Nine points from nine. Three league wins in three. Six goals scored, one conceded, and I am still maintaining that technically no opposition player has properly scored against us yet.
Yes, Hartlepool’s Corey McKeown has been credited with Saturday’s goal, but given the amount of Sutton involvement in creating it, I’m taking some convincing. Either way, Sutton United are three games into the National League season with a perfect record, and it is becoming increasingly difficult not to enjoy what we are seeing.
On this week’s Sutton United Talk Time on Podcast, I was joined by Neil and David to look back at the 2-1 win over Hartlepool, discuss what already feels different about this Sutton side, and then turn our attention towards another completely different challenge at Gateshead on Friday night. We also had an opening-day victory for Sutton United Women to celebrate, plus some important information for supporters planning the long trips north over the coming weeks.
Nine Points From Nine, But Nobody Is Getting Carried Away
The headline is obvious. Sutton have won their opening three National League games, beating Woking 3-0 away, Altrincham 1-0 at home and Hartlepool 2-1 at the VBS Community Stadium.
The interesting bit is that they have been three very different victories.
Woking was an excellent away performance where Sutton were able to hurt the opposition quickly and repeatedly. Altrincham was much tighter, with Sutton happy to let the visitors have plenty of the ball before seeing out a 1-0 win. Hartlepool presented something different again. Sutton went two goals ahead, conceded before half-time, and then had to protect a single-goal advantage for almost an hour.
Neil summed up the most important thing rather neatly: “The scoreboard never lies.” Sutton have not played brilliantly for every minute of every game, but they have found ways to win them.
That immediately prompted comparisons with the 2020/21 promotion season, when Sutton seemed to have a habit of coming through close games and getting the breaks when they mattered. Last season often felt like the complete opposite. There were plenty of occasions when we played some perfectly decent football, but still somehow found ourselves walking away with nothing.
David made the point that we probably played prettier football for longer periods last season, but the side was much more fragile. This year Sutton look bigger, stronger and more solid. At the moment, I am more than happy to swap a little prettiness for points.
The contrast with last season is already stark. This year Sutton reached nine points after three games and just 14 days. Last season it took 15 matches and more than two months to get to the same total. Likewise, we have already won three league games in a row, something which took until the 18th match last season.
Naturally, David immediately dismissed my carefully researched statistics as largely meaningless in August.
His argument was that where we are now matters considerably less than where we are in May, and he is obviously right. Neil was equally cautious, pointing out that we could lose the next 12 games and end up in exactly the same place as last season anyway. Thanks for that image, Neil.
Both are very firmly in the “wait and see” camp. David suggested October might offer a more meaningful comparison. Neil went even further and said December before he starts deciding whether this is genuinely a very good team rather than simply a very good start.
Personally, I am somewhere between sensible caution and quietly checking Sutton Council’s road closure requirements.
Two Goals, Without Ever Really Dominating
The first half against Hartlepool was a good example of why scorelines do not always tell the whole story.
Sutton led 2-0 after 27 minutes through Temi Babalola and Emmanuel Osadebe, but neither Neil nor David thought we had completely dominated the game up to that point. Hartlepool had caused some problems, Alex Kirk had made an error, Jake Taylor played one dangerous backpass that required Spike Brits to react quickly, and Hartlepool also clipped the outside of the post.
What Sutton did, however, was take their chances.
Temi scored after 20 minutes and Osadebe added the second seven minutes later. David Ogbonna also went close shortly afterwards. Sutton had created a small number of good openings and, crucially, made them count.
That sounds like an incredibly basic observation, but it was exactly the sort of thing that hurt us last season. We regularly spoke about playing well, creating things and having decent spells, only to concede at the other end and lose.
If the opposite is going to happen this season, I can live with that.
Temi Babalola Gives Sutton Something We Simply Did Not Have
Temi getting his first Sutton goal was one of the highlights of the afternoon.
When he arrived there were plenty of less-than-enthusiastic reviews from supporters of his former clubs. We heard that he would not score enough, that he could not hit a barn door and various other glowing references.
The thing is, I do not think Sutton signed him expecting a 30-goal striker.
Chris Agutter spent much of last season talking about the need for a genuine physical presence at the top end of the pitch. Sutton did not have anybody who could consistently receive a longer ball, occupy centre-backs and allow the rest of the team to get up the pitch.
They certainly have that now.
Neil described Temi as a “beast”, and physically that is exactly what he looks like. He is difficult to knock off the ball, gives defenders a completely different problem and creates space for other attacking players around him.
What has perhaps surprised us more is the amount of defensive work he does as well. He does not simply stand up front waiting for the ball to arrive. He gets back, helps the team and puts in a serious shift.
David made the sensible point that goals will still form part of how he is ultimately judged. If Temi plays a substantial number of games, you would expect Sutton to want a double-figure return from him. But his value to this team is clearly going to extend beyond his own goal total.
