Crewe Alexandra (1992–2002) Macauley joined Crewe in March 1992, making his debut in a 1–0 win against
Blackpool at
Gresty Road on 28 March 1992. He scored his first Crewe goal in a 1–1 draw at
Cardiff City on 28 April 1992. According to the football website Soccerbase, Macauley played 260 league games for Crewe, plus 16 in the
Football League Cup and 20 in the
FA Cup, plus 22 other assorted appearances, scoring 30 goals. He is credited with having played an important role in the club's promotion to the First Division of the Nationwide League in 1997, and subsequent successful battles to stay in the division. His partners in defence included
Ashley Westwood, later of
Sheffield Wednesday, and
Dave Walton, later of
Derby County. He also played alongside future
Premiership players such as
Danny Murphy,
Neil Lennon,
Rob Hulse and
Dean Ashton. Although a centre half, he did play a number of games as a
forward during a striking injury crisis at the Alex during the mid-90s. During his spell at Crewe, the club reached the
1992–93 play-off final against
York City, only to lose on penalties, before being promoted the following season. They then rose into what is now the
Football League Championship following
victory at
Wembley against
Brentford on 25 May 1997.
Rochdale and Macclesfield (2002–2004) In the summer of 2002 after an injury-hit final season during which he was loaned to neighbours
Macclesfield Town, Macauley joined
Rochdale but only made six league appearances. During this time he was two further loan spells at Macclesfield before joining them on a permanent basis.
Joint testimonials (2003) He eventually retired from League football at the end of the
2003–04 season having had a joint testimonial with fellow former Alex defender
Shaun Smith at Crewe's
Alexandra Stadium in 2003 (the game was held over from the previous year). The two players' careers had become linked through their many seasons together in Crewe's defence after both joining during early 1992.
Bamber Bridge (2004–2005) After leaving Macclesfield in 2003–04, he went on to play for semi-professional
Lancashire club
Bamber Bridge in the
Northern Premier League. His debut came in a 1–0 away victory over
Blyth Spartans and his final game for Bamber was the return fixture against the same opposition, Macauley scoring the consolation goal as his team lost 3–1.
After retirement Macauley qualified as a
physiotherapist during his playing career, graduating from the
University of Salford in 1999 with a degree in Physiotherapy. He joined Fleetwood as physio and member of the coaching staff in 2005. He left the club at the end of the 2007–08 season to concentrate on his physiotherapy practice, but was re-engaged by Fleetwood as
caretaker manager in September 2008, following the dismissal of manager Tony Greenwood after a poor start to Fleetwood's inaugural
Conference North campaign. He returned to the coaching staff following the appointment of
Micky Mellon as Fleetwood manager. ==Honours==