2023–24 Sutton United F.C. season explained

Club:	Sutton United
Season:	2023–24
Chairman:	Bruce Elliott
Manager:	Matt Gray ^[1] Steve Morison ^[2]
Stadium:	Gander Green Lane
League:	League Two
League Result:	23rd (relegated to National League)
Cup1:	FA Cup
Cup1 Result:	Third round (Eliminated by Plymouth Argyle)
Cup2:	EFL Cup
Cup2 Result:	Third round (Eliminated by Port Vale)
Cup3:	EFL Trophy
Cup3 Result:	Group stage
League Topscorer:	Harry Smith (11)
Season Topscorer:	Harry Smith (14)
Highest Attendance:	4,831 v Wrexham, 13 February 2024
Lowest Attendance:	859 v Aston Villa F.C. Under-21s, 20 September 2023
Average Attendance:	3,302
Largest Win:	5-1 v Notts County, 5 August 2023 4-0 v Walsall, 7 October 2023
Largest Loss:	0-8 v Stockport County, 16 December 2023
Prevseason:	2022–23
Nextseason:	2024–25

The 2023–24 season is the 97th season in the history of Sutton United and their third consecutive season in League Two. The club are participating in League Two, the FA Cup, the EFL Cup, and the 2023–24 EFL Trophy.

Current squad

No.	Name	Position	Nationality	Place of birth	Date of birth (Age)	Previous club	Date signed	Fee	Contract end
Goalkeepers
1							1 July 2022	Free	30 June 2024
13							23 September 2020	Free	30 June 2024
21					2 October 1990		1 September 2023	Loan	31 May 2024
25							1 July 2023	Free	30 June 2024
Defenders
2							18 June 2019	Free	30 June 2024
3					24 February 2004		15 January 2024	Loan	31 May 2024
4							1 July 2023	Free	30 June 2025
5							12 July 2019	Free	30 June 2024
6							23 January 2020	Undisclsoed	30 June 2024
22							1 July 2021	Free	30 June 2024
23							1 July 2023	Free	30 June 2024
24							1 August 2019	Free	30 June 2024
28	Oliver Khinda				1 November 2004	Academy			30 June 2024
35	Jack Taylor				8 September 2005	Academy			30 June 2024
39	Jay Williams				26 February 2003		29 January 2024	Undisclosed	30 June 2025
42							1 July 2022	Free	30 June 2024
Midfielders
7					24 July 1998		1 July 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2025
8							1 July 2023	Free	30 June 2025
10							4 January 2018	Undisclosed	30 June 2024
14							1 July 2019	Free	30 June 2024
15							9 September 2015	Free	30 June 2024
16					5 May 1992		1 July 2023	Free	30 June 2025
31					8 May 1999		11 January 2024	Loan	31 May 2024
37	Liam Moore					Academy	20 November 2023	Trainee	30 June 2024
50					17 August 2000		25 January 2024	Loan	31 May 2024
Forwards
9					18 May 1995		1 July 2023	Free	30 June 2025
11					24 May 1996		26 July 2023	Free	30 June 2025
19					29 August 1999		16 July 2022	Free	30 June 2024
20					25 February 1996		25 July 2023	Free	30 June 2025
27					14 May 1999		18 January 2024	Free	30 June 2024
29					28 July 1997		27 January 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2024
38					30 December 2003		15 January 2024	Loan	31 May 2024
Out on Loan
12	Tobi Ogundega						19 July 2022	Free	30 June 2024
30	Matt Kerbey					Academy	1 July 2022		30 June 2024
33					4 August 1994		11 January 2023	Undisclosed	30 June 2024

Transfers

In

Date	Pos	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Ref
30 June 2023				Undisclosed
1 July 2023				Free Transfer	^[3]
1 July 2023				Free Transfer	^[4]
1 July 2023				Free Transfer	^[5]
1 July 2023				Free Transfer	^[6]
1 July 2023				Free Transfer	^[7]
1 July 2023				Free Transfer	^[8]
25 July 2023				Free Transfer	^[9]
26 July 2023				Free Transfer	^[10]
19 October 2023					^[11]
18 January 2024				Free Transfer	^[12]
29 January 2024		Jay Williams		Undisclosed	^[13]

