Rob Smethurst (2:12)

We were just in floods of tears and we were watching grown men cry on the side of the football pitch in tears who've supported this club from well before. I got it.

Ayo Akimolere (2:23)

Before that. Let's get into the game. Incredible drama in the FA Cup. The magic of the cup is still al, but this cup upset could have been the biggest of them all. Let's get some stats in for you. There were 117 league places between Macclesfield and Crystal Palace. This is the first time in the competition's 155 year history a top flight side has been knocked out by a team from the sixth tier. And also the last time a non league side knocked out the holders was in 1909. That team were Crystal palace and they beat Wolves as well. Matt, have you had time to calm down? Can you, with a level head, talk about that match now?

Matt Woosnam (3:02)

I haven't processed it properly, to be honest with you, but I think it was. It was just a great. A great sort of game, I suppose, obviously, from a Palace point of view, it's. It's infuriating, it's frustrating, it's annoying. But I think there were certainly some palace fans on Saturday who were kind of happy for Macclesfield. And I think part of that obviously comes from palace having won the FA cup in May, otherwise maybe those heads would be less level today. It's hard to really process exactly what happened, to be honest.

Ayo Akimolere (3:31)

I'm just going to drop a few names here, Dom. I was hosting AFCON with JJ Okoch and Jon Obi Mikel, and we were watching the palace match as we were prepping for the quarterfinals of afcon. Both of them just looked at me and went, oh, my goodness, Palace. I cannot believe this. But both also said, you know what? This is the magic of a cup like this. You don't get this kind of magic anywhere else we've played in the world. It's quite different to obviously what happened in May. But it is a great advert for the FA Cup.

Dom Fifield (3:58)

Absolutely. Absolutely, it is. And I think that's. You saw the away end at Moss Rose applauding the Macclesfield players at the end of the game, the ones that weren't berating Marc Gay. This is the magic of the Cup. Palace had their day last May. This does not detract from that in any way, because that will remain any palace fans the greatest day of their supporting lives. But this is the flip side of it. This is what can happen. And weirdly, I mean, as a supporter, it's a bit embarrassing, it's a bit humiliating, but you look at it, and Macclesfield were by far and away the better team on Saturday. They were superb, absolutely superb. They knew the conditions, they played the conditions, they just played really, really well. They were well organised at both ends of the pitch. And palace were not any of those things. And it was exactly the right result. I don't begrudge it at all. And I think palace fans, as Matt says, Palace fans with level heads will look at it and think, well, you know, we had our day last May. This was theirs. And good luck to them in the next round.

Ayo Akimolere (5:05)

Yeah, really good point, Dom. Matt, you wrote in your match piece how before the game Oliver Glassner referred to palace not feeling the pressure but responsibility. From where you were sitting, how early did you get a sense that a shock was on the cards? And also where did it all go wrong for Palace?

Matt Woosnam (5:22)

It was obvious straight away that this wasn't going to be easy for palace and that this could be a problem for Palace. I think the way that that game started was very edgy, very nervy. Palace weren't really creating anything clear in some ways. I've seen that game play out 10 times this season already for palace in the way that they played, obviously in slightly different circumstances and, you know, against different teams with, you know, higher quality in terms of ability and talent. But, you know, you can have all the talent in the world but if the application isn't quite right or, you know, the physicality, I think the physicality was, was to do a bit and they didn't really show the, the responsibility they didn't have that they let themselves down with, with the, the responsibility side of things. I just think their mind, their heads weren't quite right. Not deliberately, obviously. I just think there was just an element of Macclesfield having that desire that maybe from playing the Holders, from playing a Premier League team and you know, that Minnows versus Giants and I think palace weren't a unit, a team, they didn't play like that. The pitch wasn't so conducive to the way that they would want to play necessarily. I'm not saying pitch, I'm not gay here.

Ayo Akimolere (6:37)

I mean, this is a pro.

