We hosted Arsenal and received compliment from Arsene Wenger, then EFL ordered us to spend £1m tearing up our pitch
SUTTON chairman Bruce Elliott believes hosting Arsenal in the FA Cup seven years ago started an incredible journey.
That last-16 clash set the wheels in motion for a rise within four years into the EFL for the first time since the team was formed in 1898.
And although the tiny Surrey club are back in non-league after relegation last season, Elliott hopes knocking Birmingham out of the FA Cup on Sunday at Gander Green Lane can be the prologue to another glorious chapter.
Elliott said: “That run to the fifth round was our best in the FA Cup and it set off a chain of events that eventually saw us win EFL status — something we’d never expected or dreamed of.
“The FA Cup has been great for this club. Of course, we famously knocked out the defending FA Cup holders Coventry in 1989 but our run in 2017 was special.
“We beat Wimbledon after a replay, upset Leeds here and then hosted an Arsenal team who had just played Bayern Munich a few days earlier.
“In The Sun there was a whole page about our small changing rooms and how it was a huge come-down from what they’d experienced!
“And a lot was made of our 3G pitch before that match and how Arsenal would cope with playing on it.”
Arsene Wenger put out a strong team and beat the plucky part-timers 2-0 with goals from Lucas Perez and Theo Walcott.
And Elliott will never forget meeting the legendary former manager after the match.
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The Sutton chairman said: “I apologised to him about the size of the dressing rooms.
“He replied, ‘It’s fine, people forget I used to manage a small team in France and in any case I rather like the smaller sized ones, you’re nearer the players.’ What a great answer. Another lovely thing was when I asked why with the game in the bag with just 16 minutes left did he bring on Alexis Sanchez?
“After all, they had paid £30million for that guy, so why risk him against a non-league team late in a game that is pretty much over.
“He replied, ‘I thought it was the right thing to do for such an occasion as this!’
“That was absolutely quality and class from him. He understood what a big deal it was for Sutton United.”
When Sutton won promotion to the EFL in 2021, they had to rip up their 3G pitch and install a grass one. It is something that still rankles with Elliott and Sutton fans.
Already in the three seasons since they lost it, it has cost the club around £1MILLION.
Elliott said: “It does seem ridiculous that our 3G pitch was good enough to host Arsenal in the FA Cup — but not for League Two games!
“I don’t get why the EFL doesn’t relax the rules. They’re even allowed in European competitions.
“There are a lot of people at those higher levels living in the past — thinking back to the days of the inferior plastic pitches at Luton, Oldham and QPR. They are now of the highest quality.”
Another bugbear for Elliott is the FA scrapping cup replays — denying them a possible money-spinning replay at St Andrew’s.
He said: “There is no logic to getting rid of them until the third round when Premier League sides enter.
“I understand it at that point but to lose them from the first round denies clubs at our level the chance to get another TV payday.”
The Blues come to Surrey as the biggest spending club outside of the Premier League.
No team in League One history has ever splashed the cash quite like the Brummies — with Jay Stansfield arriving for £15million with it set to rise to £20m depending on appearances and promotion.
It is a far cry from Sutton who have one of the lowest budgets in the fifth tier.
Elliott said: “We’re still ambitious but we’ve always spent within our means.
“It was an incredible achievement for us to be in the EFL. Now that we’ve tasted it, we most definitely would like to get there again.”