Out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Fee	Ref
30 June 2023				Rejected Contract	^[14] ^[15]
30 June 2023				Released	^[16] ^[17]
30 June 2023		Filip Chalupniczak		Released
30 June 2023				Released
30 June 2023				Released
30 June 2023				Compensation	^[18]
30 June 2023				Released	^[19]
30 June 2023				Released	^[20]
30 June 2023		Matt Ridley		Released
30 June 2023				Released	^[21]
30 June 2023				Rejected Contract	^[22]
30 June 2023				Released	^[23]
30 June 2023				Released	^[24]
2 August 2023		Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo		Free Transfer	^[25]
11 January 2024				Released
1 March 2024				Undisclosed	^[26]

Loaned in

Date	Pos	Player	Loaned from	Until	Ref
1 August 2023				22 January 2024	^[27] ^[28]
11 August 2023				31 December 2023	^[29]
1 September 2023				End of Season	^[30] ^[31]
1 September 2023				9 January 2024	^[32] ^[33]
11 January 2024				End of Season	^[34]
15 January 2024				End of Season	^[35]
15 January 2024				End of Season	^[36]
25 January 2024				End of Season	^[37]

Loaned out

Date	Pos	Player	Loaned to	Until	Ref
4 August 2023		Matt Kerbey		End of Season	^[38]
31 August 2023		Tobi Ogundega		28 September 2023	^[39]
8 December 2023				8 January 2023	^[40]
20 December 2023		Tobi Ogundega			^[41]
19 January 2024				1 March 2024	^[42]
23 January 2024				20 February 2024	^[43]
23 March 2024				End of Season	^[44]

Pre-season and friendlies

On 15 May, Sutton United announced their first three pre-season friendlies, against Havant & Waterlooville, Farnborough and Woking.^[45] Three days later, a home friendly against Reading was confirmed.^[46] A further two friendlies were later added, against Millwall and Aldershot Town.^[47]

Competitions

League Two

See main article: 2023–24 EFL League Two.

Matches

On 22 June, the EFL League Two fixtures were released.^[48]

FA Cup

See main article: 2023–24 FA Cup.

Sutton were drawn at home to AFC Fylde in the first round^[49] and to either Barnsley or Horsham in the second round.^[50] On 14 November, Barnsley won their replay 3–0 and were confirmed as the opponents for the U's,^[51] However Barnsley were removed from the competition for fielding an ineligible player, therefore Horsham are now the second round visitors.^[52] In the third round, the U's were drawn away to Plymouth Argyle.^[53]

EFL Cup

See main article: 2023–24 EFL Cup.

U's were drawn at home to Cambridge United in the first round,^[54] and away to Wycombe Wanderers in the second round^[55] and Port Vale in the third round.^[56]

EFL Trophy

See main article: 2023–24 EFL Trophy. In the group stage, Sutton were drawn in alongside Charlton Athletic, Crawley Town and Aston Villa U21.^[57]

