Nat Brown reflects on an emotional time for Macclesfield Town with skysports.com's Ben Collins.
As part of skysports.com's League Two spotlight, Ben Collins catches up with Macclesfield Town defender Nat Brown.
Bill Shankly once said 'some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that'.
Everyone involved with Macclesfield Town would see things differently to the legendary Liverpool manager. But that is only natural given the grief they have had to endure at Moss Rose over the last year.
In March 2010, manager Keith Alexander died at his home at the age of 53. One of the most highly-regarded managers in the Football League, Keith had suffered a brain aneurysm in 2003 and struggled with press duties in the weeks leading up to his tragic death due to a bout of persistent hiccups.
Then with Macc still coming to terms with Keith's sad loss, the League Two outfit was dealt another hammer blow. Richard Butcher, their 29-year-old midfielder, failed to show for training on 9th January. That was out of character for 'Butch', a consummate professional, and the club's worst fears were confirmed when it was discovered that he too had died at home overnight. He previously had no major health issues.
It was not only the fact that Keith and Butch passed away in quick succession that rocked the Cheshire club, but because their demise was so sudden, so unexpected.
Vice-captain Nat Brown admits that events put things in perspective.
They went far beyond making the team question the importance of going out and playing football - it was a reminder of their own mortality.
Yet in grief Macclesfield have found strength. They have overcome the trauma of losing two close friends to keep achieving the results that are set to maintain the club's Football League status for another season.
"The lads were asking questions of themselves, whether they're living right and doing the right things, and you get worried," Brown told
skysports.com's Ben Collins.
"But you've got to get your head round it all as best you can and stay strong. It brings you all closer and when the lads go out there now they give even more because they've had that realisation that life is short - you've got to take every day as it comes.
"I don't think anybody in football would ever experience what we have the last year. And if we stay up I think it'll be as good as promotion considering what's happened."
Togetherness
Macc enjoyed back-to-back promotions to climb into the Football League for the first time in 1997 and then go straight up into the English game's third tier. But they went straight back down after finishing bottom and but for 2004/05, when they reached the play- offs, it has been a struggle for the Silkmen to stay in the League.
Had another club been stricken by the loss of two popular figures, it might have brought them to their knees. But under the guidance of Gary Simpson, Alexander's long-time assistant, Macc have stayed on course to achieve another survival mission.
"I don't think the togetherness would be better anywhere else, and what we've been through as well, the lads are like one big family here," said Brown.
"We speak to the gaffer (Simpson) like a friend rather than a manager. That's the spirit he wants at the club, and if we're given more time together then there's no reason why we can't achieve success."
Rather than dwell on those tragic events, Macc have been keen to celebrate the life of their late friends and look to them for inspiration.
The team has a huddle before each game where they mention both Keith and Butch, while some fans have created a banner depicting their fallen idols along with the words 'Their Spirit Lives On'.
"It's a great gesture," said Brown, who will captain the team for the rest of the season with Paul Morgan having broken his arm. "It's great for the players to look up and see. We and Simmo love it.
"We still give praise to Keith and Butch before every game. Those two will be watching over us and giving us strength to play, and the lads are doing that.
"It's a short life, anybody can go at any time. The lads know that now, so they just go out and give 100 per cent every game."
Alexander's loss was particularly poignant for Brown as the 29-year-old defender also played under him at Lincoln. After coming through the youth ranks at Huddersfield, Brown made 83 first-team appearances before beginning a three-year spell with Lincoln in 2005.
"Keith was one of the few guys that believed in me," he said. "I played right-back and centre-back at Huddersfield so when they took me to Lincoln I thought I'd be playing at the back.
"But Keith just chucked me into midfield and I popped up with a few goals. He saw something in me which I didn't even see myself. They see things in players and are good at bringing the best out of them."
Respect
Simpson was Alexander's number two at Ilkeston, Northwich, Lincoln, Peterborough and then Macc from February 2008. The pair were shrewd operators when it came to finding players and earned respect by showing faith in them.
They either re-signed players after moving on to other clubs, like they did with Brown, Butcher and Morgan, or took a chance on a non- league prospect. That Simpson did last summer, signing Tyrone Barnett from Hednesford, and the 25-year-old striker is now being watched by Championship clubs after 12 goals so far in his first League campaign.
And that is the crux of the dilemma facing clubs like Macc. They have neither the resources nor the prestige to attract top lower league players, and when they do uncover a gem, they tend to be plucked by a bigger club.
Jon Parkin, Jim McNulty, Danny Swailes, Tommy Lee, Martin Gritton, Terry Dunfield, Nick Blackman, Gareth Evans and Jonny Brain are among those Macc have been unable to keep hold of in recent years and Brown believes that is the difference between the Silkmen being perennial strugglers and promotion contenders.
"We've come on as a team," he said. "The gaffer's got one of the smallest budgets in the league but I think the squad we've managed to get together is really good. It's not a big squad but we've pulled some rabbits out of the hat there.
"We can't offer the wages to get the better players in so every year we lose someone. But if we can keep hold of this group for next year then there's no reason why we can't go for the title."
Although he turns 30 in May, Brown hasn't ruled out moving on to bigger and better things himself when his contract expires in 2012.
"I'm getting on now but, you never know, stranger things have happened," he joked.
"I've stayed loyal to the club. The gaffer passed away and I told Simmo I'd help him out in his first season as manager. But we'll see again next year."
But one thing's for sure, everyone at Moss Rose over the last year will forever have a special bond.
Brown added: "At the end of our career we'll tell our kids and grandkids about Keith and Butch, that they were not only good players but good people, and we'll tell them how we, the team, stayed strong through it all. They'll always be remembered."
