By Adam Virgo
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.
Bulls are in this all as one
Hereford opened their doors before Christmas when we covered their FA Cup replay with Fleetwood Town – we had a fantastic welcome.
There are a lot of good people down there who have really helped the club bounce back from some hard times and manager Peter Beadle takes a lot of credit for their success on the pitch.
I was talking to the chairman, Ken Kinnersley, about the volunteers who help them on a matchday. The collectiveness to get the snow off the pitch so the Fleetwood game could go ahead was quite something.
Non-League fans are unique. It was the same when we covered a game at Wrexham. People were in at 6am shovelling snow off the pitch.
There's me moaning I have to leave at 8am from Brighton to get up to somewhere like Macclesfield on the train, and there's volunteers who love their club so much that they just want to give their whole day to helping.
Volunteers are so important to Non-League clubs and it's great to see what can happen when supporters feel a part of something. Just look at the support Hereford took to Wembley for the FA Vase final a couple of years ago.
I remember playing against the old club in League One when I was at Brighton and it was very sad to see what happened when they went out of business.
But they've really used it to their advantage to come back stronger. When you're getting crowds of 2,500 every week for home games it shows the fight in the football club. I really hope they keep going up to where they were.
Worrying times at Hartlepool United with the club this week confirming administration is a real possibility.
They have a large tax bill looming and next week the wages need to be paid. I retired from football early, which was unfortunate, but in all my time there was never a month when I wasn't paid. Let's hope it can be resolved up at Victoria Park.
It's difficult to predict what effect it will have on the players on the pitch. I remember Northampton Town had all sorts of off-pitch problems, but they still managed to win League Two.
Obviously Pools aren't having that kind of season, but they need to get points on the board just as regularly. So it can take a team one of two ways. You can use it as an excuse and on the other hand it can make you stronger.
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper, which is available every Sunday and Monday
