National League North club Macclesfield are on the up. The team recently defeated holders Crystal Palace in the FA Cup which will go down as one of the competition's biggest shock results, and currently sit sixth in the table, vying for promotion to the National League.
The Silkmen and their supporters have been on a rollercoaster journey since former club Macclesfield Town were wound up by the High Court in September 2020, leaving fans with the prospect of no longer having a team to follow.
Local entrepreneur Rob Smethurst has helped transform the club - and himself - as the team have steadily moved up the non-league ladder since returning to competitive action as Macclesfield FC in 2021.
'I don't think we'll ever get over it. I don't think we ever will'
"I had no idea. I had no clue. I had no real business plan," Smethurt tells FourFourTwo ahead of Brentford's visit to the Leasing.com Stadium. "I didn't really have that much interest in it at the time, but when I started to really look into it and realise that actually, a community needed a football club.
"Then obviously, with my addiction, I just thought, 'Look, maybe this is time for me to put all my energy into something different, get my focus, get my ambition and get my belief back.' And that's what I that's what I decided to do. I went into recovery, and then decided to set my journey, and all my heart and belief that I would build a football club that the whole town could be proud of."
Smethurst bought the club spontaneously in October 2020, whilst living a self-professed 'party lifestyle' fuelled by alcohol addiction, having sold his business to Autotrader for millions.
The local businessman has overseen the club's progression from North West Counties Football League Premier Division to National League North over the past four-and-a-half years, securing three promotions in that time.
This season, the Silkmen defeated AFC Totton and Slough Town in the first and second rounds of the FA Cup to set up a money-spinning encounter with reigning champions Crystal Palace, which they would go on to win 2-1. Weeks before, though, the club was turned upside down by the shock passing of attacker Ethan McLeod.
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers academy youngster was killed in a road traffic accident whilst travelling back from a Macclesfield fixture, leaving the club's staff, players and supporters at a loss.
"I don't think we'll ever get over it. I don't think we ever will," Smethurst says. "The shock of that day will be with me forever and for the players. The fast pace of football, we take every game as each one comes. But we will never forget that lad, we've got his position in the changing room. It'll always stay there, And the lads will, just before a game, put a programme on his seat, or might even light a candle. They use that as a bit of an inspiration now to go out there. Ethan's our 12th man now in every game."
Following their Third Round triumph against Palace, goalscorers Paul Dawson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, as well as manager John Rooney, paid tribute to Ethan, alluding to the impact his death had had on the group.
"It was very special to give back to Ethan's parents," Smethurst adds. "That was a special moment for me and for the club."
Macclesfield owner Smethurst was speaking to FFT after being unveiled as property website Rightmove's 'chief belief officer', after the businessman famously purchased the club's home on the platform for £500,000 back in 2020.
"I'd take [the risk again]. I'd take it 100%. I am a risk taker. My whole life has been about building businesses. I'm an entrepreneur, I've built successful businesses, but I've also failed at businesses. I've learned from my mistakes, and some of the businesses that I've got now are doing phenomenally well. I think it's just a case of, you've got to give it a go, whatever you believe in, there's no point sitting there dreaming about it or thinking about it. Just get on and do it and take that risk. Yeah, it might cost you. You might not win, but you're not going to win all the time."
Macclesfield entertain Keith Andrews' Brentford live on TNT Sports on Monday evening. Kick-off is at 7:30pm.
Rob Smethurst has signed as Chief Belief Officer at Rightmove. For more information, please visit www.rightmove.co.uk.
