There is nothing quite like the first day of a new football season. The slate is wiped clean, optimism is allowed to run slightly out of control and, for a few hours at least, nobody has enough evidence to prove that your wildly optimistic pre-season prediction was nonsense.
For Sutton United, the opening trip to Woking provided pretty much everything we could have asked for. A 3-0 away win, a clean sheet, more than 500 Sutton fans in the sunshine and, perhaps most importantly, a performance that already suggested some of the problems of last season might have been addressed.
It is, of course, one game. In fact, as I helpfully pointed out during the latest Sutton United Talk Time on Podcast, it represents precisely 2.17% of the league season. So nobody sensible is booking hotels for the play-off final just yet.
But after the way last season ended, we’re allowed to enjoy this one.
Sarah and Dan joined me for the first proper podcast of the new campaign to pick through what we’d seen at Woking. Not another summer interview, not another discussion about recruitment or what might happen. Actual football. And while nobody was pretending Sutton had just produced 90 minutes of flawless football, there was plenty to like about the way those first three points were collected.
A Massive Turnout from the Amber Army
Before getting anywhere near the football, the away following deserves a mention. Just over 500 Sutton supporters made the short trip to Woking, accounting for roughly 20% of a crowd of around 2,500.
Woking now squash the away supporters into the corner rather than giving us the whole side, but that possibly worked in our favour. Instead of being spread out, there was one large block of Sutton fans making plenty of noise. Dan made the point that, as a player, coming out away from home and seeing that sort of concentrated support has to give you a lift.
Sarah agreed. It was the opening day, everyone was already in that slightly excitable new-season mood, and having such a visible and vocal Sutton presence added to the feeling that this really was a fresh start.
It was also hot. Properly hot.
There were a few raised eyebrows at the sight of a hydration break, because apparently footballers aren’t supposed to require water, but playing competitive football in temperatures of around 27 degrees probably justified it. Getting hydrated as a supporter proved slightly more difficult. The queues at half-time were substantial, with seemingly one outlet attempting to provide drinks while simultaneously feeding everyone.
Then there were the toilets.
Those who experienced the open-air urinals immediately behind the away end will probably remember them for some time. Dan described the aroma produced after they’d spent several hours baking in nearly 30-degree heat. Sarah, having been warned in advance, wisely decided that this was one part of the Woking experience she could live without.
We’ve been spoiled by Football League facilities. This is proper football again.
Were We Good, or Were Woking Bad?
That was the obvious place to start when we eventually got around to the game itself.
A 3-0 away win looks comprehensive, but I don’t think any of us came away believing Sutton had battered Woking for 90 minutes. Dan’s description was probably the fairest: were we as good as we needed to be?
Woking weren’t terrible. They moved the ball around reasonably well and early on seemed to have identified Noah Nzuzi as someone they wanted to isolate and test. Sutton weren’t especially fluent either. The first half was bitty, stop-start and there were too many occasions where we surrendered possession cheaply.
What Woking didn’t have was much of a threat at the end of their possession.
Their shooting in particular became increasingly entertaining as the afternoon went on. Sarah finally realised why they have that enormous stand behind the goal: it gives the ball somewhere to land when another effort is leathered ten metres over the crossbar.
I genuinely reached the point where I started feeling sorry for them. The first wild effort is funny. The second is even funnier. By the fourth you’re beginning to wonder whether somebody should check on them.
Sutton, meanwhile, grew into the game. Getting the first goal clearly helped, but the second-half performance was much more coherent and, crucially, when the important moments arrived we dealt with them far better than Woking did.
So did 3-0 flatter us slightly? Probably.
But there is a danger in saying Woking were poor as though Sutton had nothing to do with that. We defended well, restricted them to low-quality opportunities and carried far more threat when we went forward. Nobody simply hands you three goals and a clean sheet.
The Shape and Togetherness Felt Different
Perhaps the biggest positive wasn’t actually scoring three goals. It was conceding none.