Matt Woosnam (6:38)

I mean, come on. Oh yeah, absolutely. I wrote this in my piece as well, that it can't be an excuse because they had played on a pitch like this before this season and they would have done so in their careers as well. And as you say, you would expect players, you know, Gay and Richards were, and to an extent JD Campo, but he's got more of an excuse because he's less experienced and younger. But they were really, they really struggled with also the physic, the physicality was, was a large part of it. I thought Demani Mello was absolutely fantastic holding the line for, for Macclesfield and Gay and Richards just didn't really look comfortable and I want to do at times. And yeah, I just think, you know, as you say, like Blazer spoke about having the responsibility of the badges, being the Holders, being the Premier League team and there was a special match ball, there was badges on the sleeves. And I just don't think that palace did themselves justice or did anyone justice. And Macclesfield absolutely did their part and did themselves more than justice. And it was a great moment that I really sort of, I suppose took in after the game in, in the press conference when Sam Heathcote, who will claim the assist for the first goal by bandaging up Paul Dawson's head and did so in the press conference. He was sitting down and talking and Dawson came in and Heathcote sort of looked over to him and started sort of making it about him. And then Dawson just put his arm over onto his chest and just sort of tapped his chest and they were just laughing and smiling and it was just a really, a really nice moment and that was just really pure.

Ayo Akimolere (8:18)

I thought Dom Glassner also said prior to this game that we have to show ourselves, we, who we are, our talent, who Crystal palace is, our standard. I just wonder if this is a symptom of what we're looking at right now with Crystal palace in that the teams looks ready on paper, but actually what we see on the field is a team that feels slightly depleted energy wise.

Dom Fifield (8:41)

I disagree with you. I don't think the team looks ready on paper at all. I think the team's the majority of the team that would be in his first choice. Eleven are not there, they're absent. They're either injured or at afcon. I want to preface everything I say now but by stressing that none of this is an excuse. Crystal palace should be able to put out a team to beat Macclesfield in the sixth tier. Whether they played their 21s or their 23s or half a first team, they should be able to do it and they didn't. So I don't want to take anything away from Macclesfield's performance on the day which was superior to Palace's. However, palace look like a team that's played too many games. I think it's 34 now, isn't it this season? This time last year they played 25 too many games, too few players. I don't think they're having any preparation time in between matches to get ready for the next game. So, okay, they're playing a sixth tier team. Fine. Okay. You'd expect to have the quality and the talent to be at six tier. Absolutely fine. In terms of preparation though for playing on that 3G pitch, it was one, I think a session in the dome at the Academy to look at a few set pieces. I mean that's, that's not adequate. Unfortunately, you could look at that and say, well, that's just. That's just caught up on them. Too many changes, because he has to. And I think a lot of it goes down to last summer and the recruitment of last summer in the Premier League. The Premier League is such a ruthless division. You can have one transfer window and it can set you back years if it's poor. I mean, you look at Leicester City, didn't do any business one summer and were relegated a couple of years later. On the back of that, really, they never caught up. West Ham went the other way. They spent far too much money on not good enough players and now look where they are in the relegation zone this season. Palace had a poor summer transfer window. There are lots of reasons for that and Matt, in fact, detailed those in his interview with Steve Parish a few weeks ago, when palace were actually fourth in the Premier League. A lot of reasons why that happened. It was in late sales of Eza Gay's, the uncertainty around his future, the Europa League, Conference League fiasco, all those things were contributed a level of disquiet and uncertainty. But the reality is they brought in five players in the summer. All five of those players started at Macclesfield. And of them, I mean, JD Convo was actually culpable for the first goal, arguably on Saturday. But actually, of all of those five, he's the only one I look at and think, well, he's possibly added value to this squad because there's a lot of potential there. He could well become a very good Premier League player in the future. I think the others have been. The jury's very much out and that's being incredibly kind. Jeremy Pino has his own chant. To me, whenever that's sung now, it's a plea from the supporters for him to justify the transfer fee and his reputation, because he looks a player that's completely lost. And that's not to say that he can't turn it round. I mean, we saw Robert Perez struggle in his first year in the Premier League. We're seeing Florian Wirtz do the same. Players of similar calibre, in terms of. He is a Spanish international with a good reputation, but he's struggling badly in his first year in the Premier League. Berna Sosa, I mean, you get what you pay for, unfortunately, in the Premier League sometimes. Uche has never convinced the manager, so he's now in a position where he's coming in and having to impress almost cold and it's just not working. I don't know what he is. I Don't know if he's a centre forward, he's number 10. I don't think Crystal palace know what he is. Whether he's a 10 or a centre forward, he's not. He offers little flashes in games where you think, well, there's a player there, but the majority of the time he's anonymous, unfortunately. And Walter Benitez is actually a very good goalkeeper, but you're not adding value to the squad necessarily by having him. He's the number two goalkeeper this season to Dean Henderson. So those five players all played on Saturday and the team were really, really poor and unfortunately I think that has exposed the deficiencies of Palace's transfer window in the summer. Now the club has still got an opportunity to rectify that and indeed they've gone out and they've shown a bit of ambition in this window already by spending 32, 33 million pounds on Brendan Johnson, a club record signing. However, the deficiencies that Glasner talked about post match at Macclesfield, those deficiencies are still there and they need to be addressed soon. Otherwise the rest of this season is going to be a real slog for Crystal palace and you start wondering what happens next.

