Sutton United F.C.

Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system.

Sutton started out playing in junior, local leagues, but progressed into the Athenian League in 1921; the Isthmian League in 1964; and the Conference in 1986. The team was relegated back into the Isthmian League in 1991. Sutton won the Athenian League three times (1927–28, 1945–46 and 1957–58) and the Isthmian League five times (1966–67, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1998–99 and 2010–11). They appeared in the Conference for one more season in 1999–2000, and were founding members of the Conference South (now known as National League South) in 2004. Sutton won the National League South in 2015–16 and achieved promotion to the Football League after winning the National League title in the 2020–21 season.

The team has played at Wembley Stadium on four occasions. Firstly, in the FA Amateur Cup final twice, the FA Trophy final in 1980–81 and the EFL Trophy final in 2021–22. Sutton won the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1978–79, but the club is most famous for its FA Cup "giant killing" exploits, most notably in the 1988–89 season, when they defeated Coventry City 2–1 in the third round. Coventry City had won the competition in 1986–87 and had England forward Cyrille Regis up front. In the 2016–17 season Sutton reached the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, beating three Football League teams (including Leeds United) before losing to Arsenal. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles south-southwest of central London.

History

Formation and the early years

The club was formed on 5 March 1898 when Sutton Guild Rovers F.C. and Sutton Association F.C. (formerly Sutton St Barnabas F.C.) agreed to merge during a meeting at the Robin Hood Hotel.

The club gained a reputation locally in junior leagues, including the Clapham League, and in 1910 decided to become a senior side. They joined the Southern Suburban League and won it on their first attempt. During this period the team moved between several grounds, including what was then known as the Sutton Adult School Ground. After the First World War, the team moved in for good and have not left the stadium since.

Athenian League

Sutton gained election into the Athenian League in 1921. The team did not challenge at the top of the table and in 1926 finished last, but were re-elected. Only one seasons later, in 1928, the team won its first Athenian League Championship. The thirties were a good time for Sutton, who twice reached the semi-final of the FA Amateur Cup (in 1929 and 1937).

During the Second World War, Sutton kept playing football but on a smaller scale. The Athenian League had been suspended while this happened and so organised competitions were rare and sporadic, but Sutton won a number of honours. This put them in good stead for winning the league again when the war came to an end. With the help of 42 goals from Charlie Vaughan, Sutton ran away with the 1945–46 season. This was also the first time the club won the Surrey Senior Cup and got through to the FA Cup first round.

The 1950s brought little success for Sutton, though the team is said to have progressed off the field. Assets were transferred to a limited company, something which was unusual for the time. In addition, the main stand was constructed, which today holds over 700 spectators. It was not until George Smith became manager that success returned; the Athenian League title was won for the third time in 1958 and the club won the London Senior Cup for the first time. Progress continued into the 60s under Sid Cann in Sutton's most successful period. In 1963, the club reached Wembley in the FA Amateur Cup, but lost 4–2 to Wimbledon.

Isthmian League

The summer after the cup success marked Sutton's election into the Isthmian League. In 1967, they won the league title. Two seasons later the club played at Wembley again for the Amateur Cup final, but in irony lost 2–1 to underdogs North Shields.

1970 brought great cup success to the club once more, but this time in the form of the FA Cup. Sutton beat Hillingdon Borough in the third round and went on to play Don Revie's top flight Leeds United, one of the best teams in Europe at the time, at Gander Green Lane. The match saw 14,000 spectators squeeze into the ground and Leeds, with 11 full internationals in the team, won 6–0.

Unfortunately, the next decade proved to be one of little success for the club and Sutton went through a succession of managers, including Ted Powell and Dario Gradi, both of whom played for the team and went on to manage at higher levels. It was not until Keith Blunt took charge that success returned to Gander Green Lane. His biggest achievement was to win the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1979, after a surprise 2–1 win over Chieti. This was the only time an English club won the honour in its semi-professional era.

Soon after the continental win, Keith Blunt moved on to manage Malmö and Barrie Williams took over. He guided Sutton to Wembley for the 1981 FA Trophy final, but the side lost to Bishop's Stortford. This was to be the club's last appearance at Wembley until 2021, a place which saw little success for them. During Williams's reign the club finished runners-up in the Anglo-Italian Cup twice more, in 1980 and 1982. The club also finished runners-up in the 1981–82 Isthmian League and in 1983 won a treble of the Surrey Senior, London Senior, and Hitachi Cups. The Surrey Senior Cup win was the first of six in as many years, a record that remains unbroken, as of May 2011.

Conference years

The club won the Isthmian League championship for the second time in 1985. After refusing promotion to the Football Conference because of issues with the stadium, they retained the championship the following year and this time accepted promotion after supporters helped in a large redevelopment of areas of the ground. Sutton managed to cement their place in the league, often finishing mid-table.

On 9 January 1988, Sutton drew with Middlesbrough of the Second Division, in the 1987–88 FA Cup, before losing the replay 1–0 at Ayresome Park. Sutton enjoyed a memorable FA Cup run in the following season in 1988–89. Entering the competition at the fourth qualifying round, they beat Walton & Hersham, Dagenham and Aylesbury United to set up a third round proper tie with First Division Coventry City, who were in the First Division and had won the trophy 18 months earlier. In a memorable game against Coventry City, Sutton won 2–1 with goals from Tony Rains and Matthew Hanlan, joining a small number of non-League clubs to beat top-division opponents in the competition. This was a 24-year record before the next non-League side beat a team from the top flight of English football. On 28 January 1989, Sutton lost to Norwich City of the First Division 8–0 in the fourth round.

Back into the Isthmian League

Two seasons later in 1991, the club suffered relegation to the Isthmian League because of a goal drought and a number of injuries. On 13 November 1993, Sutton defeated Colchester United of the Third Division 4–3 away from home in the FA Cup. On 4 December 1993, they beat Torquay of the Third Division in the FA Cup second round. Despite two top-three finishes following the relegation, a quick return to the Conference did not come until Sutton were Isthmian League champions in 1999 under former captain John Rains. During this period, Sutton claimed the scalps of several league clubs in the FA Cup, including Colchester United and Torquay United in 1993 alone. The stay in the Conference lasted just one season as the U's were relegated again in 2000.

The early 2000s were quiet times for Sutton, although the club is notable as the first-ever opponent of AFC Wimbledon, defeating the Dons 4–0 in a pre-season friendly in July 2002 in front of 4,657 at Gander Green Lane. Sutton won the Surrey Senior Cup in 2003 and the following season saw the team start well and recover from a bad spell over the winter to finish second.

Conference South

For the 2004–05 season, The FA planned for the introduction of two new divisions: the Conference North and Conference South. Because of Sutton's high finish in the Isthmian League Premier Division, they were selected to be a founding member of the Conference South. The next three seasons were unremarkable, with Sutton finishing mid-table each time and no real success in cup competitions.

John Rains stepped down as manager in March 2006 and Ian Hazel took over the reins. By October 2008, the team were at the bottom of the Conference South and looking destined for relegation. A string of managers, including Ernie Howe, Stuart Massey and Jimmy Dack failed to save the club, and Paul Doswell came in as manager during the 2008 close-season.

Paul Doswell (2008–2019)

Sutton finished fifth in their first season back in the Isthmian League Premier Division and 2nd the following season, losing in both seasons' play-off semi finals to Staines Town and Kingstonian respectively. But the 2010–11 season saw Sutton win the championship with three games to go and secure promotion back into the Conference South.