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Macclesfield delivered arguably the biggest shock in FA Cup history when they defeated Crystal Palace in the third round in January – but they’ve since been dealt a financial blow relating to that game.
The National League North side went into the Crystal Palace game ranked 117 places below the cup holders in the English pyramid, making their 2-1 victory the biggest ever upset in the competition in terms of league positions.
Jeffers' key message ahead of cup upset
The Cheshire side are managed by Wayne Rooney’s younger brother John, who installed Francis Jeffers as his assistant after being appointed in the summer.
Jeffers may have played for Everton, Arsenal and England during his playing career, but that didn’t make the Crystal Palace game any less special.
“I was going to make sure I enjoyed it as much as the good days I’d had at Arsenal and places like that – there was no pressure on the lads, I wanted to make sure they enjoyed it and didn’t feel any nerves,” he told FourFourTwo.
“Sometimes when that happens, you can go through the day and get to 8pm, you’ve been beaten by Crystal Palace and you don’t remember much of the day. I tried to make sure they took it all in.
“If the truth be known, I wasn’t going into it with much hope – we’ve got a cracking group of lads who are really good for the level we’re at, but we were playing the FA Cup holders. I just wanted them to enjoy it. They did a bit more than that, didn’t they?”
Macclesfield now host another Premier League club Brentford in the fourth round on February 16, in a match that will be live on TNT Sports. Their second round game at Slough was also on television.
“I don’t know exactly how much the club have made but when you go on an FA Cup run like we’ve had, with the rounds you win, you get money for that, then we’ve ended up on the TV three times, so I’d imagine the club is now in a really good position financially,” Jeffers said.
Asked how he felt about the FA’s reported decision to block them receiving Crystal Palace’s share of the third-round gates receipts, he said: “I don’t really know the ins and outs of it, I get my Nike Tiempo boots on, go and put some cones out, coach the players, then go back in, so all that stuff that’s been going on, I honestly can’t give you an answer.
“But I enjoyed that Crystal Palace day like you wouldn’t believe, so I’d rather remember it for that than any bitterness.”
Jeffers was speaking in association with casino.co.uk, who share UK casino bonus options. There will be more from the former England striker in the next issue of FourFourTwo magazine
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