Matt Woosnam (13:02)

It's interesting because Glasner has repeatedly talked about needing to give players time and sort of referencing what Paris said about to him about how there's more expectation for players to come in and do well immediately in the Premier League. And that's all well and good and I do agree. We saw it with Daiichi Kamada last season. It took him time to adjust to the Premier League. Problem is palace don't have that luxury. Palace can't afford to have players and he said this. I think it was before the game actually before the Macclesfield game. Glassner said that he needs ready made players and Nas Palis's problem, they don't have the luxury of time given the injuries, given the small squad, given the hectic schedule which obviously will now relent slightly for the next month they'll actually be able to train. But I think Pino's done okay in parts. I think he has created some opportunities and Palace's finishing has been woeful. They're 9 below their XG. I think that's a massive problem. And Uche, you touched on Uche when Uche came in. Palace said that or Gladna said that they saw him probably more as a 10. Now Glassn's saying they see him as a striker and Klasna clearly wasn't impressed with him. Again, having talked about a lot of his or several of his players falling on the floor and looking for a foul. And I felt like that was a particularly pointed reference to Uche, who repeatedly was on the floor looking for a foul and literally looking at the ref asking for a foul against Macclesfield. And you didn't see Macclesfield players doing that. But palace also lack physicality. I think they don't have those players with that physical profile in midfield, even up front. There's just a lot of areas that they need to improve on. This is the Athletic FC podcast with IO Akimolere.

Jennifer (14:47)

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Ayo Akimolere (14:51)

They accept Discover.

Jennifer (14:52)

Except Discover in a little place like this? I don't think so. Jennifer oh yeah, huh?

Matt Woosnam (14:58)

Discover is accepted where I like to shop.

Jennifer (15:00)

Come on baby, get with the time. Right, so we shouldn't get the parachute pants. These are making a comeback, I think.

Ayo Akimolere (15:10)

Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on.

Rob Smethurst (15:14)

The February 2025 Nielsen report.

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Ayo Akimolere (16:52)

Well, let's talk about the uncertainties at palace right now because the FA cup humiliation adds to what, from the outside anyway, seems like an Uneasy time at palace at this moment in time, both Oliver Glassner, the head coach, as we've mentioned, and also Mark Gahey, the captain, are into their final six months of their contracts. Matt, let's start with Glassner for the beginning, then we'll go to Gehe. I mean, how much uncertainty is there for him staying at Palace?

