Grimsby v Macclesfield Preview

Who are they?

Could any team encapsulate Division 4 more than Macclesfield? Well maybe Rochdale they are the moderator of League Two after all they just permanently hang around a bit like Biccy really. Anyway they should be applauded, nestling at the foothills of the beautiful Peak District. Macclesfield have competition from Manchester, Liverpool and even Stoke for punters and as a result can boast some of the lowest attendances in the entire football league . Even with such a lowly budget it and a general apathy from the local community they really should be applauded for keeping themselves above the waterline.

Macclesfield could technically argue they are older than any club on the planet. Created in the mid 1800’s as a rugby union team they changed codes in 1874 and played under numerous names before settling on Macclesfield Town F.C. For a team which is so old the clubs achievements aren't up to much by many standards. They were founder members of the Northern Premier League and one the inaugural FA Trophy against Telford at Wembley, promotion from the conference in 1997 after two years previously not been allowed in the league due to the poor state of Moss Rose. Since then the club have struggled but survived in the Football League on their meagre budget and with the likes of Accrington showing what can be achieved promotion and more importantly the lure of more support must be the club's key objective.

The Silkmen have yet to win in 2010 and are slipping ever closer towards the mess we find ourselves in at the moment. The team thought they had put all thoughts of relegation behind them in the run up to Christmas with a string of impressive results including a 4-1 win over Crewe and a 3-1 victory over Hereford. Though Macclesfield have been able to pick up victories from those around them it’s victories against the tougher opponents which has marred and progress this season for the Silkmen every victory has come against a team either below them or within 10 points of them. Macclesfield not unlike ourselves currently find themselves in the midst of a drawing palooza - 4 of their last 6 have ended all square while Grimsby have drawn 12 of 16. Hmm wonder how this may end?

Influential youngster John Rooney has impressed so much he is currently at Derby on trial so the Silkmen will turn to leading goal scorer Reniel Sappleton for inspiration. Sappleton also known as Ricky has had nearly as many clubs as Trevor Benjamin and is only 20. "Ricky" Started his career at QPR where he caught the wandering eye of Liverpool and Middlesbrough where he spent two week trials at both clubs before settling at Leicester. Numerous loan clubs followed but it was at Macclesfield where Sappleton found his level, in a brief loan spell last season Sappleton scored 5 in 8 guaranteeing him a contract with Keith Alexander’s men. Currently the powerful forward has 6 goals to his name and with the likely hood he may well be playing under the finesse tactic of Keithball expect our backline to take an aerial bombardment for 90 minutes.

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Head to Head

Town have won just twice against the Silkmen. 4 out of 5 games at Blundell Park have been draws.

P11 W 2 D 6 L 3 F 10 A 11

Head-to-Head (66th The Opposition Ladder)

Last Meeting

Macclesfield 0 Grimsby 0 (Sat 28th Nov 2009)

Town hit the woodwork twice and had a goal disallowed, and Macclesfield missed chances too.

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