Robert Smethurst, a local businessman born in Macclesfield currently becomes the headline. As Robert along with his friend Robbie Savage, just bought the assets of Macclesfield FC, they have shared their heartiest joy and are so ambitious with the football team.
Robbie Savage was a former professional footballer and Robert has a wealth of experience in doing business as he was associated with at least 11 companies before. Robert Smethurst is a sole entrepreneur and was the Band Lead at Auto Trader UK. Before that, he was the Managing Director of Motor Trade Delivery Limited.
Robert has taken significant steps after being appointed as manager of Macclesfield FC in October 2020.
“My vision over the coming months and years is to rebuild the Club, pitch & stadium facilities and re-invest the income generated from that back into creating the first team and into the Club overall. If we can move a new team into the North West Counties Football League next season, we’ll have achieved one of our main goals“ this is what he said in his first appearance.
Quick facts about Robert Smethurst
Let’s have a closer look at the new manager of Macclesfield FC. Although he is already 45 in 2022, he still looks young and full of energy. This is what made Rob Friends take the helm of a broken and wounded football club and rise like a phoenix from the ashes.
Robert Smethurst was a successful local businessman and his friend Robbie Savage was a former football player who played as a midfielder for Manchester United, Leicester City, Birmingham City, and Blackburn Rovers. Hopefully, they will do something good together.
Robby expressed his opinion about it “This is a Football Club that collapsed and has been resuscitated. But it’s more than that, it’s about being something at the center of a community that can create local jobs, bring social interaction and provide renewed hope for a local economy of associated local businesses who will benefit as a result – the suppliers of food, drinks, kit, etc. And extremely important – the provision of a first-class sporting facility for local schools to use for sports development. If this was about money – rest assured, I wouldn’t have become involved”.
| Full name | Robert Smethurst |
| Born | September 1977 |
| Age | 45 |
| Birth Place | Macclesfield, Cheshire |
| Education | Fallibroome High School, Macclesfield |
| Nationality | British |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Children | 3 boys |
| Net worth | $10 Millions, |
However, we don’t get much information about his family, lifestyle and other facts but you can learn more about his experience and the aim of rebuilding a broken football club in the discussion below.
Who is Robert Smethurst’s wife?
From Robert Smethurst’s Instagram profile, we got to see his wife and sons. He used to upload beautiful pictures with his family on vacations or special moments.
From there, we can say that Robert Smethurst’s wife looks nice and pretty handsome. Smethurst IG posts don’t usually include long captions. Most of his posts are captionless and we couldn’t see any mention of his wife. Thats why, it seems Robert is not so open about his family members.
Robert Smethurst work & experience
Robert Smethurst got a good hand over making businesses. Currently, he is not only managing the football club but also has other businesses as well. He is the director of The Savage Foundation Community Interest Company, Prosm1 Limited, Profa1 Limited.
Also, this is not the first football club he joined. He was previously the director of Stockport Town Football Club Limited which he resigned in March 2021. Here is a glimpse of Robert Smethurst’s professional career and work experience.
| Rank | Company |
| Managing Director (Oct 2013 – May 2017) | Motor Trade Delivery Limited |
| Brand Lead (May 2017 – Aug 2018) | AutoTrader UK |
| Director (Oct 2018 – Present) | Pro Football Academy |
| Owner (Oct 2020 – Present) | Macclesfield Football Club |
Macclesfield FC Ups and Downs
Macclesfield football club was formed in 1875, making it one of the oldest clubs in England. It was previously called Macclesfield town FC which was expelled from the national league after the high court ruled on 16 September 2020.
The reason behind the relegation was the club debts of over £500,000. All the assets of the club were put up for sale including the Moss Rose stadium on the Rightmove property website.
Then the advertisement was seen by Robert Smethurst and he suddenly took the decision to grab it. Robert said about the acquisition, “I’m a massive risk-taker, but buying Macc is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
He purchased the club along with its available assets and brought the glory back with his excellent direction in Macclesfield.
How is the club doing under his leadership?
The first few months were a struggling period for Robert smethurst. During the period, he invested an average of £25,000 to £30,000 a month without having a little benefit from it. When he was building the team management, club management and coaching stuff. According to Robert, it took nine months to make profit from the club.
Robert appointed Robbie Savage as the director and Danny Whitaker as the first team manager. In May 2021, the team was announced to play in the NWCFL Premier Division and was joined into FA Vase for the first time in the club’s history.
The team played its first competitive match in NWCFL premier division against Burscough. And it was a 1-0 sweet victory in their home. Although the team was knocked out from the FA cup, however, they have secured the first position out of 21 in the North West Counties Premier Division.
“Now the future for Macclesfield FC is very bright,” Rob also stated “Financially the future is sustainable.
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Wrap-up
Since Robert Smethurst has bought the club and rebuilt the team, the good effect has already been seen as they have won their first title in the 2020-21 season. With this, Robert Smethurst’s net worth increased to $10 million right now.
Smethurst said that he took several steps to avoid the past issues and also expressed that their key focus will be to continue football. He has already founded a secure business model and strong commercial foundation to avoid any situation like that. It reflects his professionalism in business management and there is no doubt that he is an expert doing this job.
