MX23RW : Thursday, November 21 11:50:37| >> :600:27373048:27373048:

Robbie Savage outlines plans after joining rebirth of Macclesfield

The former Wales international will be involved on the board and in a head of football role.

Robbie Savage says he joined the rebirth at Macclesfield because he wanted to help give the club back to its "battered and bruised" fans.

The 45-year-old is part of a group led by local businessman Robert Smethurst who has acquired the assets of Macclesfield Town, with a new club being named Macclesfield FC.

Savage, the former Leicester, Birmingham, Blackburn and Wales midfielder turned broadcaster, is an associate of Smethurst and will be involved on the board, as well as in a head of football role.

The Silkmen were wound up in the High Court and expelled from the National League last month, following unpaid debts of more than £500,000. Players and staff were made redundant in the wake of the ruling but Smethurst plans to build a new club at Moss Rose after acquiring the assets of the old one.

Danny Whitaker will be manager of Macclesfield FC, who aim to compete in the North West Counties Football League next season.

Savage, who made a brief comeback as a player with Stockport Town, then also owned by Smethurst, in the 10th tier last season, said: "I live locally and it's devastating what happened here.

"The fans have been battered and bruised over the last few years, as I'm sure Jon (Smart, the former Silkmen Supporters Trust chairman) and Danny (Whitaker) will tell you, and to have the opportunity give the club back to the fans and this community is something I wanted to do and couldn't turn down.

Macclesfield FC's ground
Macclesfield FC will be based at former club Macclesfield Town's Moss Rose ground (Clint Hughes/PA)

"Twenty-one years ago Macclesfield were playing against Manchester City at the same level of the Football League. I'm not saying we are going to reach the Premier League, win the title and bring some of the world's greatest talents to Moss Rose.

"But the aim is to take Macclesfield FC through the leagues and restore pride among the loyal supporters. We are passionate about bringing football back to life in this town.

"The level we go at doesn't really matter, it's just about this club being here. Our key focus will be to bring the football club, the fans and the community together."

Smethurst, who runs the Pro Football Academy franchise, plans to install a 4G pitch at Moss Rose, along with a gym and classrooms to enable the stadium to be used by the local community as well as Macclesfield FC.

He said: "We need to make sure we can build this for the next generations. We want to make sure we have enough money coming into this club so that we can support a first team.

"I want to put in place the infrastructure to build a very successful first team, and to do that we have to get the fans on board because these things don't work without the fans.

"So we will be working very closely with them. The community is a massive part of this club and we need to be getting into the schools, I believe kids should be coming here for free."

Smethurst went on to clarify his position at Stockport Town, saying that he has agreed to sell the club and that he expects that to be completed in the coming weeks.

"We can't have two clubs so we have a buyer for that now and that will be move done in the next couple of months, hopefully," said Smethurst.

"We've left that club in a really good state and that will be handed over. We have a year to get this club right (before the start of the 2021/22 season)."

ID:418248: cacheID:418248:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7447:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
General view of Macclesfield Town's Moss Rose from 2014
Read Next:
Macclesfield Town wound up with debts in excess of £500,000
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Port Vale1610332416833
2Crewe AlexandraCrewe158431913628
3Doncaster RoversDoncaster168442218428
4Walsall1483327151227
5MK Dons168352719827
6Notts County167632315827
7Grimsby Town168171925-625
8AFC Wimbledon1472523131023
9Bradford CityBradford166552117423
10Gillingham157261612423
11Chesterfield165742920922
12BarrowBarrow166461715222
13Fleetwood TownFleetwood145632015521
14Salford City165651518-321
15Newport CountyNewport166281926-720
16Accrington StanleyAccrington164662226-418
17Cheltenham TownCheltenham165382125-418
18Harrogate TownHarrogate165381422-818
19Tranmere RoversTranmere144551017-717
20Bromley153751719-216
21Colchester UnitedColchester152851822-414
22Swindon TownSwindon162771825-713
23Carlisle UnitedCarlisle1633101429-1512
24Morecambe1624101427-1310


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!