Club Details
Manager: John Rains
Assistant Manager: Tony Rains
Coach: Micky Cook
Physio: Ben McDonald
Year Formed: 1898
Chairman: Bruce Elliott
Secretary: Tony Dolbear
Contact Address: Borough Sports Ground, Gander Green Lane,Sutton,Surrey
Post Code: SM1 2EY
Telephone: 0181 644 5120
Things you may not know about...
SUTTON UNITED
The Club was formed in 1898, after two local clubs Sutton Association and Sutton Guild Rovers met in a local hotel.
The club won their first major honour in 1928, when they finished champions of the Athenian League.
A door to door collection pulled United from the brink in the 1930's.
Sutton won the London Senior Cup in 1958, when many of the capital's professional clubs used to enter strong sides.
1963 saw the U's first Wembley appearence, when they lost 4-2 to Wimbledon in the FA Amateur Cup Final famous for Eddie Reynold's four headed goals.
The U's joined the Isthmian League in 1963 and took only four years to win their first championship in 1967 and finished runners-up a year later.
North Shields made Sutton's second trip to Wembley in the 1969 FA Amateur Cup no more successful than their first visit losing out 2-1to the Tyneside outfit.
In 1970 the club got through to the FA Cup 4th round for the first time, but could do nothing to prevent Leeds United winning 6-0 at Gander Green Lane.
The Anglo Italian tournament had run for many years before Sutton became the first, and only winners in 1979, and the following year they were runners-up.
Third time lucky unfortunately did not apply to the U's on their next Wembley appearance, this time in the FA Trophy final, when Bishops Stortford overcame their challenge.
The club won the the Isthmian League championship in 1985 and 1986 and this second title in a row clinched the club's promotion to the Conference.
Club History
Sutton United FC was formed on 5 March 1898 when a meeting of two leading local clubs, Sutton Association and Sutton Guild Rovers, decided that they should join forces. The amber and chocolate colours of Sutton Association were retained, along with both clubs' grounds, and the United club's first game was against Norwood & Selhurst FC . With two grounds available Sutton fielded three teams in the Herald and Surrey Junior Leagues, but the loss of Western Road after a year led to the disbanding of the third team. The senior side's first honour came in the form of the Herald Junior Cup in 1902, the first of three successive triumphs in that competition.
In 1910 Sutton assumed senior status and joined the Southern Suburban League, and it was during the next decade that the club gained use of their present home in Gander Green Lane. After finishing as Southern Suburban League runners-up in 1920 they were elected to the Athenian League at the end of the following season, and celebrated by twice winning the Surrey Senior Shield. League form was more uncertain, and in 1926 U's had to seek re-election, but were successful and recovered to win the championship just two years later. Over the next decade Sutton established themselves as a force in the amateur game, twice reaching the FA Amateur Cup semi-finals, although on the first occasion they were expelled from the competition after fielding two players who had played Sunday football and were therefore ineligible.
Football carried on in a reduced format during World War Two, and Sutton gathered a momentum that stood them in good stead when the Athenian League resumed in 1945. With centre forward Charlie Vaughan scoring 68 goals, 42 in the league, they were champions for a second time as well as winning a first Surrey Senior Cup and also featuring for the first time in the FA Cup 1st round proper, although Walthamstow inflicted a heavy defeat. The following season they were denied another championship triumph only by Barnet's superior goal average.
Although not among the club's most successful years on the pitch, the 1950s saw great progress off it, with the club becoming a limited company in 1953 and a large new stand constructed. In 1958 the Sutton team matched this progress by regaining the Athenian League title and winning the London Senior Cup for the first time, and five years later they made their first appearance at Wembley in the Amateur Cup final, losing 4-2 to South London rivals Wimbledon.
The clubs became league rivals the following season as Sutton were one of four clubs elected to the Isthmian League, and after another Surrey Senior Cup success in 1965 U's were league champions in 1967 and runners-up a year later. This was one of the club's most memorable spells and continued with another albeit unsuccessful Amateur Cup final appearance in 1969 and national fame the following year when FA Cup victories over Dagenham, Barnet and Hillingdon saw them reach the 4th round and be rewarded with a home tie against Leeds United, then the top side in the country, who won 6-0 in front of a record 14,000 crowd. League runners-up again in 1971, U's also lifted the County Cup on two more occasions during this period.
