Macclesfield – nickname the Silkmen - is a club with a proud footballing tradition. They have a special place in the history of the FA Trophy as the competition’s first winners in the 1969-70 season, when the then Northern Premier League champions beat Telford United 2-0 at Wembley. Macclesfield won the Trophy for a second time in the 1995-96 season.

They went on to even greater glory the following season with promotion from the Conference into the Football League where they would stay for 15 years. They spent all but one of those years in the current equivalent of League Two, with just one season in the old Second Division (League One).

The 2011-12 season saw relegation back into the Conference and subsequent efforts to regain Football League status have been frustrated. After two mid table finishes, Macclesfield came agonisingly close to the play-offs last season, ending up a single point adrift of the top five.

And a point outside the play offs is precisely where they find themselves now. Currently seventh in the National League, Macclesfield started this season slowly, languishing in the lower half of the table for several weeks.

But, like Truro City in the National League South, Macclesfield have been steadily climbing the table since. While Truro’s loss to Oxford was the catalyst for the White Tigers’ rise up the rankings, it was the 4-1 defeat of the table-topping Forest Green Rovers by the then 17th place Sikmen in mid September that marked the start of the Cheshire club’s ascent to 5th place in the National League by 2nd January.

Progress was halted somewhat last weekend with a 1-0 home defeat to an FC Halifax team that had started the day in the National League relegation zone. Halifax, already on their third manager this season, had spent five weeks anchored to the bottom of the table in the autumn. But Macclesfield were unfortunate to encounter them in the midst of a scorching run of form that has now seen them go unbeaten in their last eight league games.

As for Macclesfield’s recent league form, while they have won three, lost three in their last six matches, Truro should be aware that their away form has been much stronger than their home performances.

In terms of relative strength in defence and attack, Macclesfield rank ninth in the National League in terms of goals scored per game but sixth in terms of fewest goals conceded. So while they are strong at both ends of the pitch, it’s the defence that edges it so far this season.

Macclesfield’s progress in the FA Trophy this year has had an element of good fortune about it. In the First Round, the Silkmen were 2-0 down to the Northern Premier League’s Ashton United when heavy rain led to the game being abandoned. Macclesfield made the most of this reprieve however, trouncing their near neighbours 4-0 in the rearranged fixture.

In terms of goal threats, it’s not difficult to identify striker Kristian Dennis, the National League’s joint top scorer so far this season, as number one. With 23 goals from 28 appearances in all competitions, his danger-man status is clear. The 25 year old striker, who has spent his entire career in non-league (Stockport, Curzon Ashton and Macclesfield) is actually on a season loan from National League North side Stockport County who are presumably now regretting lending the prolific striker to their near neighbour for the entirety of 2015-16.

You can read about the rest of the squad elsewhere in the programme, but suffice to say that with players boasting CVs packed with names like Bolton Wanderers, Nottingham Forest, Everton, Wigan and Port Vale, there’s talent a-plenty in the team.

And on a lighter note, the Silkmen have a history of poking fun at the footballing establishment. Last summer the club launched a tongue-in-cheek £50 million bid on crowdfunding.co.uk for the then Liverpool player Raheem Stirling. They also approached a beleaguered FIFA with a 2026 World Cup bid on behalf of the town of Macclesfield. This included a budget of £249.99 for the tournament itself and an additional £40 to be set aside for “gifts for the FIFA Family.” Somebody in the Macclesfield Town PR team clearly has a little too much time on their hands…