Reserve goalkeeper Wayne Shaw of Sutton acknowledges the crowd.

Generally that “magic” points to the great tales of minnows taking on the giants of English football — fifth tier Sutton vs. Premier League giants Arsenal was the 2017 version.

But sometimes the cup provides an added bit of inspiration. It’s previously provided us tales of the likes of Jamie Vardy (now a Premier League winner at Leicester), who once had to wear a police ankle bracelet while playing or his post-match celebration of consuming a vat of Skittles Vodka.

Sutton goalkeeper Wayne Shaw is the latest cult hero to emerge. If Jamie Vardy is having a party, Shaw is doing the catering.

We’ve seen a lot of Shaw in the last 24 hours, given the goalkeeper was embroiled in controversy over #Piegate.

We almost saw too much of Shaw. The keeper revealed to the Daily Mail that he was asked to pose nude, his large frame covered only by a pair of strategically placed goalkeeper gloves.

Shaw was pictured eating a pie on the Sutton bench during the FA Cup tie with Arsenal. A strange sight at any football match but heightened when you consider betting companies had opened a market, giving odds of 8/1 that a Sutton player would be caught on camera chowing down.

Shaw tucks into his pie.Source:Supplied

Friends of Shaw had placed a wager and Shaw played along, eating his pie — presenting a clear conflict, a no-no in the increasingly closing world of sport and wagering.

The fallout has seen Shaw resign and the tragic tale of the Sutton keeper can now be known.

Shaw was one of the players in which clubs of Sutton’s stature thrive upon. Money is tight, so the hard work of volunteers is needed to keep the place going.

In Shaw’s case, he did everything. From being a member of the first team squad to groundsman to community liaison officer.

He didn’t play a single minute in the club’s remarkable FA Cup run, but somehow became the face of Sutton United FC.

“If it gets Sutton a bit more attention, then great,” Shaw told The Daily Mail before the match. “The club deserve any attention they get, however it comes.”

Shaw was once a striker signed to Southampton, where he counted England legend Alan Shearer as a teammate. A move to Reading followed before Shaw joined Basingstoke and Bashley.

It was at Bashley that he became a goalkeeper. The manager threw Shaw the gloves and he did OK so the run continued.

For the next 20 years Shaw plied his trade in non-league football leaving his mark on a host of clubs and opposition forwards, thanks to his 127kg frame.

“I did actually take someone out by accident and it wasn’t pretty,” Shaw said. “It was a game against Fleet Town and the ball has come over the top and I cleaned out the striker as he came through, full body contact.

“Not intentional, but he is lying there sparked out. I had to pretend to be injured not to get a card.”

Sutton United's English goalkeeper Wayne Shaw applauds Sutton supporters.Source:AFP

His large frame brings obvious attention. Not just from the TV cameras when he’s eating a pie, but also opposition players and fans.

In December 2013, Shaw was warming up for a match against Kingstonian when a visiting supporter made a gibe about his figure. So Shaw promptly jumped the fence and head butted the fan.

Shaw was sacked, only to be brought back a year later.

Sutton like a lot of smaller clubs has an artificial pitch which they rent out to amateur clubs, organisations and school groups. Such fields can prove a money spinner in the harsh winter of England where grass pitches are almost unplayable.

To ensure the pitches pristine condition Shaw would maintain the surface. Sweeping the field throughout 10 hour shifts in which the pitch is rented.

Shaw would welcome community groups also, tending to their needs and even waiting until they finish late at night, physically turning the lights out. Then he retreats to a sofa bed in the club office, where he sleeps three nights a week.

“I have to turn off the floodlights each night at about 10pm so I sleep here on the couch,” Shaw revealed.

But now Shaw has had the lights turned off on him.

As football becomes increasingly populated by TV networks, million dollar contracts and businessmen, some feel the fabric of the game is slipping away.

The FA Cup allows for the game to at least to try and hold onto some of it and tell the story of the true characters which drive it — like Shaw.

Sport thrives on its characters and this week there’s none bigger than the Sutton reserve keeper.

The FA Cup will roll on, so to will football in general. The next cult hero will be found and people will soon enough forget Shaw –—but, sadly, he won’t play a part (for now) at Sutton, and that’s tragic.