By: Lucas Delgado
March 19th, 2025
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Every year, the English Football Association (FA) organizes and operates the largest domestic cup competition in soccer, the FA Cup. This tournament, spanning the entire length of the season, gives thousands of clubs across England’s vast pyramid of leagues - professional and semi-pro alike - the opportunity to punch their ticket to a new piece of silverware. Premier League giants to local clubs from any of the 17 leagues in the tenth level of the system have their hat in the ring for a chance at one of the sport’s most prestigious trophies. However, it’s very rare that small clubs have the opportunity to succeed in the tournament. Even clubs just below reaching the Premier League struggle in the competition, as being a Premier League squad affords a massive boost in shared revenue from media rights deals. This does give smaller Premier League teams the resources to compete with their bigger counterparts, but it widens the gap between Premier League teams and anyone below. However, a team in the EFL Championship - England’s second tier - who themselves are on the verge of getting relegated to League One (England's third tier), are currently the exception to the FA Cup’s historical rule.
Meet Plymouth Argyle F.C., known affectionately by their fans as "The Pilgrims".
Plymouth Argyle have had a rough pair of seasons in the Championship. After winning the League One title in the 2022-23 season, they’ve struggled to make waves in the second division, finishing 1 point above the relegation zone with a 21st place finish in 2023-24, and currently sitting in the 2024-25 relegation zone in 23rd place. They’ve cycled through several managers in those two seasons (including legendary former Manchester United attacker Wayne Rooney) and perhaps more importantly, they don't have the financial means to truly compete in the Championship. Plymouth have the second lowest payroll in the league, estimated at £171,800 paid out in player wages each week, standing alongside Portsmouth F.C. as the only other Championship club to have a weekly payroll below £200,000. To say that they were an afterthought in regards to a potential FA Cup run was an understatement - they weren’t even a thought. Being a Championship club, they were afforded a place in the 3rd round of the 12 round competition, but many expected them to be one and done, especially when the draw revealed a trip to London to play an established Premier League team, Brentford F.C.
Brentford have built a solid foundation as a mid-table Premier League club over the last few seasons, currently sitting in 11th place. They’re known as one of the best run clubs in the top division, as similar to Plymouth Argyle, Brentford have the second lowest player payroll in the Premier League, and have impressively overperformed expectations since their promotion to the Premier League in 2022. However, this still means that Brentford boasts almost five times the total payroll of Plymouth, sitting at £822,500. Nonetheless, star man Morgan Whittaker scored a beautiful long shot late in the match, and that was enough to give PAFC a famous 1-0 away win and push them into the 4th round. This was a feel-good moment for interim manager Kevin Nancekivell, who emphasized how proud he was to be giving Plymouth’s supporters a big win and a nice trip home.
However, this joy was looking to be short lived, as come the 4th round draw, they saw that they’d be playing host to an opponent that seemed unstoppable - they’d be playing Liverpool F.C. The team that stood at a comfortable 1st place in the Premier League and Champions League, secured a spot in the final of the Carabao Cup, and had a weekly payroll of £2,477,000 - fourteen times the payroll of Plymouth. If beating Brentford was a massive upset, beating Liverpool would be the modern day David conquering Goliath.
After a very passive first half, Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott accidentally touched the ball with his hand in his own 18-yard box while attempting to block a pass. The referee awarded a penalty, which striker Ryan Hardie promptly tucked in the bottom left corner to give Plymouth a 1-0 lead, which they were able to hold for another 45 minutes including added time. Despite being out possessed 75% to 25%, and posting less shots and passes, Plymouth beat the team that looked like one of the best in the world. Goalkeeper Conor Hazard sealed the victory with a pair of ridiculous saves in the final moments, earning him the "Man of the Match" award in the process.
Miron Muslic, who Plymouth officially signed as manager in late January, was in complete awe of his team’s performance, remarking "It’s a big moment. I think I will only realise that when I leave the stadium tonight, when I get back to my apartment for a quiet moment. We also needed a bit of luck, and we had that but I feel we deserve this today. It’s a magical day for us.”
Now, Plymouth are gearing up for a 5th round away match against Manchester City, who have been English soccer’s true dynasty of the 2010s and 2020s, winning 8 of the last 13 Premier League titles. The Saudi-backed club with the biggest payroll in England at £4,145,000 a week - a whole twenty-four times greater than Plymouth’s.
However, if the last two rounds of competition have shown the world anything, it’s that Plymouth have no problem going against a team that has more resources than they do and will do whatever it takes to make lightning strike for a third time. As English soccer fans will attest, the prospect of a club like Plymouth continuing this improbable underdog run is simply "the magic of the FA Cup".
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