
Nail down Josh Kay’s best position
Josh Kay’s Silkmen career has been characterised by fleeting moments of quality and ill-discipline. The loanee from Oldham has made 25 appearances, but three red cards and an injury before Christmas have left him unavailable for 12 league games.
Now available again after a serving a five-match ban for being sent off after the full-time whistle against Chorley, Rooney seems intent on crowbarring Kay into the team any way he can. But establishing Kay’s best position remains something of a dilemma.
The Oldham loanee has played eight different positions during his Silkmen career to date: holding midfielder, central midfielder, right mid, left mid, attacking mid, left wing, right wing and even as a central striker against South Shields! Just 3 goals and 2 assists in the league have led some supporters to question Kay’s end product and true value to the Silkmen’s starting eleven, with good reason.
I’m not sure Kay possesses the pace, trickery or goalscoring composure to operate successfully in a front three. He’s also very wasteful in the opposition’s half the further he plays forward – just 36% passing accuracy vs Merthyr, 55% vs Chester and 63% vs Spennymoor isn’t good enough at any level.
However, in midfield Kay’s aggression, technique and ability to pick out a forward run does appear to be where his undoubted talent is most effective. In his 6 appearances playing at left midfield in a midfield three, Macclesfield have won 5 and lost 1, although the opposition includes Bedford (twice), Leamington, King’s Lynn, Darlington and Chorley (1-2 defeat).
On his day Kay can be a match-winner, but can Rooney trust him a) to deliver in the games that matter the most and b) keep his head in the play-off pressure cooker? It’s not as if we can’t prevail without Kay in the side. In the 12 games he’s been unavailable for, we’ve won 7, drawn 1 and lost only 4.
Justice for JJ?
It’s fair to presume that Justin Johnson and John Rooney don’t see eye-to-eye. Johnson was a peripheral figure at the start of the season, seemingly only getting his chance off the bench in an act of desperation from Rooney versus Darlington at home and Chorley away.
Johnson’s impressive cameos earned him a run in the side and the wayward winger duly delivered with a man-of-the-match performance and tremendous winner in the 3-2 victory over Curzon. Rather than sound like a broken record, I’ll share a link to the article I wrote about JJ at the time – many of points still stand six months later.
Johnson’s purple patch had extinguished somewhat prior to him getting injured before Christmas. Despite this, he had still registered three goals and two assists from 18 appearances, just nine of them starts, averaging a total of only 39 minutes per game.
JJ’s last start came against Chester on 30 December when he was hooked at half-time in the disappointing 2-0 loss. His last league appearance was as an 87th minute substitute in our 2-1 loss at home to Chorley, and he’s not even made the bench since Curzon away on 14th March – 9 games ago!
I don’t know what’s gone on behind the scenes, but given Macclesfield’s current struggles in the final third, surely there’s merit in Rooney and Johnson burying the hatchet? Or, are you honestly telling me that there’s no room for Johnson in our squad of 18, even as an impact sub who is capable of turning a game on its head with some sublime skill and unpredictability?
It’s not too late for both parties to swallow their pride, and arguably someone needs to quickly to give the Silkmen the best chance of triumphing in the play-offs.