When it comes to clubs in London and the Greater London area, not even the most ardent of supporter is likely to put Sutton United all that high up on the list of sides that have enjoyed success. The Yellows were only involved in junior and local leagues during the club’s formative years, not even making it into the realms of senior football until 1921. It took them another 40 years before they began climbing the ranks in any meaningful way and didn’t progress to the Football League until well into the 21st century. That isn’t to say that supporters have had nothing to get excited about over the years, however.
As is so often the case with sides lower down on the pyramid, it is a matter of adjusting expectations when it comes to looking at Sutton United’s successes and failures over the years. Sure, their achievements aren’t the sort of thing that would set the pulses racing at clubs such as Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur or West Ham United, but that doesn’t mean that what they’ve been able to accomplish should be ignored altogether. As a London club we have to look at them on this site, so we will give their achievements the respect that they deserve and consider them for their own merits rather than in comparison to others.
League Titles
Given that Sutton United didn’t even make it into the English Football League until the start of the 2021-2022 campaign, it is not all that surprising to learn that the club has never even troubled the top-flight, let alone gone on to win the Premier League title. That doesn’t mean that the supporters have never had anything to cheer about when it comes to league football, however. The Yellows have enjoyed numerous successes in the lower divisions, which are worth taking a look at considering that that is where the club has spent most of its existence and what the supporters have got to cheer most often.
National League
The final level of the non-league game before a club gains promotion into the Football League has been known by numerous names since it was launched in 1979. It is the lowest level of the English Football League pyramid that is organised in a nationwide format, with the other levels being split up regionally. It has been the National League since the start of the 2015-2016 season and Sutton United have played in it numerous times. Whilst it is easy to look down on it from the dizzying heights of the Premier League, there is little question that its very existence helped to improve the ability of the lower levels in England.
Here is a look at when Sutton United won it, including the number of points that they achieved, the team that finished second and the points of the runners-up:
| Season | Points | Second Place | Second Place Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 84 | Torquay United | 80 |
National League South
Previously known as the Conference South, what is now called the National League South is one of two divisions at the sixth level of the English Football League pyramid. It sits with the National League North as one of the leagues that feeds the National League, so any side looking to make its way into the Football League needs to do well in it. It was introduced in 2004 when the National League System underwent a huge restructuring process and includes teams from the South East in general as well as from London and the South West. There are also some sides from Essex that play in it when they are good enough.
Here is how Sutton United have got on when they’ve won it, looking at their points and the second place team, as well as the second place side’s points:
| Season | Points | Second Place | Second Place Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-2016 | 90 | Ebbsfleet United | 84 |
Isthmian League Premier Division
It is somewhat of a sign of Sutton United’s place in the footballing world that the Isthmian League Premier Division is the league that they have won more than any other. It has been a constant on the club’s radar, winning it across numerous different decades. It was founded as a league in 1905 and is split into four different divisions based on the location of the clubs in order to cut down on how far they would have to travel. Sitting at level 7-8 on the English Football League pyramid, it is a league that Sutton United have enjoyed playing in in the past and the club has found itself winning several time.
Here is the points total that Sutton United have racked up when they’ve won the Isthmian League Premier Division, put alongside the second place team and the points that the second place team achieved:
| Season | Points | Second Place | Second Place Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-1967 | 59 | Walthamstow Avenue | 56 |
| 1984-1985 | 84 | Worthing | 80 |
| 1985-1986 | 95 | Yeovil Town | 91 |
| 1998-1999 | 88 | Aylesbury United | 77 |
| 2010-2011 | 87 | Tonbridge Angels | 76 |
Athenian League
The Athenian League was an amateur division specifically for clubs in and around the London area. It was formed in 1912 and continued until 1984, with Sutton United winning it three times during their existence. Because of the nature of the league being so far down on the Football League pyramid, information about which team finished as the runners-up and how many point that team got isn’t really available until the 1962-1963 season onwards. As Sutton United’s last victory in it came in 1958, all we can tell you here is how many points the Yellows got when they won it without any context.
| Season | Points |
|---|---|
| 1927-1928 | 43 |
| 1945-1946 | 40 |
| 1957-1958 | 43 |
Cups & Trophies
In a similar vein to the manner in which the leagues that Sutton United have played in wouldn’t really even be on the radar of the Premier League teams based in London, it is very much the case that sides around Sutton United’s level will take the smaller cups and triples seriously. Whilst they have never even troubled the later stages of the FA Cup, the Yellows have finished as runners-up in the likes of the EFL Trophy, the FA Trophy and the FA Amateur Cup. There are also several lesser cups that they’ve won but we can’t necessarily tell you a huge amount about because of the nature of the competition and its records.