His presence also allows Sutton to vary how they play.
One of my favourite football quotes is Glenn Hoddle’s old line that it is not about short ball or long ball, it is about the right ball or the wrong ball. That feels particularly appropriate for this side.
If playing through midfield is the right option, do it. If Temi has isolated a centre-half and the best option is to put the ball towards him early, do that instead.
The more ways Sutton can attack, the harder they become to set up against.
Dan Urpens Is Becoming A Serious Weapon
Then there is Dan Urpens.
Two more assists against Hartlepool, regardless of what my fantasy football game is trying to tell me, and that long throw is very quickly becoming one of Sutton’s most obvious weapons.
We have had players capable of throwing the ball a long way before. The difference with Urpens is how the ball gets there.
Neil described the trajectory as flat, powerful and accurate. It is not simply being launched high into the penalty area and giving everyone time to get underneath it. The ball arrives quickly enough that an attacker only needs to make relatively minor contact to cause a problem.
Teams are obviously going to know about it now, so it will stop being a surprise. David suggested Sutton may eventually need to mix things up and use shorter throws occasionally simply to prevent sides setting themselves entirely for the long one.
But the attacking threat is only part of it.
David also highlighted Urpens’ throw-ins from deep inside Sutton’s own half. On several occasions he was effectively able to move us 40 or 50 yards up the pitch with one throw. That is an enormous pressure-release mechanism when a team has been pinned back.
At 18, Urpens is already looking completely comfortable in senior football. There are obvious comparisons with other young Sutton players who have gone on to play higher, but he has forced his way into the team very quickly and currently looks extremely difficult to leave out.
If he carries on developing, there will inevitably be interest.
For now, I would quite like everyone else to stop noticing him.
The Clean Sheet Run Is Over. Apparently.
Hartlepool’s goal arrived in the 34th minute after Sutton managed to create the danger for them.
Will Nightingale and Dan Urpens both attacked the same ball, neither dealt with it properly, and McKeown was able to take advantage.
It was self-inflicted, and I am therefore continuing my campaign to claim that no opposition player has properly scored against Sutton this season.
More importantly, though, the goal gave us nearly an hour to see how this Sutton side handled a completely different situation.
And strangely, I was not particularly worried.
Obviously, when you are only one goal ahead there is always some nervousness. One mistake, one deflection or one set-piece can change the result. But Hartlepool never created the feeling that an equaliser was inevitable.
They had possession and they had some pressure, but Spike Brits was not being forced into save after save. Sutton’s shape remained good and the defence looked comfortable.
David described previous Sutton sides as having a bit of “blancmange” about them, which I thought was a wonderfully accurate description. There was often a brittle feeling about us. One mistake would lead to another, then another, and suddenly a perfectly manageable match had disappeared.
This team does not currently feel like that.
Of course there will be mistakes. We will concede goals. We will lose matches. Nobody is suggesting we are suddenly impenetrable.
But the base looks much stronger.
Neil also pointed out that there were several occasions during the Hartlepool game when two Sutton players went for the same ball. That can be worked on. The encouraging thing is that even with those mistakes, we still looked capable of seeing the game out.
Competition For Places Is Finally Real Competition
Another reason for optimism is that two players who are expected to be extremely important have barely featured.
Charlie Carter is still being eased back from injury and Jordan Moore-Taylor has yet to play.
Agutter has spoken extremely highly of both, which creates a very nice problem.
If Moore-Taylor comes into central defence, somebody playing well has to sit down. If Carter comes back into midfield, the same thing happens there.
That is genuine competition.
Sutton have had large squads before, but there has often been a significant gap between the strongest XI and the players behind them. This feels different.
The manager appears to have options which genuinely alter how the team can play rather than simply replacing one body with another.
That could become extremely important once the fixtures begin piling up.
Forget 50 Points. The Target Has Changed
One conversation I mentioned on the podcast concerned the mindset Agutter is trying to create.
Historically, Sutton and plenty of other clubs at this level have talked about reaching 50 points as the first objective. Get safe, secure your status, then see what happens.
Aggie’s mindset appears to be very different.
He is not talking about 50.
He is talking about 100.
Whether Sutton actually reach that number is not really the interesting part. It is what setting that target says to the players.
Neil said confidence improves almost anything you do, and Sutton have historically been quite good at expecting the worst. Supporters have become accustomed to waiting for the moment when things go wrong.
A manager setting the bar much higher immediately changes the conversation.
David described it as a kind of high-jump methodology. If you set the bar at 1.80 metres, that is what you aim for. If you set it at two metres, everything is framed differently.
Nobody believes Agutter is sitting in the dressing room every week showing players a chart tracking the route to 100 points. He will still be thinking about the next opponent, who is fit, how they play and how Sutton can beat them.
But the wider expectation matters.
This is not a squad being told simply to survive.
It is being told to aim much higher.
