Welcome to the Silkmen Supporters' Trust.

09 OCtober 2018

RIP John Rayner

It is with great sadness that the SST has received the news of former SST Board member John Rayner’s untimely passing away due to a short but aggressive illness.

John served many years on the SST Board, including as Chairman, and was well liked and respected by his fellow Board Members. John built a close relationship between supporters and the club and led the voluntary effort needed to repair and maintain the ground. He set an excellent example to others, often seen with a hammer, nails and even on occasions, a cherry picker. He was considered by many of his colleagues on the Board as a model Chairman, approachable, hardworking and with a great ability to build contacts with senior club officials.

He also took part in the SST sponsored walks from Macclesfield to Stockport to raise money for local charities, on one occasion doing it dressed in the Cheshire Building Society Cheshire Cat Mascot outfit.

John, you were a true gentleman and you will be always be remembered with fondness by your friends in the SST.

Our thoughts and prayers are with your family at this sad time.

John Rayner (far right in the picture) at the Coleraine pre-season friendly 2008

07 October 2018

David Woolliscroft
Board Appointed Society Secretary

SST Board Meets New Chief Exec

The SST Board met with new Chief Executive Kevin Green and Media Manager Bob Trafford on the 17^th September. Kevin has a huge amount of experience in Football at all levels and one of his biggest priorities will be to transform Macclesfield Town infrastructure from National League to Football League standards. It is becoming more and more apparent that the Football League has far more exacting standards than it did when the Silkmen first entered it in 1997 and Kevin has his work cut out. The SST has offered to support Kevin where it can in improving the Moss Rose facilities. We also discussed the increased difference in playing standards since 1997 and Kevin said that this first season would be a tough one but he was reassuringly confident that the Silkmen have what it takes to stay up this season. 

Kevin stated he wanted to improve communications between the Club and the fans and to this end the Club have appointed Bob Trafford as the Fan Liaison Officer. If you have any issues regarding the operational running of the Club you can contact Bob 01625 264686 or emailing press@mtfc.co.uk and you will receive a response within a maximum time period of five working days

The SST looks forward to working with Bob to look after the concerns of our members and we will of course offer our assistance where we can.

2 September 2018

SST help Macc prepare for winter!

As previously reported, the SST have been looking for ways to help the Club adapt to life in League 2 off the pitch.

One of the areas that we knew the Club was looking at was getting the McIlroy suite properly insulated. Having held our meetings there in winter we can vouch for how cold it gets and there is also the added costs of the heating. Due to the fantastic generosity of our Pledgers, our Silk Pledge fund raising scheme raised nearly £3000 this season. The SST agreed to donate this £3000 towards the Club in order to have the McIlroy properly insulated. Our partners, the Silk Lotto, also donated £1000. The insulation work has now been completed. 

Chairman Mark Blower said “A lack of suitable insulation and a robust heating system has meant that for many years the Mcllroy suite has been particularly cold in the winter.  On matchdays this has been manageable, but it has severely hampered the Club's ability to monetise the facility on non-matchdays, as it is just too cold for people who hire the facility to be in there for any length of time.  The upfront cost required to put this right was too great for the Club itself but we made use of a grant scheme and sought the support of the SST and the Silk Lotto to provide further capital, which they agreed to and the Club is extremely grateful.  Our Commercial Manager, James Beckett, can now promote and sell this fantastic facility safe in the knowledge that it will be a warm and pleasant environment to hold events, be it a party, wedding, conference or breakfast club and of course on matchdays it will be more welcoming for those who want to watch the game from a warm place - all of which brings vital revenue to our Club. So thank you.”

23 August 2018

SST buy New Glasswasher for the McIlroy Suite.

It’s not just on the field that the Club have had to step up. Life in the Football League brings new challenges to the backroom staff as well. Being in the Football League means we can expect to see higher attendances. Football fans are a thirsty bunch and the staff in the McIlroy are entrusted with keeping them from drying out.

In order to give Keith, Nicky and the rest of the bar staff a hand, the SST have donated just over £1000 in order for them to buy a new glass washer, which will allow them to provide a better service to the fans.

We have also committed to giving over a much larger sum for further improvements to the McIlroy suite. We will announce further details in the near future.

The SST would like to thank all of our members, Silk Pledgers, Xmas raffle ticket buyers and those who donate (and buy) memorabilia from our website. It is your generosity that makes these things possible.

Online Market

As some of you may be aware the SST sells items of donated Silkmen and other football memorabilia on our website. We recently sold our last item on it, but are busy getting to relaunch with some new (old J) stock. If you have any old items taking up space, which you would be prepared to donate to the SST to raise funds, please e-mail enquiries@sstrust.uk

18 July 2018

Most Successful Silk Pledge Ever!

