Macclesfield Town

The Macc Lads may be one of the worst novelty punk acts to have emerged, but when it comes to culture the town of Macclesfield isn't blessed with a lot of options. Which is a shame as it's a lovely town, nestling neatly in the Pennines. With the demise of Chester City, Macclesfield and Crewe Alexandra now fight it out for the honour of being the worst professional club in Cheshire.

Being narthern, Macclesfield were originally a rugby club formed sometime in the misty haze of the mid-1800s. They sensibly adopted Association rules in 1874, initially playing friendly games and Cheshire Senior Cup matches, winning the tournament in 1895 and 1896. Meanwhile, in 1890, they were founder members of a local league that included Chester, Wrexham, and Northwich Victoria, among others. In 1891 they moved to Moss Rose, but in 1897 the club finished bottom of their league and was declared bankrupt.

Moss Rose was taken over by Hallifield, who played in the Stockport and District League. They won the league in 1899 and joined the North Staffs League as Macclesfield, joining the Manchester League the following season. In 1911 they won both the Cheshire Senior Cup and the Manchester League, but during the First World War the club went into liquidation and had to be reformed. After the War the new club joined the Cheshire League, where they had moderate success until winning the title in 1931 and again two years later.

The club again went dormant during World War II, but was revived in 1946 when they again joined the Cheshire League, which they won in 1961 and 1964. Macclesfield also won the league in 1968, their last season in the competition before becoming founder members of the Northern Premier League, which they won in the first season. The following season the Silkmen became the first winners of the FA Trophy, a new national non-league competition, and again were champions of the NPL. After these heroics Macclesfield suffered a decline and they finished bottom of the NPL in 1979. It took a few years for the club to revive, and in 1985 they finished runners-up of the NPL, winning the title two years later to earn promotion to the Conference.

The club's finest hour to date came in 1995, when Sammy McIlroy's side won the Conference title, promotion to the Football League denied because Moss Rose failed to meet the required standards. The following season they again won the FA Trophy, beating Northwich 3-1 at Wembley, and in 1997 Macclesfield won the Conference for the second time, this time achieving the dream of League football. Macc's first season as a League side proved a good one, as they finished second in the bottom flight, going unbeaten at home all season. However, their stay in the Third Division was a short one as they suffered their first ever relegation in 1999. In 2004, under the management of Brian Horton, the Silkmen reached the Fourth Division play-offs, losing to Lincoln City in the semi-final. Horton was sacked in September 2006, and at the end of that season Macclesfield's League status was secured only on the final day. Macclesfield finished in 20th place in 2009 and last season they went one better, finishing 19th.

Moss Rose has a capacity of 6,355 of which 2,599 are seated. Away fans are accommodate on the open Silkmen End terrace, with a few seats occasionally allocated to away fans in the Silk FM stand (which was originally, and rather nattily, called the London Road stand) if numbers of travelling fans justify it. Last season they charged adults