Squad statistics

Appearances

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	EFL League Two		EFL Cup		EFL Trophy		FA Cup		Total
				Apps	Starts	Apps	Starts	Apps	Starts	Apps	Starts	Apps	Starts
1	GK		Jack Rose	8	7	3	2	1	1	0	0	12	10
3	DF		Nino Adom-Malaki	18	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	18
4	DF		Omar Sowunmi	35	30	3	2	2	2	2	2	42	36
5	DF		Ben Goodliffe	30	29	3	2	3	2	2	2	38	35
6	DF		Louis John	17	10	2	2	1	0	1	1	21	13
7	MF		Josh Coley	39	30	3	2	3	1	3	3	48	36
8	MF		Christian N'Guessan	35	20	2	2	3	1	3	2	43	25
9	FW		Harry Smith	37	34	2	2	1	1	2	2	42	39
10	MF		Harry Beautyman	41	30	3	2	3	2	3	3	50	37
11	MF		Omari Patrick	35	21	3	3	2	1	3	0	43	25
14	MF		Craig Dundas	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	3	0
15	MF		Craig Eastmond	23	18	2	1	0	0	1	0	26	19
16	MF		Craig Clay	27	19	2	2	2	2	3	3	34	26
17	FW		D'Mani Mellor	5	0	0	0	2	2	1	0	8	2
18	FW		Dion Pereira	14	4	1	1	1	1	1	1	17	7
19	FW		Tope Fadahunsi	11	2	0	0	2	2	2	0	15	4
20	FW		Scott Kashket	7	4	2	0	1	1	0	0	10	5
21	GK		Dean Bouzanis	25	25	0	0	0	0	3	3	28	28
22	DF		Joe Kizzi	45	44	3	2	2	2	3	3	53	51
23	DF		Ryan Jackson	37	30	2	2	3	3	3	2	45	37
24	DF		Robert Milsom	17	12	2	2	3	2	2	2	24	18
25	GK		Steve Arnold	15	14	1	1	2	2	0	0	18	17
26	MF		Dominic Gape	4	4	0	0	1	1	2	1	7	6
27	FW		Deon Moore	11	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	3
29	FW		Hisham Kasimu	6	1	1	0	2	2	1	0	10	3
31	MF		Charlie Lakin	21	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	19
33	FW		Lee Angol	26	14	3	1	2	2	3	1	34	18
35	DF		Jack Taylor	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
38	FW		Olly Sanderson	20	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	13
40	FW		Aiden O'Brien	23	16	3	2	1	0	2	2	29	20
42	DF		Sam Hart	30	25	0	0	1	1	0	0	31	26
43	FW		Vinnie Tume	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
50	MF		Stephen Duke-McKenna	16	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	6
Total				46		3		3		3		55

Goals

			Player	EFL League Two	EFL Cup	EFL Trophy	FA Cup	Total
1	FW	9	Harry Smith	11	1	0	2	14
2	MF	31	Charlie Lakin	8	0	0	0	8
3	MF	10	Harry Beautyman	5	1	1	0	7
4	FW	11	Omari Patrick	5	0	0	1	6
5	DF	4	Omar Sowunmi	4	0	0	0	4
	FW	38	Olly Sanderson	4	0	0	0	4
7	FW	33	Lee Angol	2	0	0	1	3
8	DF	5	Ben Goodliffe	2	0	0	0	2
	DF	6	Louis John	2	0	0	0	2
	MF	7	Josh Coley	2	0	0	0	2
	MF	15	Craig Eastmond	2	0	0	0	2
	FW	18	Dion Pereira	0	0	0	2	2
	DF	23	Ryan Jackson	2	0	0	0	2
	FW	29	Hisham Kasimu	0	1	1	0	2
	FW	40	Aiden O'Brien	1	1	0	0	2
	MF	50	Stephen Duke-McKenna	2	0	0	0	2
17	DF	3	Nino Adom-Malaki	1	0	0	0	1
	MF	16	Craig Clay	1	0	0	0	1
	FW	19	Tope Fadahunsi	1	0	0	0	1
	DF	22	Joe Kizzi	1	0	0	0	1
	FW	27	Deon Moore	1	0	0	0	1
	Own goals			2	0	0	0	2
	Total			59	4	2	6	71

Assists

			Player	EFL League Two	EFL Cup	EFL Trophy	FA Cup	Total
1	MF	7	Josh Coley	6	1	0	1	8
	FW	40	Aiden O'Brien	5	0	1	2	8
3	FW	9	Harry Smith	5	0	0	1	6
4	MF	31	Charlie Lakin	5	0	0	0	5
4	DF	22	Joe Kizzi	3	0	0	1	4
6	DF	4	Omar Sowunmi	2	0	1	0	3
7	MF	16	Craig Clay	2	0	0	0	2
	DF	24	Robert Milsom	2	0	0	0	2
	MF	50	Stephen Duke-McKenna	2	0	0	0	2
10	MF	8	Christian N'Guessan	1	0	0	0	1
	MF	10	Harry Beautyman	1	0	0	0	1
	FW	11	Omari Patrick	1	0	0	0	1
	FW	19	Tope Fadahunsi	1	0	0	0	1
	FW	38	Olly Sanderson	1	0	0	0	1
	Total			37	1	2	5	45