Sutton let in 79 league goals last season and there were far too many games where the opposition entering our final third was enough to create that horrible feeling of “here we go again”. One mistake could quickly become another, followed by panic, followed by a goal.
Saturday felt different.
Dan thought the side looked more organised and stronger defensively, and I think that’s probably the biggest thing to take away from the afternoon. Woking had the ball in potentially dangerous areas, but Sutton generally dealt with it. The defence communicated, players covered for one another and we looked much more like a unit.
Sarah identified another improvement, albeit while admitting the bar was incredibly low: we didn’t do anything stupid.
There were moments where last season’s Sutton might have conceded a ridiculous penalty or found another imaginative way of making life difficult for ourselves. This time we didn’t. There was physicality in the game and Sutton were certainly prepared to push the line, but we didn’t cross it.
That matters after last season’s disciplinary record.
There was also a noticeable difference in confidence. By the end of last season, the campaign had fizzled out to such an extent that going into games sometimes felt less like wondering whether Sutton could win and more like wondering how they were going to lose this week.
There was none of that feeling at Woking. Even when the football wasn’t particularly pretty, the belief seemed to be there.
Experience Where We Needed It
Will Nightingale was probably the clearest example of what Sutton have added this summer.
The goal obviously helps, although having watched it back I’m still not entirely sure how Woking managed to surround him with defenders and then allow the ball to reach him. He won’t care. It hit him last, it’s his goal and that’s the end of the discussion.
His bigger contribution was what happened around the goal.
Because we were behind Sutton’s defence during the first half, Dan was particularly struck by how much Nightingale communicated. He was constantly talking, organising the back line, telling people when to step up and generally coaching those around him through the game.
That was noticeably absent at times last season.
There was also a lovely little moment that summed up why experience matters. Nightingale made a mistake and gave the ball away in a dangerous position. He then immediately recovered, got back in and dealt with it.
Mistakes happen. The difference is what happens next.
Last season, too often, one error became chaos. Nightingale made his mistake, fixed it and everyone got on with the game.
He did, admittedly, have his name misspelt on the back of his shirt, so nobody is claiming we’ve achieved perfection just yet.
A Late Reshuffle That Barely Mattered
The defensive performance becomes even more encouraging when you consider what happened before kick-off.
Twenty-four hours earlier Charlie Carter had been declared available, but both he and Alex Kirk pulled up late, forcing Sutton into a reshuffle. Last season, losing two players who were presumably part of the planned starting XI might have caused serious problems.
This time it barely seemed to matter.
Dan Urpens appears to have shifted across from his expected right-back position into the centre, while Noah Nzuzi got the nod at right-back ahead of the more experienced Kevin Donkor. Both did themselves absolutely no harm.
There is something particularly satisfying about seeing academy players step into the first team and look completely comfortable. As Dan said, supporters will always give their own youngsters a little more patience, but this wasn’t simply a case of indulging them because they’re ours. They were good.
Nzuzi was tested early and Woking seemed to view him as a possible weakness. He stood up to it. There was perhaps one occasion where he was beaten, but he recovered and dealt with the danger.
Suddenly Agi appears to have three legitimate options at right-back, while Urpens has demonstrated that he can comfortably move inside when required.
As Sarah pointed out, that’s Agi’s problem.
Thankfully.
Dan Urpens and the Return of the Proper Long Throw
Urpens deserves his own mention because his contribution went far beyond filling in at centre-half.
We need to establish early in the season that there are players who are described as having a long throw, and there are players who actually possess a long throw.
Dan Urpens has a proper long throw.
Sutton supporters have been promised this weapon before. Someone arrives with a reputation for launching the ball into the box and eventually we discover that, with a decent run-up and a favourable wind, they can just about reach the front post.
Urpens is launching it.
His throw caused the chaos from which Nightingale opened the scoring, and it isn’t the first time we’ve seen a goalkeeper struggle to deal with it. That gives Sutton another genuine attacking weapon, particularly with players like Nightingale and Temi Babalola waiting in the box.
