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From the latest transfer news, quizzes, videos, features and interviews with the biggest names in the game, plus lots more.Signup +Once a week...And its LIVE!Sign up to our FREE live football newsletter, tracking all of the biggest games available to watch on the device of your choice. Never miss a kick-off!Signup +Join the clubGet full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in.Subscribe to our newsletterOnce upon a time, Macclesfield Town competed in the third tier of English football, even facing the likes of Manchester City, Fulham and Bournemouth. The club spent much of the past 25 years as a Football League entity before falling on hard times.The Silkmen went bust, home ground Moss Rose fell into disrepair and the local community was, for an extended period during the COVID lockdowns, without a football team.That's when local entrepreneur Rob Smethurst became involved, subsequently leading the club to the almighty giant-killing of Premier League side Crystal Palace - and current FA Cup holders - in the Third Round of this year's competition.You may likeJULES BREACH: Macclesfield's FA Cup win over Crystal Palace was a magic moment that reignited why we love footballI enjoyed Macclesfields FA Cup win over Crystal Palace like you wouldnt believe Id rather remember it for that than any bitterness over money Non-league club's assistant Francis Jeffers gives verdict on governing bodys controversial decisionWrexham are in the hunt for a fourth consecutive promotion but the FA Cup is a chance to add a new angle to a predictable Hollywood story'On one crazy, batshit night I ended up buying a football club'But, the journey Smethurst and Macclesfield have been on has been anything but straightforward, as the owner tells FourFourTwo."It was a blur. It was an absolute blur. I was drinking an awful lot. I was living a crazy life. I was partying. I'd just sold my business and I was basically drinking myself into oblivion and didn't realise that I was sort of addicted to alcohol. It was kind of that party lifestyle that led me on a crazy night where my pal said, 'Look, have you seen that there's a football club on Rightmove?'"Smethurst's personal life had unravelled and the decision to take the reins at Macclesfield was the mother of all impulse buys. However, once the dust had settled and the gravity of his purchase began to set in, he admits it was a decision that ultimately saved his life."I randomly, in the morning, made a phone call to my solicitor and said, 'Look, I want to buy this football club.' Didn't have a business plan, had no idea, never even viewed it, never even been around it. But I thought, well, maybe I could do something good with it. And that's how the story sort of started to unfold on one crazy, batshit night where I ended up buying a football club.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.The Silkmen joined the North West Counties Football League Premier Division, step five in the non-league ladder, ahead of the 2021/22 campaign and finished the season as champions. A year later, Macclesfield FC had done it again, winning the Northern Premier League Division One West.Their third year in existence ended with a second-place finish in the Northern Premier League's Premier Division, but from that league only the champions are promoted automatically. Macclesfield's run in the play-offs was ultimately unsuccessful and the team were forced to have another go at winning promotion from the seventh tier of English football.And win promotion they did, in some style, too. Smethurst's side, led by former Wales international Robbie Savage in the dugout, romped to the title with 109 points and 35 wins from 42 games.You may likeJULES BREACH: Macclesfield's FA Cup win over Crystal Palace was a magic moment that reignited why we love footballI enjoyed Macclesfields FA Cup win over Crystal Palace like you wouldnt believe Id rather remember it for that than any bitterness over money Non-league club's assistant Francis Jeffers gives verdict on governing bodys controversial decisionWrexham are in the hunt for a fourth consecutive promotion but the FA Cup is a chance to add a new angle to a predictable Hollywood story"The more successful you get, the worse it gets as an owner," Smethurst tells FFT, candidly. "So, when we first started in the lower leagues, you would probably be looking at �150,000 player budget [per year]. It was a pay-as-you-play model, it was quite straightforward. What I soon started to realise was that was just coming out of my pocket."I thought, if we're going to ever grow this football club to be something, as good as League Two, or take it to League One is, it needs to have a business plan in regards to the fact that we needed to put an astroturf pitch down. We needed bars, we needed restaurants. We needed to sweat the assets of the actual commercial property so it