Robbie Savage: Diary of a Football Manager: Transfer ‘patsy’ shenanigans and snow-clearing
In association with Planet Sport Bet, Robbie is taking us behind the scenes each week at Macclesfield FC, the phoenix club rising from the ashes of Macclesfield Town, who went bust in 2020.
Robbie has played one of the leading roles in the rebirth of a now-thriving football club, first as director of football, now as first-team manager as the Silkmen seek to climb their way from the ninth tier back to the Football League.
In his latest diary entry, Robbie reveals what left him feeling uplifted after a gut-wrenching late defeat, and discusses why it’s difficult to deal in the transfer market………
One win and one defeat made for a mixed week for my Macc. But the fact we were able to play at all is testament to the community spirit we have down here below the EFL and something that should be celebrated.
The headline from last Tuesday night was an injury-time defeat at Ashton United. I was gutted to go down to 94th-minute winner but this was not like the Boxing Day debacle against Leek. We played well, we competed as I expect, but we almost beat ourselves by missing a host of chances, our overall play betrayed by our lack of ruthlessness.
I warned the lads at half-time: be clinical or it will cost us, and that’s how it panned out. We continued to miss opportunities and got sucker-punched in added-time. Not a nice feeling…
Still, credit to Ashton United for their performance and the efforts of everyone there to get the game on despite the cold snap last week.
Then it was our turn to battle the elements. Having played on the Tuesday night, I headed for training on Thursday morning, embarking on what turned out to be a treacherous journey. As badly as I wanted the boys together, it wasn’t worth the risk. They were told to stay at home and do whatever they could individually to prepare for the visit of FC United of Manchester.
By the time I reached the ground, the snow was falling again and swiftly the pitch, and everywhere else, was covered in five or six inches. Forty-eight hours before FC United were due to arrive, the prospects of a game looked remote.
Once that snow dump was done, a plea went out via social media on Thursday lunchtime for volunteers to help clear the pitch. If it was to be postponed, it wasn’t going to be because we had not done everything to get the game on. We always want to play. For the most part this season, to maintain momentum; last weekend it was to bounce back and get Ashton United out of our system.
Late into Thursday night and all through Friday, an army of volunteers answered the call. Close to 100 people made their way down, most with shovels and one, Ben, with Land Rover fitted with a plough. Another lady, Sherri, brought her kids with their sledges to help move the snow from the pitch.
It was an incredible effort, the sort that warms the heart and reminds us why we’re doing what we are trying to do: give a town back a football club it can be proud of.
That sort of community-mindedness was evident across the non-league system this weekend. Plenty of games had to be postponed but in many cases, it wasn’t for a lack of effort. Amid the greed and cynicism around the top end of the game, further down the pyramid, it is still the people that make it what it is.
So the three points we took from a 2-0 win were dedicated to those volunteers. And they were hard-earned – our goalkeeper, Max Dearnley was Man of the Match. To bounce back from the Ashton United disappointment, with no time on the grass in between, was hugely satisfying, especially having found the ruthlessness that was missing in midweek.
Those points take us 16 clear at the top of the table, with Guiseley’s postponement giving them two games in hand. But I always prefer to have the points on the board. Over the course of the season, two points per game usually wins this league. Guiseley, to their credit, are achieving that, but we’re currently on 2.44 points per game.
For me, that’s a remarkable effort given how opponents raise their game when they come up against us. Almost every week, we’re facing sides putting in their hardest shift of the season. So much of our opponents’ preparation takes on a whole new level when it’s Macc up next, from one-off hotel visits for pre-match, to the privilege of other clubs’ managers volunteering their insight on how best to set up against us. I take it as a huge compliment, but the thirst to beat us demands a relentlessness from my squad that I cannot commend highly enough.
Of course, we want to keep improving, and we’re trying to strengthen the squad for the remainder of the season. We had to wave off James Edmondson when he was recalled from his loan by Blackburn Rovers last week. He’s been brilliant for us, and I think we’ve been brilliant for him. So I’ve been talking to academy managers at Premier League and Championship clubs to see what might be possible.
Obviously we have had interest in some of our players. But in the same way clubs want to apply a Macc Tax when selling to us, the buying ones seem to think we’re not going to insist on a fair deal. We’re running a sustainable model here so any manager thinking we might be their patsy need not bother picking up the phone. Maybe that’s why some are flouting the rules by calling my players before approaching the club.
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One of the factors in being sustainable is our pitch. If we did not have the artificial surface, there was nothing we could have done to get the FC United game on. But we were able to play, and so too are our academy and women’s teams while many grassroots organisations wait on the weather.
The pitch is a fantastic resource for the local community and an important source of revenue for the club. So it baffles me why EFL regulations mean anyone earning promotion to League Two has to rip up their artificial surface and replace it with grass. How many League One and Two clubs would benefit from revenue these pitches provide, as well as the links they can help forge with their community?
These are not like these are the old-school plastic pitches, that QPR, Oldham, Luton, Preston all played on back in the day. These surfaces are allowed in the Champions League, but not in League Two. That makes no sense to me, especially when so many clubs are struggling financially.
I hope that the EFL will have a rethink before we have to worry about that. My only concern right now: Gainsborough Trinity on Saturday.
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