Matt Woosnam (17:20)

Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of uncertainty. I mean, he gets asked quite often what's happening with his contract and his stock answer is to say that they haven't had a chance to talk about it properly. And Steve Parrish said this to me in the interview that we did, that they're in the muck and billets of the season. His focus is on preparing the team. He hasn't got time to sit down and focus on his own future and his contract. However, again recently he did say that actually he expects to have a decision on his contract by sort of within the next month. So we should get some clarity on, or at least he should have some clarity. And he did say that when he knows, obviously the players will know and then he'll tell everyone else. When that happens is another matter. But in theory we should have some clarity on that in the next month or so. But I think we saw this with Roy Hodgson, towards the end of Roy Hodgson and his time, that uncertainty and around what's going to happen can affect the team. I don't think. I think it'd be an excuse to say that was why palace has struggled lately. I think it is the reasons we listed earlier, the small squad, the hectic schedule, etc. I'm sure there's some underlying issue there too with the uncertainty around Glaser's contract, but Glaser doesn't want to be here forever. It felt like throughout that Glaser would probably leave a lot of this season. It's felt like whenever it comes up that the likelihood is that he will leave. And I still think there's a good chance that he will leave in the summer. I don't think it's 100% at this moment, but his future is still up in the air and that isn't helpful for anyone, I don't think. And they do need to have that conversation. They've had conversations of sorts over the season, but now they really need to have those detailed, clear plans as to what to do. And I think for him, and I wrote about this previously, it's not about money for him, it's about. He said that every part of the club needs to improve and he needs to see a vision that matches his ambition. And that's what happened at Eintracht Frankfurt. And I spoke, I had a press conference with him where I sort of sat down and peppered him with questions about his future and about what happened at Eintracht Frankfurt and whether that was history repeating itself. And he always talks about everything being a recommendation to the club rather than what Oliver Glasner wants. It's not about what he wants, he says it's what he thinks is best for the club. But I also think that's kind of what he sees is best for him as a manager. If he doesn't get these things that he's asking for. And this isn't just players, he says, this is facilities, infrastructure, things like that.

Ayo Akimolere (19:53)

It's going to take a while, though, let's be honest.

Matt Woosnam (19:55)

Yeah, but if he doesn't see a vision that is aligned with his, he will leave in the summer.

Ayo Akimolere (20:00)

Yeah. Dom, I don't want to put words into anyone's mouth here, but has there always been a feeling, especially from a Palace fan's perspective, that Oliver Glasser potentially might be too good a coach for a team like Palace?

Dom Fifield (20:11)

No, I think he's a perfect coach for a team like Palace. My concern would be whether he's good enough to be a coach for a bigger club where he, you know, can he get away with playing counter attacking football at a bigger club? I'm not sure he can, to be perfectly honest. So I think he's at exactly the right type of club as long as that club is ambitious and aspirant in the way it wants to attack things. So, no, I mean, God, I mean, that's so typical though, isn't it? Palace have a bit of success and everybody assumes that he has to move on to something else. Well, if he goes to Manchester United, do we think that's going to be a success? He's going to take a rigid 3421 to Manchester United with their squad. Is that going to work?

Matt Woosnam (20:47)

I'm pretty sure.

Dom Fifield (20:48)

We just had a rigid 3421 coach at Manchester United and it didn't work. So it's an interesting concept, but it's something that Crestol palace supporters, and indeed supporters of clubs of Palace's size have got used to over the years. Everything's always put through the prism of what the bigger clubs want. I mean, he is culpable for some of the things that are happening at the moment. This nine match winless streak. I think he's a very rigid system manager. He has the way he wants to play. And if his first team are all available in this Crystal palace setup, then that team will do really, really well. That will do really, really well. That will win an FA cup, that will win a Community Shield, that will go on a run that takes them into the top half the table, take them as high as fourth in December. However, given the squad size, as soon as key personnel are ruled out, the players that are coming in to fill in those roles in that rigid system aren't good enough to do that. They're just not good enough, unfortunately. And that's partly down to him as well, because a lot of them are coming in completely cold because they've not been used at all over a congested first half of the season. If they got some game time when palace were being successful in their roles, then maybe palace would have players that could cope with the physicality that's required, that could go past players. Maybe I'm speaking optimistically here, but I actually think the best thing that he could do at the moment is sign a new contract to Crystal palace, because I think he could. That would kick it on, that would move it on. He could go and he could take this team potentially to a European trophy this season. He could attack a Europa League campaign next year. He could justifiably go to the board and say, look, these are the type of players I want. Go and do that for me now in this transfer window. But I still expect him to leave. And it's going to be a summer of change at palace, most likely, given managers of his caliber always believe they can do a better job at a better club because they are that ambitious, they're that driven. He will believe that he can do something outstanding elsewhere if he decides to move on.

