The magic and vital money of the Cup
“BIBLICAL VIBRATIONS IN THE AREA”. When Exeter City were drawn against Manchester City in the FA Cup third round last night, the cash-strapped League One club retweeted this old post of Liam Gallagher’s. The Oasis front man and City fan referred to thunderstorm on June 8. Exeter referred to the seismic impact of the draw from a sporting, emotional and financial perspective.
During the draw, Joe Cole pulled out No 22. Manchester City at home. Peter Crouch, doing the away teams, plucked No 61, Exeter City, out of the bowl. “Always been a fan of yours @petercrouch xoxo” posted the overjoyed Exeter admin on X.
It’s a wonderful draw from a footballing perspective, a point made by Exeter’s manager Gary Caldwell when talking to BBC Sport Devon. He spoke of the thrill and honour of managing against Pep Guardiola and for his players to run out at the Etihad, facing some of the best players on the planet. Imagine being Joe Whitworth, Exeter’s 21-year-old goalkeeper on loan from Crystal Palace, and now you could have Erling Haaland testing you. The Cup is a game of Opportunity Knocks.
Players can become household names overnight. Tim Buzaglo awoke one morning in 1991 as an unknown computer specialist and ended the day being rushed in a car to the Match of the Day studios. A hat-trick for non-League Woking at West Brom guaranteed that. The Cup is the great dream-maker.
It could be you. It could be Whitworth. He became Palace’s youngest ever goalkeeper, at 19, when making his debut at Brighton & Hove Albion, of all places, in 2023. He’s now gaining vital game time on a second loan at St James Park. The Cup so often shines a light on the key development work that EFL clubs do.
Caldwell watched the draw with members of Exeter City Supporters’ Trust, who own the club. He mentioned to BBC Sports Devon that the impact of the tie on the club’s dishevelled finances was “the icing on the cake”. Actually, it is the cake. Rarely has a club needed such a windfall as Exeter with this draw. They receive 45% of the gate receipts from the Etihad, £100,000 if the tie is picked for live TV coverage, plus £26,500 if they lose and £121,500 prize money if they win.