Read all about our visit to Macclesfield Town, of the English fifth tier, who hosted us at the Moss Rose Ground, Macclesfield.
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Where:
General Info
Date of Visit: Monday, 16.3.15, 17:00
Club Name: Macclesfield Town FC
Nickname: The Silkmen
Founded: 1874
Stadium: The Moss Rose Ground, Macclesfield, Capacity: 6,355 (2,599 seated)
League and Rank: Conference Premier (5th Tier) Rank: 3/24
Official Site
The Visit
All the way to Macclesfield, I thought about Oren, who couldn't be with us here today on this historic visit. For those who don't know the story of how the Cinderella project was born, I'll briefly explain that the 'Silkmen' are Oren's beloved club – chosen rather arbitrarily back in the 1990s – and since then it's all history…
The town of Macclesfield, near the Peak District we'd visited earlier, is actually in Cheshire and is home to just over 50,000 people. Sadly, our tight schedule didn't allow us to explore the town, and we headed straight for the Moss Rose Ground – the local club's home. From the outside, the Moss Rose looks like an impossible cross between a travelling circus and a tyre-repair shop. The ground sits in the middle of a big gravel yard full of puddles of mud and engine oil, plus countless signs of every colour, type and size, and stunning mosaic decorations on the outer walls telling the story of this modest, lovely club.
We entered the club after a quick buzz on the intercom – just like the old days. It felt as though we were indeed expected somewhere up the two floors. We climbed the stairwell at the foot of a giant round crest adorning the main wall. After passing through a few more doors separating the people inside from the cold outside, we introduced ourselves to the club secretary and the other office holders staffing the office. It was lovely to see that the offices looked straight out onto the pitch. It wasn't like any club we'd seen before, and it was actually a brilliant idea: through huge windows looking down, the Moss Rose's green and rather well-tended grass spreads out before all the office staff.
The secretary, Chrissie, who knew we were coming, quickly pointed to two figures walking on the pitch, one of whom was surely Dave Towns – the club's general manager. Chrissie even offered to open the club shop for us while we waited for our meeting. We followed Chrissie back down to the ground floor, where the club shop is, and bought everything we could lay our hands on, until Dave arrived together with the groundsman, Daniel – the local Brad Pitt lookalike with a beard. Dave was extremely friendly and patient. Our meeting with him there in the club shop was one of the ones we remember most fondly of all. Dave told us about the great excitement and expectations for the final stretch of the magical season this small club was having, with the Silkmen challenging for nothing less than the fifth-tier title. The feeling was that this time they could do it and go back up to the fourth tier – and if not through automatic promotion, then at least via the play-offs. Dave told us that apart from Daniel beside him, the kit manager and himself, the rest of the club's management team was made up entirely of volunteers. Female volunteers, to be precise: three more women filling other roles. Oh yes – we forgot an important detail: they're all called Chrissie. Completely true.
Dave also told us about the club's Israeli connection. According to him, many years ago the club played a friendly against one of the Tel Aviv clubs. Since Bilu, the Cinderellas' top authority on all things Hapoel Tel Aviv, didn't remember any such match, and since we searched extensively online after this visit and found nothing, we're leaving this theory in doubt…
After presenting the plaque and the traditional handshake, Dave handed the hosting baton to Daniel, the stadium manager. After a goodbye to Dave that included sincere, heartfelt wishes on both sides, we followed Daniel on a tour of the facilities outside. Daniel led us out to the pitch through the building's inner perimeter ring, which looked like an underground car park. We went out into the bitter cold and made our way slowly, the four of us together, first past the away stands, then behind the goals, whose nets hung from the crossbars in endless anticipation of the next match. We crossed to the other side of the Moss Rose, to the stand called the Henshaw's Stand. This stand housed both teams' dressing rooms and other rooms. We went into the stand's inner corridor and there met the club's kit manager, a most pleasant man who was busy with his professional duties, which included washing the entire training and match kit and organising all the sports equipment. It was quite something to see the bunch of keys this man uses. There were no fewer than a hundred…
After a short tour of the deserted home and away dressing rooms and the other rooms, Daniel took us on a full lap of the pitch, telling us about the great excitement ahead of the next home game against Bristol Rovers, whose fans were expected to fill all the away stands. We imagined what it would be like to see the Moss Rose full, and were rather disappointed that this time we wouldn't get to attend a match here – but we know we'll be back. No way we won't. We said goodbye to Daniel and all the Chrissies, thanking them for their generous hospitality, and continued on our way to the next destination.