Anglo-Italian Cup
Created in 1970, the Anglo-Italian Cup was a European competition played between English sides and those from Italy. Founded by Gigi Peronace after the Anglo-Italian League Cup was played in 1969, it is a European trophy that Sutton United won so it obviously had to feature on our list. It turned into a trophy for semi-professional sides in 1976 and during that period it was won by an Italian side every single year apart from when the Yellows won it. It is fair to say, therefore, that their achievement within it is very much noteworthy. They drew with Juniorcasale in the first round and defeated Cremonse in the second.
The second stage saw them win 1-0 over Pisa before a 1-0 loss to Chieti put them top of the English group. This meant that they reached the final of the Anglo-Italian Cup, where they came up against the side that they had lost to in the fourth round. Sutton United won the final, which was played in Chieti’s home town, 2-1 to make history in the semi-professional era of the competition.
Conference League Cup / National League Cup
Inaugurated in 1979 and continuing until the end of the 2000-2001 season, the winners of the competition were awarded the Bob Lord Challenge Trophy for a period, so it was also know by that name. It was a knockout tournament in which the pairings were drawn at random, with minimal seedings in play. It was revived ahead of the 2024-2025 season, which is when it was given its ‘National League Cup’ moniker, after a brief reformation in the 2004-2005 campaign when it was called the Conference Challenge Cup. The records aren’t well-known, but here is a look at when Sutton United won the tournament:
| Year of Final | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Barnet | 5-0* |
*The final was played over two legs, with the first-leg ending 0-0 before Sutton United won the second-leg 5-0.
Isthmian League Cup / Alan Turvey Trophy
Originally known as the Isthmian League Cup but later renamed in honour of the Chairman and President of the Isthmian League, Alan Turvey, this competition was then renamed as the Velocity Cup in 2024. Here is a look at the times that Sutton United won the trophy, as well as the team that they played and the final score:
| Year of Final | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Wycombe Wanderers | 2-1 on Aggregate* |
| 1984 | Wycombe Wanderers | 3-1 |
| 1986 | Uxbridge | 3-1 |
| 1998 | Oxford City | 6-1 |
*Initially the final of the competition was played over two legs, but it changed to a one-legged affair from 1986 onwards.
London Senior Cup
The London Senior Cup was first played in 1882 and is specifically for the clubs that are based in Greater London. If you want to get a sense of whether it is a competition that sides have taken seriously or not then it is worth bearing in mind that Arsenal won it as Royal Arsenal and it has also been won by the likes of Brentford and Wimbledon in the past. Nowadays the leading professional sides in the city no longer take part, but it was certainly the case that they did. Here is a look at when Sutton United have won it over the years:
| Year of Final | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | Finchley | 2-1 |
| 1983 | Woking | 1-0 |
Surrey Senior Cup
The Surrey Senior Cup is the main cup competition for the Surrey Football Association. It is open to teams in the top nine levels of the English Football League pyramid, provided they are affiliated with the Surrey FA. It was first played in 1882 and is the cup that Sutton United have won more times than any other. Here is a look at how they’ve got on in the years that they’ve won it:
| Year of Final | Opposition | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Woking | 1-0 |
| 1965 | Leatherhead | 2-1 |
| 1968 | Dulwich Hamlet | 1-0* |
| 1970 | Walton & Hersham | 4-0** |
| 1980 | Tooting & Mitchum United | 1-0 |
| 1983 | Tooting & Mitchum United | 4-0 |
| 1984 | Epsom & Ewell | 4-0 |
| 1985 | Addlestone & Weybridge Town | 2-0 After Extra-Time |
| 1986 | Chertsey Town | 2-0 |
| 1987 | Woking | 4-0 |
| 1988 | Whyteleafe | 4-1 |
| 1993 | Carshalton Athletic | 2-1 |
| 1995 | Carshalton Athletic | 3-1 |
| 1999 | Carshalton Athletic | 3-0 |
| 2003 | Kingstonian | 2-1 |
*The original game finished 1-1 before Sutton United won the replay.
**The original game finished 1-1 before Sutton United won the replay.
Other Cups & Trophies
In spite of the fact that above cups and trophies would be seen as ‘lesser’ by some teams, they are worth mentioning as far as Sutton United’s history is concerned. There are also some other cups and trophies that the team have won over the years about which there is much less information available. Here is a look at those trophies, about which we don’t have a huge amount of information other than the year of the final and that they won:
| Year | Competition |
|---|---|
| 1946 | Athenian League Challenge Cup |
| 1955 | South Thames Cup |
| 1956 | Athenian League Challenge Cup |
| 1962 | Athenian League Challenge Cup |
| 1963 | Athenian League Challenge Cup |
| 1967 | South Thames Cup |
| 1968 | South Thames Cup |
| 1992 | Isthmian League Full Members’ Cup |
| 1996 | Isthmian League Full Members’ Cup |
| 2010 | President’s Trophy* |
| 2011 | President’s Trophy** |
*The match in 2010 ended in a draw so the trophy was shared.
**The match in 2011 ended in a draw so the trophy was shared.