The 1970s saw Sutton unable to maintain this form, not helped by a rapid turnover of managers after the departure of Sid Cann, who had presided over these achievements, but the appointment of former player Keith Blunt in 1977 steadied the ship and two years later U's created history by becoming the first and only English winners of the Anglo- Italian semi-professional tournament. His departure to top Swedish club Malmo saw assistant Barrie Williams step up to take over and he guided the club through a period which saw them at their highest ever level. Only a penalty shootout defeat prevented them retaining the Anglo Italian cup, and in 1981 they were back at Wembley, although a late goal
condemned them to a third defeat, this time against Bishop's Stortford in the FA Trophy final. The following season they were league runners-up, and also reached the FA Cup 2nd round for the first time, unluckily losing to a last minute goal at Swindon, while 1983 saw them win the Surrey Senior, London Senior and Hitachi Cups. Only the London Senior was not retained, and the Surrey Senior Cup remained in U's possession for a record six consecutive seasons.
In 1985 Sutton again won the Isthmian League, but problems connected with the ground prevented the club from seeking promotion. These problems were solved, though, so that when they retained the title in 1986 they took their place in the GM Vauxhall Conference.
During their five year first spell in the Conference U's hit the headlines with their FA Cup exploits. In the 1987-88 season they recorded their first win over Football League opposition, beating Aldershot 3-0 and then winning at Peterborough before going out after extra time in a third round replay at Middlesbrough. A year later they again reached the third round and their 2-1 win over Coventry is still the last instance of a side from outside the Football League beating one from the top flight of English football. Sutton also seemed established as a Conference side but in 1991, having recorded a record Conference away win of 9-0 at Gateshead, they picked up just one point from their last eight games and were relegated for the first time in their history.
Although often around the top of the Isthmian League U's could not realise their hopes of an immediate return, and it was in cup football that they enjoyed more success. In 1992-93 they reached the FA Trophy semi-finals, and another F A Cup run in 1993-94 produced victories over Colchester and Torquay before a narrow defeat at Notts County. There were also two triumphs in the Surrey Senior Cup and one in the Isthmian Full Members' Cup. The appointment in 1996 of the management team of John and Tony Rains, with over 1400 appearances for the club between them, saw a renewed assault on the championship, and after twice finishing third they realised Sutton's ambition of returning to the Conference in 1999, finishing eleven points clear of long time leaders Aylesbury after a run of 13 wins and 3 draws in 17 games. The Surrey Senior Cup was also impressively regained, U's five games in the competition yielding 24 goals for the concession of just two.
Unfortunately U's found the gap to the Conference too wide to bridge, and seven consecutive defeats at the end of the campaign saw them finish bottom, but relief was provided in the FA Trophy where they beat three Conference clubs, including two of the eventual top six, to reach the semi-finals where their hopes were comprehensively dashed by ultimate winners Kingstonian.
After hinting at a promotion challenge before Christmas, last season proved a disappointment as U's fell away in the second half of the season to finish 13th, and saw all cup interest ended before the end of February.
In recent years Sutton have gained a reputation for producing players who would play in the Football League and Premiership, with the most notable being former Norwich and Wimbledon striker Efan Ekoku, who was a member of Nigeria's 1994 World Cup squad and spent much of last season with Sheffield Wednesday. Andy Barnes (Crystal Palace), Stuart Massey( Crystal Palace and Oxford), Ollie Morah( Cambridge United) and Mark Watson( West Ham) were all signed from Sutton, while present Football League players who began their career at Gander Green Lane are Brighton's Paul Rogers and brothers Andy and Rob Scott, respectively with Oxford and Rotherham. Just before the start of last season the trend was continued when Brentford signed midfielder Ed Hutchinson, a graduate of U's youth team who had established himself as a regular in the Conference squad as a 17 year old.