But Urpens isn’t a one-trick pony. He defended superbly, produced one second-half challenge that received almost as big a cheer as a goal and then played an important part in the third, winning the ball before releasing David Ogbonna into the channel.
Two goals with significant Urpens involvement, without either appearing as a conventional assist.
Agi made a point afterwards of pushing him forward during the celebrations with the goalscorers, which felt entirely appropriate.
And yes, I am absolutely delighted that Sutton appear willing to score ugly goals as well as pretty ones. They all count.
Omar Mussa Takes His Chance
The late changes also created an opportunity for Omar Mussa.
Had Carter been available, perhaps Mussa doesn’t start. We don’t know, but it’s certainly reasonable to think the late withdrawal opened the door for him.
His overall performance wasn’t perfect. Dan felt there were times when he tried to do a little too much and surrendered possession, while Sarah also felt he wasn’t Sutton’s best player on the day.
Then he did that.
After spending much of the afternoon watching Woking’s free kicks threaten low-flying aircraft, Sarah shouted for Mussa to show them how to hit the target.
A few seconds later he’d curled the ball beautifully into the far corner.
She’s refusing to take credit.
The rest of us can make our own minds up.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect was Mussa’s willingness to take responsibility even when he hadn’t been having his best game. He wanted the ball, stepped up and produced the moment.
It also gives Sutton something else we’ve lacked recently: a genuine direct threat from a dead ball.
Temi Babalola: More Than Goals
Babalola didn’t score at Woking, but judging his performance purely on goals would miss much of what he contributed.
His physical presence through the middle gave Sutton something different. He occupied defenders, competed for difficult balls and provided a focal point when playing neatly through midfield wasn’t an option.
Sarah had already mentioned him when discussing Sutton’s recruitment. We haven’t necessarily signed a collection of obvious superstars. Instead, there seems to have been a focus on putting together players whose strengths complement each other.
Babalola feels like a good example of that.
Dan compared the role to the one Omar Bugiel previously performed for Sutton. You don’t necessarily need the big man up front to score 25 goals. Sometimes his value is providing the pivot that allows everyone around him to play.
Babalola has already shown during pre-season that he can score goals as well. If he combines that with the physical contribution we saw at Woking, he’ll be a very useful player indeed.
Sutton Have Pace. Proper Pace.
Then there’s the pace.
Sam Folarin is quick. David Ogbonna is quick. And we’re not talking about being “quite quick for Sutton”. We’re talking about the sort of pace that immediately changes what a defender can and can’t do.
Ogbonna’s goal was the perfect demonstration.
Urpens wins the ball and releases him into the channel. The defender is suddenly being invited into a foot race he isn’t going to win. Ogbonna gets away and finishes calmly.
Folarin offers the same sort of threat. We’ve already seen during pre-season that a fairly routine clearance can suddenly become an attacking opportunity simply because he’s capable of getting there before anyone expects him to.
Dan’s view was pretty straightforward. If you’re solid at the back, have somebody in midfield who can keep things ticking and possess genuine pace going forward, you’re going to be all right in this league.
Sutton haven’t consistently had that game-breaking speed in recent seasons.
Now we have several players capable of it.
That also makes us much harder to predict. We can play out from the back. We can use Babalola as a physical focal point. We’ve got Urpens launching balls into the penalty area. And if the opposition push too many players forward, we’ve got people capable of disappearing into the distance on the counter.
It’s quite a nice collection of options.
Spike Brits: Nothing Much to Report
Which is probably exactly what you want to say about a young goalkeeper making his senior competitive debut.
Brits didn’t have a huge amount to do. There was one slightly dodgy kick early on, but he sorted himself out and thereafter did everything required of him.
Sarah loves watching him because he’s essentially an acrobat. Some of his saves look considerably more spectacular than they perhaps need to be, but that’s apparently part of the entertainment.
Dan and I are old enough that watching him throw himself around mostly makes our knees hurt in sympathy.