Clean sheets

width=10	No.	width=150	Player	width=100	EFL League Two	width=100	EFL Cup	width=100	EFL Trophy	width=100	FA Cup	width=100	Total
1		0	1	0	0	1
21		2	0	0	1	3
25		1	0	1	0	1
	Total	3	1	1	1	6

Disciplinary record

No.	Pos.	Name	EFL League Two			EFL Cup			EFL Trophy			FA Cup			Total
1	GK	Jack Rose	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
3	DF	Nino Adom-Malaki	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
4	DF	Omar Sowunmi	5	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
5	DF	Ben Goodliffe	9	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0	0
6	DF	Louis John	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
7	MF	Josh Coley	6	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
8	MF	Christian N'Guessan	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
9	FW	Harry Smith	6	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	7	0	2
10	MF	Harry Beautyman	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	0
11	FW	Omari Patrick	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
15	MF	Craig Eastmond	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0
16	MF	Craig Clay	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	5	0	0
18	FW	Dion Pereira	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
21	GK	Dean Bouzanis	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
22	DF	Joe Kizzi	8	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	11	0	0
23	DF	Ryan Jackson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
24	DF	Robert Milsom	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
31	MF	Charlie Lakin	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
33	FW	Lee Angol	5	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	0
38	FW	Olly Sanderson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
40	FW	Aiden O'Brien	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
42	DF	Sam Hart	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	0
50	MF	Stephen Duke-McKenna	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
Total			88	0	2	6	0	0	4	0	1	4	0	0	103	0	2