Thanks to the generosity of our pledgers and the heroics performed by John Askey and his Silkmen the 2017/2018 Silk Pledge was our most successful one yet raising an astonishing £2800. We have not let the grass grow under our feet and we hope to be able to announce a significant investment into improvements in the Moss Rose stadium shortly.

Once again a huge thanks to all our pledgers listed below. Want to take part this season? Then click here

The 2017/18 Silk Pledgers

John Abbott, Marie Grundy, The Mokk Lads, Andy Worth, Myra Clark, Don Riseley, Kevin Rickman, Chris Abbott, Sue Nicholls, Nicolas Fellows, Jason Justice, Steve Mundy, Chrissie Thompson, Rob Wilson, Julia Mitchell, Peter Owen, Kevin Rickman, Pete Warren, George Williams, Ian Edy, Matt Todd, Gail Feay, John Clark,  Steve Porter, Brian Melling, Paul Collier, John Simpson, Clare Morgan, Cheryl Abbott, David Woolliscroft, Sarah & Peter Miles

Apologies - due to a breakdown in communications, the following people were missed off the list 

Leon Eardley, Phil Gibbons, Haav Gulbrandsen, Alan Burgess, Margaret Milligan, Michael Pace, Lars Erik Pedersen, Jon Smart and the late (and much missed) Hilary Woolliscroft

My sincere apologies for the oversight.

27 May 2018

SST and Silk Lotto pay for new Club IT

The move into the Football League will present new challenges to the Football Club, particularly in terms of infrastructure. League regulations will require ground improvements and the regular match day functions will have to cope with increased attendances. The Silkmen Supporters Trust and the Silk Lotto have been looking at ways in which we can assist the Club as it transitions from Non-League.

One area we discovered to be in need of immediate improvement was the Club’s Office IT, which was slow, out of date and causing major problems for Julie and Caroline in the Office. The SST and the Silk Lotto have provided the funds for two new computers with the necessary software and their installation.

Both the SST and the Silk Lotto are continuing to liaise with the Club in order to identify other areas in which we can assist the Football Club.

General Data Protection Regulations

Becdause The Silkmen Supporters Trust keeps a database of its members it comes under the new General Data Protection Regulations introduced on the 25th May. We have written a policy in order to comply with the new regulations which can be found here and e-mailed or written to all of our members. The SST does not pass on members' details to third parties.

If you no longer wish to receive e-mails from us please contact us at enquiries@sstrust.uk.

29 April 2018

Oh what a night! - 2017/18 Player of the Year Awards

The McIlroy Suite was packed last night as the fans celebrated a magnificent season with the players, back room staff and Sir John Askey. Peter Wragg and Gil Prescott were special guests at the evening. The awards were as follows - 

Player of the Year (Fans' Choice) - Danny Whitaker

Player's Player of the Year - Keith Lowe

SST Andy Mellor Award for Endeavour - Danny Whitaker

MoM Most wins (Star Lane End Website) - Keith Lowe 

MoM Most wins (Wraggs To Riches Website) - Keith Lowe

Goal of the Season - Ryan Lloyd

A massive thank you to Andy and Sean Worth, Dean Holmes, Bob Trafford, Marie Grundy, Dan Ashton and Robert Stirling for organising an evening worthy of such a special occasion. A special mention also to those working behind the scenes. 

The SST provided the trophies for the Evening (with the exception of the Star Lane Website award).

The players celebrating with the National League Champions Trophy

Oh What a Season!

On behalf of the Board may I pass on our congratulations to John and the players for their superb achievements this season in gaining promotion to the Football League. John has proved that heart, desire and a willingness to work for one another can be more important than the size of your budget or the numbers in your squad.

Also, a big thank you to the Board, backroom staff and the army of volunteers that work tirelessly away in the background all doing their part in making this Club a success. Your efforts don’t go unnoticed and they are appreciated.

Moose Tours – His Spirit Lives On

When we put our names down for the Moose Tours weekend in Bournemouth including a trip to the Eastleigh game – little did we realise that it would be such a crucial fixture. Sadly, nor did we realise that David ‘Moose’ Littler would not be there with us to witness it, having passed away in December. However, it was Moose’s wish that the tours would continue and thanks to the hard work of Bernie Rickman and Moose’s brother Steve Littler, the weekend away trip was a fantastic success capped off with promotion to The Football League - a fitting tribute to a great man.

