So, did the most romantic weekend of the football calendar – the third round of the FA Cup – do it for you?
Undoubtedly it must have stirred something when you consider that a non-league club stunned the holders to create one of the biggest shocks ever in the competition’s much fabled history.
The fact that sixth-tier Macclesfield defeated Crystal Palace meant that, with 117 places between the teams, statistically we have just witnessed the biggest upset ever in FA Cup history.
A truly wonderful story which will be remembered for eternity and, in the words of respected football writer Henry Winter, a ‘performance of guts and glory that will go down in history’.
Without taking anything away from the triumph – nothing should do that – in many ways it was probably slightly less of a surprise given Eagles boss Oliver Glasner rested many of his regular starting XI and fielded a fairly youthful team.
Yes, they still possessed enough Premier League experience in the team and on the bench to have overcome this hurdle.
But to my mind, it means this shock doesn’t quite match the magnitude of some of those of yesteryear – for example, when Wrexham – who had finished 90 places below them in the league pyramid the season previous – stunned champions of England, Arsenal, in 1992.
Or when non-league Sutton despatched top flight Coventry City just 18 months after they had lifted the famous trophy.
Occasions like Saturday afternoon’s events in Cheshire should be cherished though.
Firstly, because it wasn’t too long ago that 146 years of history were consigned to the history books when Macclesfield Town ceased trading in 2020; local businessman Robert Smethurst bought the club’s assets and they were reformed as phoenix club.
Then consider other aspects of third round weekend.
It is no slight on last season’s beaten finalists, Manchester City, that they put 10 past League One outfit Exeter City.
Or even that they refused their opponents’ request for a greater share of the gate receipts (if City had agreed, it would have set a precedent).
Yet it is a sad state of affairs nowadays that one player can cost more than an entire club.
When, for example, City’s new £65 million signing Antoine Semenyo – and I could have picked others despite the hosts fielding an understrength line-up – costs more than the entire combined cost of the opponents they are facing, what chance do Exeter have?
The gap between the elite few has grown to such an extent that there should never really be any shocks nowadays.
Another aspect which disappointed me, yet again, was the lack of replays.
I use the example of little Tamworth from this time last year when they held their illustrious visitors Spurs over 90 minutes, only to be denied a money-spinning replay in North London – which would have provided them with much needed security and possible television money.
They subsequently had to play an additional 30 minutes and, what followed, was £50 odd million of Spurs talent came off the bench to win the tie in extra-time while Tamworth’s part-time collection of builder, bricklayer and PhD student naturally tired.
How they deserved a replay and, from a financial perspective, what could that have done for the coffers of a club then 96 places below the North Londoners in the footballing pyramid.
Had Palace managed an equaliser on Saturday lunchtime, you can guarantee the outcome would have been the same.
The gulf is wide enough – wider than it’s ever been in the history of the game – without its governing body making life even more difficult for the smaller clubs which remain the lifeblood of the game.
That is why moments like those produced by Macclesfield – managed by the brother of former England captain Wayne Rooney – should be embraced, even if Palace were far from full-strength. The opportunities for such moments decrease with each passing year.
Elsewhere, FA Cup 2026 highlights were in full supply on Tyneside but, again, I ask you – why should Bournemouth not have had the chance to bring Newcastle back to the south coast for a replay, just days after selling their best player for a club record fee.
Did Nottingham Forest get what they deserved for fielding a weakened XI at Championship club Wrexham who held out, despite a fine fightback from last season’s semi-finalists, and won the tie on penalties?
You can answer those questions in your own way but, one thing’s for sure, a quick glance at our FA Cup 2026 betting odds suggest one of only four sides is likely to win the competition this year. That tells its own story.
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