Ayo Akimolere (22:47)

Yeah, when you talk about summer of change, Matt, Mark Gahey could also not be there. He might not even be there at the end of January. We're still yet to see. If you think about what's going to be most damaging for this team right now, losing Glassner or losing a player like Gehe, which will be most damaging for palace in the long term?

Matt Woosnam (23:06)

Big question. I have to sort of sit on the fence here and say that it really depends on who they replace either of them with. I mean, at the moment, how palace would cope without Gay. I mean, you know, Chris Richards just spent a few weeks out or a few games out with a foot injury. Jefferson Lerma came back into defence and he does an okay job there. He fills in and credit to him, he does a good enough job there, but he's not sort of a specialist centre back. And with palace playing free at the back, you lose Gay and suddenly you've got a massive problem there because you haven't got anyone to come in and fill that gap, not just in numbers but also in talent and ability. As Dom was saying, JD Camvo has potential and, you know, he's had a couple of games, you know, where he's come in and he's done well, but at the same time he's also made those mistakes. You know, against Aston Villa the other day, he came in and he put in a performance which was largely very good and Palestin's appreciated it. But then he also made some mistakes in that game, you know, in, in the Conference League against Larnaca, he. He made a terrible mistake to. To give away the goal. But this, you know, this isn't about J.D. campbell, it's, you know, palace and it's such a big loss. If they do lose him in this window especially, they really will need to have someone lined up to come in and replace him. And you're not going to get the same kind of calibre of player as him, clearly. And Glasnaar, obviously we've seen what an incredible job Glasner's done. I think that is definitely. Again, who comes in to replace him and how they do it. It will take some time for them to get their ideas across, to work with the squad. And the best manager in Palace's history, how do you replace that? The managers palace have had, they haven't been as sort of forward thinking, I suppose, as Glasner, you've had some disastrous appointments, you've had some sort of solid appointments and then you've got Glassner. It's just how you replace that, it's just such a difficult thing to do.

Ayo Akimolere (25:11)

Dumb. Does Matt have a point? I know sitting on the fence there, but if Glasner does leave, if Gehe does leave, which is looking likely, it's about who comes in. Because you think about 20, 25 and what that brought. FA Cup European Football 19 game on beaten run winning the FA cup last season. Look to offer a platform for palace to kind of build on in many respects. And you've talked about the recruitment and how they sort of haven't built on that. They've also lost players like Eze and lost players like Olise as well. Do palace really need to think about this clearly? Because all that goodwill and all that goodwill that's been garnered over the last season could seriously unravel if those replacements aren't assured.

Dom Fifield (25:50)

Well, yeah, but again, I go back to the argument. Where do we see Crystal palace going? Do you think that the Premier League is not stacked against clubs of Palace's size, surely? I mean, it's all geared towards. I mean, even. Even with the new PSR equivalent rules, it's geared towards preventing middle of the road clubs like Crystal palace establishing themselves in Champions League or European qualification places. I mean, last season was astonishing because there was silverware. They actually finished higher the previous season. They're always in and around those positions. They've never finished lower than 15th in this spell in the Premier League. Since getting promoted in 2013, there's probably a natural ceiling for clubs of Palace's size. They have to keep unearthing these gems, and that may also be unearthing a manager that will take them on and embrace. Embrace the project, so to speak, and take them on next season.

Ayo Akimolere (26:45)

Dom, I know you've got to go, but really appreciate your time as always.

Dom Fifield (26:48)

Cheers, guys.

Ayo Akimolere (26:48)

Okay, that's palace dealt with. Next, let's shine the light on Macclesfield.