The Tour Setting off for the Eastleigh Match

It is Bernie and Steve’s intention to continue with the Tours next year and if you have never been on a tour before then you should give it a go. Moose Tours aims to make a whole day out of trips to away matches, setting off early in order to allow time to stop off and visit another town such as St Albans, Gloucester or Cirencester on route, where people can either sight see or have a drink and a meal. Everybody is very friendly and “tourers” ages range from 16 to 80. Bernie advertises on both Wraggs to Riches and the Star Lane End websites prior to games or you can call him on 07517 434323.

18 March 2018

SST Says Thank You Part 1

The SST Board met with John Askey on the 22nd February. We asked John to pass on to the players how immensely proud we are of them and of their achievements this year. To be top of the League is a wonderful achievement in itself but when you consider the limited budget and the fact that so many of the players only joined this season it is astonishing.  We also congratulated John on putting together such a group of honest, hardworking players who play football in the way the fans want to see.

Shortly after that we were given the opportunity to underline that message. Dan Ackerley had organised a team building meal at Rosanero's restaurants and was looking for sponsors. The SST were pleased to show their support for the players and John by making a donation towards the costs.

Players enjoying the meal at Rosanero's Restaurant

SST Says Thank You Part 2

Last Tuesday, the Super Silk Lotto and the Butch's Bar Management laid on a get together, which included a buffet meal and a free drink, for the people who have acted in a voluntary capacity for the good of Macclesfield Town. The SST shared the bill for the buffet and the drinks with the Super Silk Lotto.

SST Chairman Steve Mundy attended the evening and thanked those who were there. "...The people who give up their time voluntarily for Macclesfield Town don't do it because they want to be thanked - they do it because they love this Club. But it's important that that work is acknowledged and therefore on behalf of the SST Board and its members I'd like to say thank you."

The evening was a great success and well done to Roberts Stirling and Dean Holmes for organising it. The Club is reliant on volunteers for almost every aspect of its running - even those who are paid work far more hours than they are paid for - and this was a nice way to show our appreciation.

04 March 2018

SST Six Monthly Update

SST Activity since August 2017

Expenditure

·   £1000 – Donated to the Silkmen Player Fund

·   £175 – (in partnership with the Silk Lotto who also donated £175) in order to have the pitch professionally drained prior to the Guiseley game – money well spent as it turns out! The groundsman, Gary Lewis, was concerned that the game could have been called off otherwise.

·    £500 – donated to the Club in order to obtain kitchen and Bar equipment.

·    £210 – (in partnership with the Silk Lotto who also donated £210) to provide 30 new radios and charging units for the stewards to replace broken/ worn out ones.

Fundraising

·     Silk Pledge – The pledge currently stands at £1405 (of which £454 has already been paid) – which is another astonishing effort from our pledgers and organiser John Abbott (helped by the team’s superb performance this season).

·     Easyfundraising – Our internet shoppers have been busy again, bringing in another £245 since last August.

·     Christmas Raffle - Once again, Myra Clark did a terrific job organising the Christmas raffle, which raised the grand sum of £920.64. Thanks again to all those who bought tickets or donated prizes. A special thanks to ‘Big Jim’ Goodwin who donated the turkey.

·     The SST “Shop” - The SST have been selling items of Silkmen Memorabilia on our website which have been donated to us to raise funds. The SST Shop can be found at http://www.sstrust.uk/fundraising/sst-shop/  We have raised over £170 selling donated items in the last year. If you have any old shirts or other memorabilia which are no longer wanted and are taking up space which you would like to donate to the SST then please contact us at enquiries@sstrust.uk A big thank you to David Bettany, Bill and Margaret Milligan, Julia Mitchell and Chrissie Thompson for your donations.

Silk Lotto

The SST continues to provide the banking and accounts for the Silk Lotto and to cover its activities under our Lottery License. The Silk Lotto provides £500 towards the Club every month (over £18,770 in total) and has paid out over £15,500 in prizes since its inception in November 2014. This year’s nominated charity is the MAC Multi-Activity Centre, a community interest company working toward charitable status. This means that they are committed to improving recreational facilities for the people of Macclesfield and the wider community.

“Moose Tours” – His spirit lives on

Following the sad passing of David “Moose” Littler last year, SST Membership Secretary Bernie Rickman is continuing to organise the “Moose Tours” coaches to away games.

If you have never been on a tour before then you should give it a go. Moose Tours aims to make a whole day out of trips to away matches, setting off early in order to allow time to stop off and visit another town such as St Albans, Gloucester or Cirencester on route, where people can either sight see or have a drink and a meal. Everybody is very friendly and “tourers” ages range from 16 to 80. Bernie advertises on both Wraggs to Riches and the Star Lane End websites prior to games or you can call him on 07517 434323.