can become a seven-day operation that can generate income."Smethurst made millions selling his business to Autotrader shortly before taking charge at Macclesfield, and while he admits it was a risk to do so, says it's one he would do all over again given the opportunity."I spent about �4 million of my own money - instead of going out and spending it all on players, [we spent] on an infrastructure that would then generate the income that we could use then to basically fund the players moving forward up the leagues."We were really lucky with the unbelievable fanbase at Macclesfield - that has blown me away with the support and nearly getting 4,000 fans through the door when the old club used to only get 800 to 900 so this kind of believing in me really, and believing in what we're trying to achieve, the whole town's got behind it."The club's crowning achievement so far was their Third Round victory over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup last month, defeating the likes of Marc Guehi, Oliver Glasner and co, who had only months earlier lifted the trophy at Wembley."We never thought we'd ever beat Crystal Palace. I think that was the David [versus] Goliath story of all time in the FA Cup. To beat the title holders with a bunch of lads that are part-time players is an amazing story. It was just something really special to give back to all the supporters."We're on about a million pound player budget, it all goes into players wages. Now that's brought in from all the different businesses of the football club, with the fans that pay for their tickets, the drinks that we sell, all that money comes into the player budget. But we made around about �400,000 on the Crystal Palace game with the prize money," Smethurst adds.Macclesfield's other reward for their Third Round heroics is a Fourth Round meeting with another Premier League outfit: Brentford."With the Brentford game, with the TV, and everything else, we're probably going to be in the same [at] about another �400,000. If we look across the cup run, we've probably brought in about �800,000 which, if you look at one year's worth of the players budget of a million, we've nearly covered our whole players budget for one whole year, which is insane to think that's happened.""It's super exciting. It goes wider than just the football club. It actually becomes about the town as well. The restaurants are busy, the bars are busy, the hotels are all packed and I think that's what's so nice about it. But to think that we've got another Premier League club coming on Monday night. It's an unbelievable feeling of achievement for what we've actually done for the town," Smethurst says.Their story has not been without tragedy, though, as before their meeting with Palace, attacker Ethan McLeod tragically passed in a road traffic accident whilst returning from a game."I don't think we'll ever get over it. I don't think we ever will. The shock of that day will be with me forever and for the players."Manager John Rooney said following their FA Cup triumph that McLeod was 'looking down on them' that day, while goalscorers Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts dedicated the famous win to their late teammate.On the back of Macclesfield's rise, property website Rightmove, where the club's home was originally listed for �500,000, have teamed up with Smethurst, appointing him their 'chief belief officer'."Follow your dreams and believe in something that might not be the right fit, but if you can go out there and dream hard enough, take that risk. Too many people are scared of [taking] a risk. I did that when I bought it off Rightmove. And I thought, 'You know what? I'm going to make a difference', and it's happened."Asked whether he has considered who he'd like Macclesfield to draw in the Fifth Round if the National League North club repeat the incredible against Brentford, Smethurst pauses before deciding on Manchester City, at the Etihad Stadium.Macclesfield host Keith Andrews' Bees on Monday evening at 7:30pm. The game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1.Rob Smethurst has signed as Chief Belief Officer at Rightmove. For more information, please visit www.rightmove.co.uk.TOPICSMacclesfieldCrystal PalaceBrentfordFA CupJoe DonnohueSocial Links NavigationSenior Digital WriterJoe joined FourFourTwo as senior digital writer in July 2025 after five years covering Leeds United in the Championship and Premier League. Joe's 'Mastermind' specialist subject is 2000s-era Newcastle United having had a season ticket at St. James' Park for 10 years before relocating to Leeds and later London. Joe takes a keen interest in youth football, covering PL2, U21 Euros, as well as U20 and U17 World Cups in the past, in addition to hosting the industry-leading football recruitment-focused SCOUTED podcast. He is also one of the lucky few to have 'hit top bins' as a contestant on Soccer AM. It wasn't a shin-roller.
