Was it the biggest FA Cup upset in history?

‌It was certainly the widest gap between clubs in terms of league positions, even if Macclesfield Town may not have faced Crystal Palace's first XI.

‌Huge upsets in the past have been against the big dog's big players, so there is a debate on whether or not it was the biggest shock in history.

But who cares - what a story!

‌It wasn't even a lucky win but a deserved one on the day.

The Mac manager, John Rooney is the brother of superstar Wayne, finally eclipsing his older sibling at last, for one weekend anyway.

The ownership of the club, saved from extinction just a few short years ago by a man who had just been on a three-day drinking bender, is already a legend in itself.

‌The stories continue but none are as moving as the loss of 21-year-old player Ethan McLeod in a car crash earlier in the season, and the club's subsequent reaction to that tragedy.

The tears of joy and of sadness will have run together on Saturday night.

‌The highs and the lows are rarely so acutely shown as they were at the Moss Rose ground on this glorious but highly emotional day.

The FA Cup had one of the most memorable and poignant days in its history.

During my playing career and since, I have always understood the concept of FA Cup rules. They aren't written down but they definitely exist. If you are a lower-league team, the level of rough play permitted is far more than it would be in any league game. Officials turn a blind eye to that overt physicality because it is the cup and I am suspicious that one or two officials enjoy watching preening prima donnas getting a hefty challenge and having to put up with it for once.

‌You can't complain, particularly if you lose to the underdogs, as it just sounds like wimpish whinging from entitled football fops. Crystal Palace could have moaned about everything from the challenges to the plastic pitch, the latter had a huge negative effect on the Premier League team, but it comes across as pathetic even if it is a legitimate grievance.‌

With no VAR in the third round, the officials have more leeway to use subjective calls, again often unusually lenient at those small, lower league or non-league grounds.

‌Even at the end, when the Macclesfield fans gloriously ran on the field in their thousands to chair their heroes off, the rules were different. That would have led to a huge FA fine had it been the Premier League team's fans, instead of the scenes being celebrated on TV and online.‌

So, there are FA Cup rules and they do favour the minnows, but I am not complaining because it helps make the competition special.

‌Not that I felt the same way when I was a player though.

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