Working with the Club

We continue to keep in close contact with the Club Management Structure. We met with the Chairman, Mark Blower, to express our concerns over the late payment of wages and we have also met with John Askey.

Thank you once again for your support and let’s hope that by the time of our next newsletter Macclesfield Town are once more in the Football League.

Steve Mundy

Chairman

25 February 2018

Receiving Loud and Clear!

The SST and the Silk Lotto have teamed up again to provide new radios and charging stations for the Stewards as the previous ones were failing. Stewarding and public safety is an essential requirement for matches to take place and we were happy to help.

SST Smiles (1) - Just leave it alone!

SST Smiles (2) - Dodgy defending

11 February 2018

Money Well Spent!

The more eagle eyed of those among you who attended yesterday's game may have noticed a number of small holes in the pitch surface yesterday. This was due to the actions of a verti-drain, where the pitch is punctured with 18 inch deep holes to assist with drainage. Grounsdman Gary Lewis was concerned that the high rainfall in the weeks running up to the Guisely game could lead to it in danger of being called off and organised the hire of the drainage equipment out of his own pocket. When the SST and the Silk Lotto became aware of this, they promptly agreed to reimburse Gary.

Nathan Blisset and Tyrone Marsh scored the goals that meant the £350 spent was worth every penny.

04 February 2018

Statement Re Non-Payment of Players Wages

As you may be aware a statement was posted on The Star Lane End website last Thursday evening (1^st Feb) stating that the players had not been paid. This was obviously deeply concerning and the SST spoke with Mark Blower, Chairman of MTFC, several times on Friday to ascertain what had gone on and what was being done to rectify the situation. This resulted in the following information being received.

A large pre-planned and budgeted amount of money was due to be received by the Club from abroad however due to technical problems the money was not received. This in turn created a cash flow problem and so the players’ wages could not be paid when they fell due on Wednesday 31^st January.

When it became clear there was going to be a problem, the owner of the Club, Amar Al Kadhi, contacted John Askey on the 31^st to inform him of the situation (Mark Blower thought that it was important that the information should come directly from him).

 Attempts were made to rectify the issue on Thursday and Friday but these were unsuccessful.

The payment is now expected to arrive on Monday, however the sum expected will not as much as was budgeted for and so Mark Blower and Andy Scott have agreed to put in the difference.

28 January 2018

Lotto Winners - Congratulations to

26/01/2018 - 143 Alan Brant

19/01/2018 - 134 Steven Smith

News of Two Non-League Clubs in Financial Difficulty

Hartlepool United

Chester City

A Website for Groundhoppers

Go to a lot of away games? Ever wondered how many grounds you've ever visited? This might be the site for you. TheFootballGroundMap allows you to record the details of every Football Ground you visit and then plots them on a map for you. The list of grounds contained is staggerringly comprehensive including the lower depths of the Non-League scene, defunct grounds and grounds across the globe. 

There are 142 Macclesfield fans registered and top of the Leader Board is jonnymacc who has been to an incredible 268 grounds.

You can check it out here

14 January 2018

The SST has been given further Silkmen memorabilia items for sale which can be found here

The SST raised £100 last year from selling donated items. If you have any MTFC items that you no longer want and think other Silkmen fans may be interested in them, then please get in contact with us at enquiries@sstrust.uk

A big thank you to everyone who has donated items.

Another bumper year for Easyfundraising

Easyfundraising raised just shy of £500 in 2017 for the SST. A big thank you to all our on-line shoppers who are raising money for us everytime they indulge in a little retail therapy.

31st December 2017

Silkmen Supporters Trust support the Silkmen Campaign Fund

As you may have seen on the Official Site, Macclesfield Town FC have launched a Silkmen Campaign Fund to raise funds which will be used solely for additions to John Askey's playing budget – for full details see here

The Campaign will work in the same way as last year’s, with investors receiving their donation back plus the same amount again if the team reaches the Football League. Last year, however, the campaign ran at the start of the Season whereas this year we’re already half way there.  

John Askey has done a tremendous job in getting us to the top of the National League. Our number one aim has to be to return to the Football League and if anybody can get us there then it’s John and the SST wants to help. Investment by the fans and the SST in the past has enabled John to bring such great players as Danny Whitehead and David Fitzpatrick to the Club and we think that this initiative gives people an opportunity to help John strengthen the team for the second half of the season.

To show our support the SST are investing £1,000 in the Campaign.

4 December 2017

3 December 2017

Sad News

It has been sad couple of weeks as we have lost not one but two friends and loyal Silkmen supporters.

