Silkmen in a flap over new winger...
A SWAN had players and staff at Macc Town FC in a flap after it crash landed at the club’s ground.
The cygnet fell from the skies as players were training at the Moss Rose on Thursday night, narrowly missing defender Andy Halls.
The exhausted bird was rescued by kit man Paul Etchells and groundsman Danny Walker and spent the night at the club recuperating.
The cygnet, who was given the nickname Albert, then spent two days wandering around the ground until the RSPCA was able to collect him.
Albert caused such a stir at the club it’s rumoured that manager John Askey contemplated playing him as a winger in Saturday’s game against Dover.
Luckily for the squad the RSPCA picked Albert half an hour before kick off
Etch, 64, recalled Albert’s dramatic arrival.
He said: “The players were training and he came screaming from the air and crashed on to the pitch, almost hitting Halls. He was clearly exhausted and confused and spent the rest of the night wandering around almost getting hit by the ball. It was pretty funny.”
Etch and Danny managed to catch the wayward bird and keep him safe in the ground before calling the RSPCA.
Etch added: “In the morning we let him out to see if he’d fly off but he didn’t. He spent the whole day following us around. He was in the stands while we had some new seats fixed and followed the mower on the pitch. It was brilliant. I think he thought he might get a game if he stayed around long enough.
“Truth be known we got quite fond of him. He became a bit of mascot around the place, which Roary the Lion, the club’s mascot, was a bit unhappy about.”