# @bizofsport on YouTube - **Type:** Video - **Original URL:** https://youtube.com/watch?v=SICsenZHvew - **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/54396705-bizofsport-youtube - **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/f8cf19ebb3.jpg - **Posted:** 2026-01-27T15:27:27.000+00:00 - **Account Owner:** Business of Sport (@bizofsport) — https://gondola.cc/bizofsport ## Caption It had to be done. It was the greatest upset in FA Cup history when Macclesfield beat holders Crystal Palace a couple of weeks ago. 117 places between the two teams in the football pyramid. But there is much more to the story than that result. A club that went out of business six years ago. An owner who was in the depths of addiction when he bought the club, now delivering one of the great football stories. Can they do it again against Brentford in a couple of weeks? You wouldn’t bet against them. But in the meantime let’s take a look at how this magic has been made possible. We’re delighted to welcome Rob Smethurst to the Business of Sport. ---------------------------------------------------- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:45 Drawing The FA Cup Holders 03:25 Has There Been A Big Change? 04:15 Welcoming A Premiership Team To The Ground 05:46 The Impact This Win Has 09:04 Becoming Macclesfield’s Saviour 17:07 Getting Back To The English Football Pyramid 22:06 How Did You Build A Squad? 26:22 How A Big Fanbase Influences The Business 31:31 How We Can Get Into The Football League 33:31 What Makes You Different To Others 35:41 John Rooney’s Takeover From Robbie Savage 41:40 Tragic Passing Of Ethan McLeod 45:46 Working On Supporting Young Players ---------------------------------------------------- In Today's Show We Discuss: 1. The FA Cup Run That’s Changed Everything: - What it meant for a sixth-tier club to beat Crystal Palace, the FA Cup holders. - The financial impact of a single cup run, from gate receipts to TV money and global attention. - Why moments like this can fund an entire season and transform a club’s trajectory overnight. 2. Running a Sustainable Non-League Football Club: - How you build a squad from scratch with part-time players earning a few hundred pounds a week. - Why promotion often makes clubs poorer, not richer, at non-league level. - How Macclesfield built a seven-day-a-week business around the club through gyms, bars, pitches and education. - Turning football into part of the business, not the whole business, to survive and grow. 3. Buying a Football Club on Rightmove: - The unbelievable story of buying Macclesfield FC while in the depths of addiction and not remembering the purchase. - Taking control of a club that had been stripped bare by receivers and rebuilding it from nothing. - Why owning the club gave Rob purpose at the lowest point of his life and ultimately helped save it. 4. Investment, Ambition & the Road Ahead: - What it really costs to climb the football pyramid and why outside investment is unavoidable. - How infrastructure underwrites club value as you move up the leagues. - Why Macclesfield now has belief, momentum and a clear plan to go further. ---------------------------------------------------- Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1lD0eIjmkyr92VggxZmDuF?si=c0a7e9846a834767 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/business-of-sport/id1690597762 Follow Harry Stebbings on X: https://twitter.com/HarryStebbings Follow Charlie Stebbings on X: https://twitter.com/CharlieStebbs Follow Macclesfield FC on X: https://twitter.com/thesilkmen Follow Business of Sport on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bizofsport Follow Business of Sport on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bizofsport ---------------------------------------------------- #businessofsport #charliestebbings #robsmethurst #football #ownerstory #facup #crystalpalace #premierleague #macclesfield ## Stats - **Views:** 13,285 - **Likes:** 187 - **Shares:** 0 - **Comments:** 9 ## Credits | Name | Username | Profile | Role | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Business of Sport | @bizofsport | https://gondola.cc/bizofsport | Podcast | ## Tags businessofsport, charliestebbings, premierleague, ownerstory, robsmethurst, football, facup, macclesfield, crystalpalace --- Copyright (c) Gondola