MACC ATTACK IS A JOY TO WATCH

SILKMEN TITLE WOULD BE A VICTORY FOR FOOTBALL

IT’S time to stick or twist for Macclesfield Town – they’re top of the National League and boss John Askey has the quality in his squad to win the title.

That’s not me saying they will, but with a couple of reinforcements drafted in now and they will be in an even better position.

There’s a lot of football still to play and this is when suspensions and injuries can really kick in. Going forward – along with Aldershot – Macc have probably the best attack in the National League.

Materials

It’s almost as if Askey has to start again every summer. I know Chris Holroyd can be hit and miss sometimes, but they lost him to Wrexham and experienced players like that can be difficult to replace.

But the acquisitions they’ve made have been excellent. Shwan Jalal has a case for being labelled the best goalkeeper in the league and midfielder Danny Whitehead, who joined from Wigan Athletic, is arguably one of the best midfielders I’ve seen in the National League.

Then they got Tyrone Marsh and Scott Wilson from Dover and Eastleigh. There were no guarantees they would hit the ground running and very rarely does he start with both, but they’ve been excellent.

Askey has a really good starting XI. Danny Whitaker is 37 years old, but you wouldn’t know it. He’s a fabulous player for them in midfield.

So they’ve got the materials to do it. But it’s like everything, can they hold out through the season? I would think they need to invest in some reinforcements, especially in defensive areas.

As a team they are on fire at the minute and that momentum is a massive force. Not many predicted they would be in this position but there comes a time when you have to acknowledge these are the teams fighting it out for the title. They’re not there by fluke – their last league defeat was back in October against Eastleigh! But when a team has a small squad you worry there might come a time when things catch up with them. Look at Aldershot Town in the play-offs last year when they went up against Tranmere. It was just a stretch too far.

We know Macc aren’t the biggest payers in the league, but one thing Askey does very well is get his ideas into his players very quickly.

Balance

January can be a risky time to sign players. You have to take care that you bring in the right characters that won’t upset the dressing room or the balance of the team. You’re not going to bring in a player who is better than everyone and sit him on the bench. New arrivals have to be smart signings. I just feel they will need one or two loan signings to give that cover.

If the club don’t let Askey bring anyone in then it allows the chasing pack to go out and get the players they need to try and catch them.

Macc have just launched a fund for fans to donate in order to boost the budget and that could prove vital.

They’ll certainly get in the play-offs – and still be very strong in them – but with only one automatic promotion spot you need your squad to be at its strongest from now on.

I hope it doesn’t catch up with them. I like Macclesfield a lot – they’re a good club, we’re always well looked after when we go there with BT Sport and I respect the way they play.

If they do win the title then, since I’ve been covering the division, they will be the first team to be crowned champions playing good football.