The important thing is that he looked comfortable. Woking didn’t test him enough for anyone to start making grand claims about what sort of goalkeeper he’ll become, but for a teenager making his senior competitive debut behind a defence that had been changed at the last minute, “nothing much to report” feels like a pretty substantial compliment.
The Jake Taylor Effect
The final piece of the puzzle might be the leadership around the squad.
Jake Taylor was exactly what you’d expect from Jake Taylor. He wasn’t necessarily producing the spectacular moments, but he was in the middle of everything, putting his foot in, protecting the defence, talking and holding things together.
More importantly, he isn’t being asked to provide all the experience himself.
Nightingale is talking constantly at the back. Emmanuel Osadebe has been around the block. Taylor is in the middle. Suddenly the younger players have experienced professionals around them who have been through all of this before.
There was one moment when a Woking player tried to get into Taylor’s face after a clash. Dan’s interpretation of Taylor’s expression was essentially: Who the fuck are you?
Sometimes leadership is tactical organisation.
Sometimes it’s that.
The togetherness was noticeable after the final whistle as well. There were comments afterwards about Sutton celebrating as though we’d won the league, but I didn’t see it that way. It looked like a group of players genuinely delighted to have got the first game out of the way, kept a clean sheet and shared the moment with a large away following.
Maybe that feeling disappears if we lose three games on the bounce. Football can do that very quickly.
For now, though, there appears to be a bond within this group.
Looking Ahead to Altrincham
Next up is Altrincham at Gander Green Lane, and in some ways that might tell us more than Woking did.
They lost their opening game 3-1 at home to Southend, had a player sent off and come to Sutton with their own problems. But the biggest difference is what we now bring into the game.
Expectation.
Sutton’s home record hasn’t been good enough for several seasons. Dan’s view was that if you want to be seriously competitive in this division, you need ten or twelve home wins. Five or six simply isn’t going to take you anywhere interesting.
So that’s the next challenge.
Can Sutton take the defensive solidity, confidence and attacking threat we saw at Woking and reproduce it when we’re the home side and perhaps expected to take the initiative?
One thing in our favour is the unusual luxury of a full week between games. There isn’t the normal early-season madness of Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. Agi gets another week on the training ground with a largely rebuilt squad to work on the bits that weren’t quite right at Woking.
Sarah did identify one potential danger.
A couple of seasons ago our first home game was against Altrincham. Sutton won 5-0.
The rest of the season didn’t go particularly well.
Football supporters are entirely rational people, so obviously the conclusion is that Sutton must under no circumstances win 5-0 next Saturday.
Four is fine.
Six would be acceptable.
So, Have My Expectations Changed?
Not really.
But Saturday certainly made me feel better about them.
There is an important difference.
We have played one game. We don’t know whether Woking will turn out to be promotion contenders, relegation candidates or somewhere in between. In a few months we might look back at a 3-0 win there and think it was an outstanding result. Equally, everyone might be beating them by then.
What we can judge is what Sutton looked like.
Last season we conceded 79 league goals. On Saturday we looked more organised, more experienced and far less likely to implode when something went wrong.
We also carried more threat going the other way. There is physicality through Babalola, pace through Folarin and Ogbonna, a proper long throw from Urpens and a direct free-kick threat from Mussa.
Most importantly, it looked like a group rather than a collection of players.
Dan suggested six games as a sensible point to have another look at where we really are. By then Sutton will have played three at home and three away, with different types of opponents and some long journeys thrown in.
That seems fair.
But football isn’t really about being sensible all the time.
For now, Sutton have gone away on the opening day, won 3-0, kept a clean sheet and sent more than 500 travelling supporters home happy.
After the way last season ended, that’s more than enough reason to enjoy ourselves for a week.
And, most importantly, the talking-to-people-behind-the-scenes nonsense is finished.
We’re back properly.
What did you make of the win at Woking? Did the scoreline flatter Sutton slightly, or did we simply make Woking look worse than they were? And, despite all the warnings about it only being one game, has your expectation for the season moved at all?