Jennifer (26:59)

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Matt Woosnam (27:10)

Discover's accepted where I like to shop.

Jennifer (27:12)

Come on, baby, get with the times. Right, so we shouldn't get the parachute pants. These are making a comeback, I think.

Ayo Akimolere (27:22)

Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide, based on the February 2025 Nielsen report.

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Jennifer (28:01)

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Matt Woosnam (28:41)

You're listening to the Athletic FC podcast with Ayo Akamolere.

Ayo Akimolere (28:45)

Well, joining us now, it's an absolute pleasure to welcome Macclesfield owner Rob Smethurst. Rob, I mean, have your feet touched the ground? Are you alive? Are you okay?

Rob Smethurst (28:54)

It's unbelievable scenes. You know, I think we. I think we've actually physically broken the Internet. You know, I think we've definitely put Macclesfield on the map.

Dom Fifield (29:01)

It's.

Rob Smethurst (29:02)

Yeah, it's been. It's been an epic, you know, since Saturday. You know, feet haven't touched the ground. The social media, the. The lads, you know, the. The buzz around the town. You know, I've just been. Just about been out into Macclesfield now and, you know, you know, people are still celebrating.

Matt Woosnam (29:17)

It's.

Rob Smethurst (29:17)

It's incredible.

Ayo Akimolere (29:18)

Yeah, that's something I really wanted to touch on, actually, because, you know, the McElful story, I don't know if many people know, it is quite poignant, actually, because there's a bit of a backstory to it. This is a club that was liquidated, a club that you bought after seeing it on rightmove. And I just wonder just how powerful that is for. For a town like Macclesfield, fundamentally. Because, you know, people talk about football and it being the spirit of a town. I mean, the team's back and it's beating Premier League opposition.

Matt Woosnam (29:45)

It is.

Rob Smethurst (29:45)

I mean, look. Yeah, you're absolutely right. I think the most important thing about football is it brings communities together, it brings people together. I mean, you can't, you know, the power of the sport just does something that no other sport does. And, you know, when you start to see the fan base and the people and the community and that kind of, you know, unbelievable scenes that we've seen on Saturday, it really does bring sort of like a heartbeat back into the local community. And I think that's something that we're super proud of. I think, you know, it goes deeper than just, you know, a game of football and a match. It's bringing people together. It's, you know, when you sort of looking at the under six, sevens, eights, nines, you know, all the teams that are coming through, you know, they look up to these players and, you know, even at non league level. And I think that's something that, you know, is really important is. Is, you know, isn't just all about the big boys. It is also about, you know, the small community clubs like us.

Ayo Akimolere (30:31)

Yeah, well, talk us through the different stages of your celebrations from, obviously what happened on the field to where you are right now. I mean, where's your head right now.

Rob Smethurst (30:40)

Just soaking it up, you know, just trying to, trying to try actually enjoy it. I think, you know, the, the, the day was insane. I mean, it was a lot of organizing. You know, there's a lot of work that goes into bringing a big team like Crystal Palace. The ticket sales, there's two and a half thousand people around the stadium trying to get tickets before they obviously went out onto general sale and the Amanda's of the World and the Bob Traffords and the Rachels that are selling these tickets till 10 o', clock, 11 o' clock at night. And the staff that we've got at the football club have worked really hard and yeah, to put on an event like that is huge.

Dom Fifield (31:17)

Yeah.

Ayo Akimolere (31:17)

You know, we need to talk about the romance of the FA cup, because it really is a dream. This is the magic of it. To see a lower league team end up beating those elite sort of Premier League professionals. But also the beauty of it is that you have a team made up of people who've actually got day jobs. Can you just tell us some of the day jobs some of the players do?

Rob Smethurst (31:35)

Yeah, that's.

Matt Woosnam (31:35)

That.

Rob Smethurst (31:35)

This is, this is the craziest thing. You know, we're part time, you know, we train two times a week. One's a school teacher. He's in school this morning. You know, he's a PE teacher. We've got, you know, we've got all sorts, you know, electricians, plumbers, coaches, you know, you can imagine it's, you know, we've got, we've got a real array of different work that those lads go out and do in the day. And then, you know, they train with us just, just really probably about four hours a week.