Notes and References

1. News: Club Statement and Update . 20 December 2023 . Sutton United FC . 19 December 2023.
2. News: Steve Morison appointed as new manager . 6 January 2024 . Sutton United FC . 6 January 2024.
3. News: Welcome Steve Arnold . 16 June 2023 . Sutton United FC . 16 June 2023.
4. News: Matt makes double swoop . 30 June 2023 . Sutton United FC . 30 June 2023.
5. News: Welcome Ryan Jackson . 23 June 2023 . Sutton United FC . 23 June 2023.
6. News: Welcome Christian N'Guessan . 16 June 2023 . Sutton United FC . 16 June 2023.
7. News: Welcome Harry Smith . 28 June 2023 . Sutton United FC . 28 June 2023.
8. News: Welcome Omar Sowunmi . 16 June 2023 . Sutton United FC . 16 June 2023.
9. News: Welcome Scott Kashket . 25 July 2023 . Sutton United FC . 25 July 2023.
10. News: Welcome Omari Patrick . 26 July 2023 . Sutton United FC . 26 July 2023.
11. Web site: Welcome Dominic Gape. www.suttonunited.net. 19 October 2023. 19 October 2023.
12. News: Welcome Deon Moore . 18 January 2024 . Sutton United FC . 18 January 2024.
13. News: Welcome Jay Williams . 29 January 2024 . Sutton United FC . 29 January 2024.
14. News: Latest squad update . 12 June 2023 . Sutton United FC . 12 June 2023.
15. Web site: NEWS ENZIO BOLDEWIJN JOINS THE SPITFIRES. Eastleigh F.C.. 16 June 2023. 3 July 2023.
16. News: Squad Update . 12 May 2023 . Sutton United FC . 10 May 2023.
17. News: Omar in the building! Striker signs . 1 June 2023 . AFC Wimbledon . 1 June 2023.
18. News: Kylian Kouassi joins Blackpool . 25 August 2023 . Sutton United FC . 25 August 2023.
19. News: New Signing - Adam Lovatt . 7 August 2023 . Hastings United FC . 5 August 2023.
20. News: Signing: Will Randall . 2 June 2023 . Notts County FC . 2 June 2023.
21. News: NEW SIGNING: COBY ROWE. 8 July 2023 . Aldershot Town FC . 6 July 2023.
22. News: Imps secure Smith signing . 12 June 2023 . Lincoln City FC . 12 June 2023.
23. News: NEW SIGNING: Kwame Thomas. 19 July 2023 . Aldershot Town FC . 17 July 2023.
24. News: Wilson becomes our third summer signing . 9 June 2023 . Grimsby Town FC . 9 June 2023.
25. News: New Signing . 6 August 2023 . Enfield Town FC . 2 August 2023.
26. News: Tranmere v Sutton preview . 2 March 2024 . Sutton United FC . 1 March 2024.
27. News: Aiden O'Brien joins on loan. 1 August 2023 . Sutton United FC . 1 August 2023.
28. News: Aiden O'Brien returns to Shrewsbury. 26 January 2024 . Sutton United FC . 22 January 2024.
29. News: D'Mani Mellor signs on loan from Wycombe. 11 August 2023 . Sutton United FC . 11 August 2023.
30. News: Bouzanis returns to Sutton on loan until January . 1 September 2023 . Reading FC . 1 September 2023.
31. News: Dean Bouzanis loan extended . 23 January 2024 . Sutton United FC . 23 January 2024.
32. News: Dion Pereira joins Sutton on loan . 1 September 2023 . Luton Town FC . 1 September 2023.
33. News: Dion Pereira returns to Luton . 9 January 2024 . Sutton United FC . 9 January 2024.
34. News: Charlie Lakin joins on loan as Dominic Gape departs . 11 January 2024 . Burton Albion FC . 11 January 2024.
35. News: Welcome Nino Adom-Malaki . 15 January 2024 . Sutton United FC . 15 January 2024.
36. News: Welcome Olly Sanderson . 15 January 2024 . Sutton United FC . 15 January 2024.
37. News: Welcome Stephen Duke-McKenna . 25 January 2024 . Sutton United FC . 25 January 2024.
38. News: NEW SIGNING ✍️ Delighted to announce the signing of our new number 1️⃣ @Mattkerbeyy on a season long Loan from @suttonunited #HFC. 4 August 2023 . Twitter . 4 August 2023.
39. News: Sutton United Defender Becomes A Rock . 1 September 2023 . Isthmian Football League . 1 September 2023.
40. News: One in, one staying, one out . 29 December 2023 . Hendon FC . 9 December 2023.
41. News: A Collection Of New Moatsiders . 29 December 2023 . Isthmian Football League . 21 December 2023.
42. News: Hisham returns to Farnborough on loan . 19 January 2024 . Sutton United FC . 19 January 2024.
43. News: Tope Fadahunsi loaned to Hampton & Richmond . 24 January 2024 . Sutton United FC . 23 January 2024.
44. News: Lee Angol joins Woking on loan . 25 March 2024 . Sutton United FC . 23 March 2024.
45. News: First three pre-season friendlies announced . 16 May 2023 . Sutton United FC . 15 May 2023.
46. News: Royals to visit Sutton . 19 May 2023 . Reading FC . 18 May 2023.
47. News: Lions and Shots complete pre-season programme . 19 June 2023 . Sutton United FC . 19 June 2023.
48. News: U's to face Notts County on opening day . 22 June 2023 . Sutton United FC . 22 June 2023.
49. News: U's drawn at home in FA Cup . 17 October 2023 . Sutton United FC . 15 October 2023.
50. News: Sutton wait for second round opponents . 7 November 2023 . Sutton United FC . 5 November 2023.
51. News: Barnsley to visit VBS in FA Cup . 15 November 2023 . Sutton United FC . 14 November 2023.
52. News: Statement on Barnsley FC: Barnsley FC removed from 2023-24 Emirates FA Cup . 22 November 2023 . The Football Association . 22 November 2023.
53. News: Sutton visit Plymouth in FA Cup . 11 December 2023 . Sutton United FC . 3 December 2023.
54. News: U's draw home Carabao Cup tie . 22 June 2023 . Sutton United FC . 22 June 2023.
55. News: Sutton at Wycombe in Carabao Cup . 10 August 2023 . Sutton United FC . 9 August 2023.
56. News: Sutton face Valiants trip in third round . 30 August 2023 . Sutton United FC . 30 August 2023.
57. News: EFL Trophy opponents announced . 21 June 2023 . Sutton United FC . 21 June 2023.