Aggie Is Showing He Can Win In Different Ways
Perhaps the most encouraging thing so far is the tactical flexibility.
When Agutter arrived there were supporters from Worthing who suggested he had one way of playing and would stick to it regardless of the opposition.
That is not what we have seen.
Before the Altrincham match, Aggie spoke in hospitality about being perfectly happy for them to have possession. Sutton would allow them the ball, stay organised, wait for the right moments and hurt them.
That was essentially how the game played out.
Before Hartlepool, he described a different type of opponent. They would press more aggressively, which should create opportunities for Sutton to attack the spaces behind them.
Again, much of the game followed that pattern.
For supporters, it is fascinating hearing the plan before kick-off and then watching it appear in front of you.
There has undoubtedly been a change from last season, particularly in how often Sutton are prepared to go longer. But I do not think that represents some dramatic abandonment of Agutter’s principles.
Last season Sutton simply did not have the players to make a longer game effective. If the goalkeeper kicked long, there was often nobody capable of securing the ball, so possession simply came straight back.
Playing out from the back became the best way of progressing up the pitch because of the players available.
This year the deck is different.
Babalola can hold the ball.
Ogbonna and Folarin can attack space.
Urpens gives Sutton another route from throw-ins.
Spike Brits is comfortable playing short but can also recognise when the longer option is better.
And once Charlie Carter and others are fully available, there will be even more variation.
That does not make Sutton a long-ball side or a possession side.
It makes them a side with choices.
Agutter appears far more interested in winning the match than winning an argument about footballing philosophy.
That is absolutely fine by me.
Sutton United Women Start With Three Points Too
There was also good news from the women’s side, who opened their season with a 2-1 away victory.
Ahmed Noor joined us with a match report and described a difficult afternoon on a hot 3G surface. Sutton fell behind after only six minutes but continued creating chances and did not allow the early setback to dictate the match.
Changes at half-time helped shift things and Emma Spear eventually produced the equaliser with an excellent far-post finish before adding the second following some uncertain defending from the hosts.
Three points on opening day is exactly the start they would have wanted, particularly after having to come from behind.
Sarah also completed the small matter of roughly a 60km cycle to get there, which is apparently just something she does now.
Get Your Away Travel Booked Early
There was also an important message for anyone planning to travel with the official supporters’ coaches.
The Gateshead coach is definitely running, with 24 passengers already booked at the time of recording. The meeting time is 9.45am for a 10am departure on Friday, with tickets priced at £60 for adults and £40 for under-16s accompanied by an adult.
Unfortunately, the Barrow coach has already been cancelled because there was not enough early interest.
That is why supporters need to get their names down as soon as they think they might travel. If everybody waits until the final few days, the coach may already have been cancelled because there was no way of knowing the demand was there.
Halifax is the next trip requiring numbers. At the time of recording there were ten bookings, with a minimum of 20 required for the coach to run.
If you are thinking about going, booking early genuinely matters.
Next Stop, Gateshead
Friday night now brings another completely different test.
A long trip north, an unusual matchday routine and another fixture on Monday afterwards.
David and Neil were not particularly concerned about the travel. These are full-time professionals and long journeys are simply part of playing in a national division.
Neil made the good point that if Sutton have to go to Gateshead at some stage, doing it in August is considerably more appealing than travelling there for a miserable midweek game in the middle of winter.
The more interesting question is whether Sutton change anything.
Charlie Carter is getting closer to returning, but both Neil and David expect him to be managed carefully rather than simply thrown straight back into the starting XI. With another match arriving quickly afterwards, Agutter will also have to think about the squad across the entire weekend rather than just Friday night.
What nobody particularly wanted was Sutton travelling north simply hoping for a point.
David would not take one now.
Neither would I.
That does not mean playing recklessly or assuming we have some right to win because we have started well. It means approaching Gateshead exactly as Sutton have approached the first three games.
Work out how they play.
Find the weaknesses.
Choose the right way to attack them.
Then adapt if the match develops differently.
Three games have already shown three slightly different versions of Sutton United.
That might ultimately be the most encouraging thing of all.
Enjoy It Without Losing Our Minds
Neil still has Sutton around ninth or tenth based on his pre-season prediction.
David is waiting several more weeks before drawing meaningful conclusions.
Both are probably being far more sensible than me.
But my own target for this season was never particularly complicated.
I wanted to arrive at Sutton matches believing we could win.
Not wondering how we were going to mess it up this time.
After three league games, that feeling has already changed.
Nine points from nine does not guarantee anything.
It does not make us champions.
It does not make 100 points inevitable.
And it definitely does not mean anybody should be booking an open-top bus.
But Sutton look stronger, more adaptable, more physical and considerably less fragile than they did twelve months ago.
That is enough reason to enjoy the start.
And if anyone happens to know exactly how much notice Sutton Council needs for a road closure, purely out of curiosity of course, feel free to get in touch.
Next stop, Gateshead.
Come on you U’s.