Ayo Akimolere (32:01)

Does this then give him some sort of like local hero status? Like, are they walking through towns and people are like tapping them going, you are, you're our idols.

Rob Smethurst (32:08)

Do you know what they are? And I think what they've achieved is just something that, like you say, is they've created history for themselves. I mean, it's the biggest upset pretty much in, in the FA cup ever. And, you know, when you're looking at a team like us in the sixth sort of tier and, you know, beating the Crystal palace, you know, and especially with what they've all been through as well over the last couple of weeks, you know, with, with obviously losing Ethan and I think the resilience to, to go out there and play that game, it was a testament to them, but it was 100%, you know, they gave it absolutely everything and and the, you know, the result was, was for him, really. And I think that's the most important thing that those lads wanted to go out and do.

Ayo Akimolere (32:45)

Yeah, I thought it was really special, actually. And I just want to sort of just break it down as we're talking about. Ethan McLeod is a player of yours who died in a car crash on the 16th of December. You know, Saturday was just your fourth game since that actually happened. Now, we've seen pictures of his parents coming in post match to speak to everyone, hugging them and stuff like that. Can you just articulate what that meant for his parents and also what it meant for them to be there to watch this victory?

Rob Smethurst (33:09)

Yeah, I mean, it was. It was huge for them. I mean, they came on Boxing Day. We did a minute silence on the pitch. I mean, you know, just leading up to those tragic events, you know, obviously I got the call really first thing in the morning, you know, after the match that he played in. And, you know, obviously we had to let. And break that news to all the. All the players, you know, so me and John Rooney did that, you know, to the best that we could. And that was a heartbreaking moment for all of us, really. We all got together the day after. We. We all sat around the club, you know, in silence, really, for hours. It was. It was a really sort of crazy moment. And then we obviously got one of the games canceled. And then we then sort of went into sort of, you know, just talking to each other and opening up about this about as much as we can. And, you know, the parents came to the game. I saw them on the side and said, look, you know, this is a huge part of what Ethan had done for us because he'd scored and he'd help us get through. So we brought them into the room and, you know, the lads were superb. They were hugging. It was amazing. They enjoyed our celebrations. And that's what it's about, isn't it? It's about they've got, if not one of the toughest times and they'll never, ever get over it. You're never going to. And it was just a nice, really special moment to bring them in and give them that sort of love and attention that we wanted to do.

Matt Woosnam (34:28)

Rob, first of all, congratulations. I thought, obviously there was so much community spirit on display. After the game, we sort of spoke to Sam Heathcote. He was talking about how he's a primary school PE teacher and how some of the kids were saying, good luck. And he was like, what for? And they didn't quite understand Some of them, but some of the older ones did. And then Paul Dawson came in and sort of said that he had been shoveling snow and ice to clear the pitch and clear the surrounding areas. I mean, does that kind of just typify the sort of spirit around the place and, you know, the nature of the guys that you've got at the club and, you know, everything that happened, does that sort of sum it up for you?

Rob Smethurst (35:08)

Yeah, it does. Well, I think it's a bizarre thing. We're like a band of brothers. It's weird. You know, a lot of these players have been with me for a long time. You know, we want to make it a family club, a community club. You know, we've run foundations, got 3, 400 kids in a foundation, kids that can't play football or afford to play football, you know, and boots and, you know, we'll supply all those for them. And, you know, we are a special club. You know, I know we've got the bars and the restaurants and everything else that, you know, we've kind of created to create that community feel. But, you know, when the snow came down, it was a quick message on, on Facebook and, you know, 200 people turned up with snow shovels and the retractors and quad bikes with, you know, to remove the snow. And we've created something special. And I think for a town, you know, this goes so much deeper than just football.

Dom Fifield (35:51)

We've.