R.I.P Hilary Woolliscroft

One of the original members of the SST and wife of our former Secretary, David, Hilary was diagnosed with cancer in the summer 2016 and was told that she may have only six months to live. But she fought back with courage and dignity and with David’s love and support she not only outlasted all expectations, but was still able to get to the Moss Rose to watch her beloved Silkmen.

Hilary – you will be missed.

A celebration of Hilary’s life will be held at Macclesfield Crematorium on Tuesday 12th December at 10am. Flowers will be provided by the family only and at Hilary’s request, anyone planning to come and celebrate her life is urged to wear football shirts rather than the traditional black.

R.I.P. David “Moose” Littler.

It was after a period of extensive caring by David of close family members -  his father, Alan, his mother Margaret and his wife, Linda, that Dave became very ill himself . Unfortunately he lost that battle when he passed away on Tuesday November 21st 2017 at 10.45pm.

As one of the founders with his father of the “Moose Tours” to MTFC away games, he provided not just transport for Silkmen Supporters but many memories of happiness and enjoyment on these encounters. He was also a star turn in the Sutton Christmas Panto.

Moose – you will be missed.

A church service will be held at Sutton Church at 12pm on Monday 11th December and following on from this, the McIlroy Suite will be open from 12:30 – where it is hoped that as many people as possible will attend to pay tribute to a wonderful man.

19 November 2017

The Silkmen Supporters Trust Annual General Meeting took place on 13^th November.

The financial statements for the period covering the 17 month period ending the 30^th June 2017 were adopted (proposed by James Goodwin and seconded by Chrissie Thompson).

The independent examination of the accounts was carried out by Silkmen fan Clive Westbury to whom the SST are extremely grateful. We are required to have a yearly examination of our financial statements and if we had to pay an outside person this would cost a considerable sum.

Elections:

Sadly, no new people stood for election this year and two Board Members of long service (George Williams and David Woolliscroft) stood down.

George Williams

George joined the Board in 2008 and apart from a short interlude has served as the Trust’s Communication Officer since then. He developed the Club’s Twitter and Face Book accounts and was also responsible for sending out all the e-mail communications. He has also served as Vice Chairman for the last two and a half years.

David Woolliscroft

David also joined the Board in 2008 and has served as Hon Secretary for most of that time. Following the Club’s relegation from the Football League and its subsequent financial problems, David served as a Director for the Football Club and helped keep the Club afloat during that time.

Both George and David have spent countless hours of their free time to support the SST, the Club and its fans. On behalf of the SST I would like to thank them for their immense contribution to the Trust and its objectives during the last nine years.

The current Board is as follows

Steve Mundy (Chairman)

Myra Clark (Treasurer)

John Abbott (Accounts and Finance)

Andy Mellor (Disabilities Liaison Officer)

Chrissie Thompson (Communications)

Marie Grundy (Lotto and Minutes Sec)

Bernie Rickman (Membership Secretary)

John Smart (Board Member)

We will be looking to increase the size of the Board in the New Year by co-opting additional members so if you think you may be interested then please e-mail enquiries@sstrust.uk

There followed an open meeting beginning with a short report into how the SST had tried to meet its objectives during the last 17 months through fundraising, paying for equipment for the Club and for improvements to the ground. Also, the efforts which had been made to try and improve communications between the Club and the fans.

Finances - The Trust’s current finances stand at around £6,500.

Lotto – The Lotto has approximately 260 members and continues to pay £500 to the Club every month. The Lotto has also been able to pay for; a grass strimmer for Gary the groundsman, the creation of a children’s play area in the McAlpine Stand and for half of the cost of a new glasswasher and ice machine for the McIlroy suite.

Membership – There had been 22 renewals and two new members bringing the total to just under 130.

The SST would like to thank all those who came to the meeting and put forward their thoughts and ideas.

12 November 2017

Want Something to Read? Online version of Free Non League Magazine

Non League football now officially more exciting than Premier League! 

You don't agree? Then watch just one minute of Padiham vs Widnes Town here

Warning - rated PG due to some industrial language from an angry man

06 November 2017

21 October 2017

15 October 2017

Top ten Non League Grounds to visit?

Those of you who made the visit to the War Memorial Ground at Stourbridge yesterday may be surprised to see that it made the list  A cut and shut of a cricket pitch and a football field, it was not without a quirky charm but I'm not sure it would have been in my top ten.

Changes to the Women's Super League get the once-over from SheKicks magazine

And finally

Goalkeeping - from the sublime to the ridiculous

Still looking for something to read?

Latest on-line issue of the Non-League Magazine here

And finally?

Red faced keeper time (no, not ours)

3 September 2017