A millionaire bought a football club while drunk then forgot

Source : ABC NEWS

Rob Smethurst was in the throes of a drunken four-day bender when a friend called and told him his local football team was for sale.

Macclesfield Town, a club founded in the 1870s, had just been liquidated and its owner had put what was left of it, including a rundown 4,000-seat stadium, up for grabs online.

In his intoxicated state one evening in October 2020 Mr Smethurst made a compulsive purchase.

By the morning he had forgotten about it.

“I was drinking myself into oblivion and, it’s a true story, I can’t remember buying it. I’ve often said maybe I should’ve bought that kebab instead,” he said.

Macclesfield, based in a commuter town of the same name near Manchester in the north of England, had been put into administration not long before the start of the season because of a massive unpaid tax bill.

It’s a long story but here’s the short version — Mr Smethurst, a wealthy local entrepreneur, had just bought a bin fire.

A reason for living

From the ashes of Macclesfield Town, a new franchise, Macclesfield FC was born a year later.

The team wears the same colours, has the same fans, and plays at the same stadium.

It competes in the sixth tier of English football and this year it sprung an upset widely regarded as one of the greatest of the past century.

In January, Macclesfield FC shocked world football when it beat Premier League club Crystal Palace.

This Monday night they’re hoping to do it again.

At the time he bought the club Mr Smethurst was at a low point in his life.

The 46-year-old was once a used-car salesman in the north of England but left the role to develop an app that moved vehicles across the country.

He sold the company for a life-changing sum in 2017 — reportedly more than $20 million, not that he would confirm it.

But soon after his windfall Mr Smethurst’s life began to fall apart.

“It just gave me a great opportunity to then do the things that you can only dream of, really, but for me it had a bit of an opposite effect,” he told the ABC.

“It kind of gave me no drive and purpose. I started drinking a lot and I felt I didn’t really exist.”

He said buying his local team gave him purpose and slowly he’s rebuilt it.

“Even though it was one of those mad, ridiculous, stupid things you could ever do, one of the most craziest things I’ve ever done in my life, it’s turned out to be probably the best move I’ve done,” Mr Smethurst said.

“I think it saved my life.”

Things are going right on the field too.

The minnow’s 2-1 victory over Palace has been hailed as among the most significant upsets in the sport’s history.

Macclesfield’s most highly paid player earns £25,000 ($47,800) a year and works in a factory to supplement their income.

Crystal Palace, based in south London, plays in the English Premier League, has a global fan base and a roster of footballers worth an estimated £400 million ($768 million). 

It was also the reigning FA Cup champion.

Battlers get a shot

The competition’s eccentric and beloved fixturing system can be a bit of a lottery.

It means the most high-profile teams in England and Wales can be pitted against battlers.

It’s how Macclesfield, known as the Silkmen due to the town’s historic connection to the textiles industry, came to play a club 117 positions above it.

Mr Smethurst was overjoyed his team had drawn a Premier League outfit in its third-round match because of the exposure it could provide — even though he thought it would lose badly.

“I mean it’s just unrealistic, we’re a small club. We’re part-time players,” he said.

“Most of [the team] have got jobs, we train only two days a week. We’re playing the giants. It’s the David and Goliath story.”

Macclesfield’s captain Paul Dawson makes candles during the week and said he had kept trying to convince his players they could beat Crystal Palace.

“The lads dealt with the crowd and the occasion really well, I thought, so I think yeah it was really nice during the game,” Dawson said.

Macclesfield had the advantage of playing at its home ground, Moss Rose.

The venue has an iconic place in the local community, but for a Premier League club the facilities would be considered primitive. The change rooms have no lockers, for example.

When the match ended, many fans cried and some sprinted on the pitch to hug players.

Guy Mowbary, the commentator on the BBC’s coverage of the game, described it as “one of the greatest upsets in the history of the FA Cup”.

The next day Macclesfield was the talk of the football world. 

Netflix producers have contacted the club about a potential documentary. ESPN flew reporters out from New York to cover the story.

Macclesfield is situated in the English county of Cheshire and is surrounded by areas struggling with huge increases in cost of living and declining living standards.

Elaine, a lifelong Macclesfield fan, told the ABC the miraculous win has lifted everyone’s spirits, with residents still riding high in the depths of winter.

“Times are tough at the moment but this has brought everyone together. It’s just been amazing, this is once in a lifetime and we’ve lived it,” she said.

Macclesfield’s next game in the FA Cup is against another Premier League team, Brentford, on Monday night local time. 

Once again it’ll have the home advantage.

Could there be another miracle victory?

For Mr Smethurst it doesn’t really matter.

“It could be just what dreams are made of,” he said.

“But for me we’ve accomplished it, we’ve done it.”