Rob Smethurst (35:51)

We've created this or, you know, amazing culture around the place and friends, friendships are being made, you know, every game. And, you know, we do everything we can to involve the whole community and make that the focal point of Macclesfield, which, you know, I think we've been doing now for. For the last few years. You know, Christmas dinners for free. We open up on Christmas Day. You know, why not? You know, if we can, if we can do those things, then, you know, bring that sort of special place, that place where people feel safe, loved. You know, like I said, it goes deeper and I think that's what we've created within. Within the football club at Mac.

Matt Woosnam (36:27)

At what point did you actually believe that you were going to win? Was there a point where you just knew that you were going to win?

Rob Smethurst (36:35)

Yeah, about three seconds to the end. Do you know what? It was crazy because I thought, look, it's Crystal Palace. It was a fun day out. Was I expecting a 10 nil whitewashing? Yeah, course, as you would expect, you're talking about the best of the best, the elite, and it was just about fun and for the first three or four minutes, you know, Dawson went in with that header. You know, I thought, hang on, this. They're not holding back here. You know, they're actually giving this a go. They weren't sitting back. They weren't. They were relaxed. They had a game plan, they stuck to it. And, you know, once we scored just before half time, you know, when we went through, there was a little. Could it be? Could it actually happen? And then obviously we scored again. And then that was the moment. Then we thought, oh, my God, just hang on for dear life if we can. And. And then obviously they scored a great free kick. And then it was like the five minutes, we just. I just thought, oh, here we go, you know, like you would do. Give me 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. And we did it. And the scenes, the epic scenes, the people running on the pitch, the, you know, obviously the memory of what we went through with Ethan and everything else, we were just in floods of tears. And, you know, we were watching grown men cry, you know, on the side of the. Of the football pitch in tears, who've supported this club from, you know, well before I got it. And that's the moment of the FA Cup. It's got something that no other cups probably got. It gives us small little clubs, that little glimmer, that little chance that we can all one day dream. And you know what? We did it. And dreams can come true. It's incredible. Absolutely incredible.

Ayo Akimolere (38:16)

Well, dreams can continue to come true. Any thoughts of who you'd like in the next round? I mean, you've tasted it now. You've beaten the palaces of this world. Who next?

Rob Smethurst (38:24)

Who knows? Anyone? Yeah, Bring them on now. Do you know what? I think there's two things here, you know, One side. One side of it, selfish. One side of it is, let's go and play a big Premier League away. And then the other side is, you know, let's bring someone home and play home purely because of what it actually does to the local town. You know, the pub zone. I was getting messages saying, thank you so much. You know, my bar has done taken more money than it did on New Year's Eve. You know, you're supporting taxi companies. You're talking about, you know, the fish and chip shop down the road. You're talking about, you know, the. The hairdressers that have, you know, before it goes so much further and what we can do to. To help those businesses. So in two ways, you know, I'm. I'm happy either way, but, you know, one big premiership club come in. I'm sure they've got to fear us.

Ayo Akimolere (39:12)

We love it. Look, we love to see it. We love to see the magic of the Cup. I was just saying to Dom before he left that I was watching with JJ Okocha and John Obi Mikel and they couldn't believe what they were seeing and they said and the FA cup is truly special. Out of everywhere they've played in the world, this cup is truly special. You guys have really made it special for all of us. So thank you so much for joining us.

Rob Smethurst (39:32)

Thank you very much guys.

Ayo Akimolere (39:33)

Yeah, we do love the magic of the FA Cup. Thanks to everyone who joined us for the podcast today. And also thank you guys for joining us too. We'll be back soon.

Matt Woosnam (39:44)

You've been listening to the Athletic FC Podcast. The producers are Guy Clark, Mike Stabre and Jay Beal.

Rob Smethurst (39:49)

Executive producers are Abby Patterson and Avi Moorhead.

Matt Woosnam (39:52)

To listen to other great athletic podcasts for free, including our dedicated club shows.

Rob Smethurst (39:56)

Search for the Athletic and all the usual places. You'll also find us on YouTube at the Athletic FC Podcast, so make sure you subscribe. The Athletic FC Podcast is an athletic media company production.

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Ayo Akimolere (40:51)

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