After 146 years of play, court winds up Macclesfield Town

September 21 – While top-flight clubs continue their summer transfer window spending, at the other end of the scale, 146-year-old Macclesfield Town has been wound up over debts totalling more than £500,000.

The ruling came just over a month after Macclesfield were relegated from the English Football League (EFL)  at the end of a tumultuous 2019-20 season on and off the pitch.

Macclesfield were deducted a total of 17 points across the season, which ultimately guaranteed a bottom-of-the-table League Two finish.

They were due to re-start life in the National League, one tier below League Two and in step five of the English football pyramid, but were forced into liquidation during a hearing last week.

Judge Sebastian Prentis said that he could see nothing which gave him “any comfort” that the club, known as the Silkmen, would be able to pay their creditors “in a reasonable period”.

The judge was told Macclesfield owe £190,000 to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in tax, as well as more than £170,000 to former manager John Askey and a similar sum to another creditor.

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