The 2025/26 Enterprise National League season is on the horizon, with Sutton United all set for another competitive and exciting year at the top tier of non-league football.
In this four-part series, we will delve into each opponent the U’s will face throughout the campaign across the next four weeks, building up to the first day of the season where Steve Morison’s side will take on York City.
Morecambe
Nickname: The Shrimps
Founded: 1920
Stadium: Mazuba Mobile Stadium
Distance from Sutton: 271.6 miles
Head Coach: Derek Adams
Top Scorer 24/25: Lee Angol (7)
League Finish 24/25: 24th (League Two)
Last Meeting: Morecambe 1-0 Sutton United (10th February 2024)
Morecambe’s 18-year stay in the EFL came to an end with a bottom-placed finish last term, with relegation to the National League being confirmed following a 3–1 home defeat to Salford City amid a host of off-the-pitch issues at the Mazumba Mobile Stadium.
Long-serving manager Derek Adams has taken the reins on the Lancashire Coast across three different spells, and in total has spent six years with the Shrimps since first joining back in 2019. He guided the club up to League One for the first time in their history in his first spell, before re-joining the club – now in League Two – twice either side of spells at Bradford City and Ross County, and couldn’t serve them from slipping into the fifth tier for the first time since 2007.
Morecambe have endured a chaotic summer since being relegated from League Two with discussions continuing to be held with the National League regarding the club’s ability to meet its financial obligations for the coming season, along with currently having just than ten senior players and staff on their books as a result. Joint-top scorer and Carshalton-born former Sutton striker Lee Angol has departed the club for Cheltenham Town, along with Adam Lewis, David Tutonda and Ross Millen, the former of which played more times than anyone else with a whopping 52 appearances.
Currently, goalkeeper Harry Burgoyne, other top scorer Ben Tollitt, captain Yann Songo’o and the experienced Jamie Stott all remain at the Mazuba Mobile Stadium, which will come as a boost for Adams with all three in the top five for appearances made last term.
The two sides will meet for the first time February 2024, with Morecambe’s Gerard Garner scoring an early goal to condemn the U’s to defeat in Steve Morison’s sixth game in charge, achieve a double having beaten Matt Gray’s Sutton 3-2 earlier on in the season.
Rochdale AFC
Nickname: The Dale
Founded: 1907
Stadium: Crown Oil Arena
Distance from Sutton: 240.9 miles
Head Coach: Jimmy McNulty
Top Scorer 24/25: Devante Rodney (20)
League Finish 24/25: 4th
Last Meeting: Sutton United 1-0 Rochdale AFC (8th April 2025)
More than a century in the Football League came to an end when Rochdale AFC suffered relegation at the end of the 2022/23 season, and preceded a maiden campaign in the fifth tier which was overshadowed by problems off the pitch.
After a respectable 11th place finish in 2023/24, the Dale, headed up by manager and former player Jimmy McNulty, kicked on in their pursuit of a return to the EFL, finishing fourth last term and gaining a shot at promotion via the play-offs. Despite taking a 3-1 lead heading into the final 20 minutes of the eliminator round, Dale were left heartbroken at the first hurdle when Southend United’s Tom Hopper and Leon Pavillon struck late on to take the tie to extra time, where a 101st minute goal from Charley Kendall sealed the Shrimpers’ spot in the last four, and condemned Rochdale’s fate to the fifth tier for a third successive year.
However, McNulty has managed to keep hold of the core of his squad, while adding plenty of quality to his ranks as well.
Top scorer Devante Rodney scored almost 30% of the Dale’s goals last season, with his 19 strikes being one of only three players to hit double figures alongside Kairo Mitchell (14) and Ian Henderson (10). McNulty has already bolstered his ranks though, with the gap left by the departure of Mitchell already being filled with exciting loanee Levi Amantchi from Walsall and reliable frontman Mani Dieseruvwe, who has arrived from Hartlepool United.
Dieseruvwe has been followed through the door by Pool teammate Anthony Gomez-Mancini, along with Casey Pettit (Maidenhead United) and Liam Humbles (Salford City), while a host of experience has been added in the form of Bryce Hosannah (AFC Fylde), Dan Moss (Woking), Joe Pritchard (Oldham Athletic) and David Tutonda (Morecambe).
11 players appeared more than 30 times throughout the campaign as McNulty found a settled side, featuring the likes of captain Kyron Gordon, along with Sam Beckwith, Tarryn Allarakhia, Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, Ryan East, Harvey Gilmour, Connor McBride and Liam Hogan, who all played key roles last season.
Scunthorpe United
Nickname: The Iron
Founded: 1899
Stadium: Attis Arena
Distance from Sutton: 227.7 miles
Head Coach: Andy Butler
Top Scorer 24/25: Callum Roberts (20)
League Finish 24/25: 2nd
Last Meeting: Sutton United 4-1 Scunthorpe United (26th February 2022)
Scunthorpe United are back in the National League, and took a big step towards their mission of a return to the EFL – a place where they spent 72 years prior to their relegation in 2022.
The appointment of manager Andy Butler saw the 41-year old promoted from his role as First Team Coach, and sparked a change in fortunes for the Iron, who had found themselves in the sixth tier for the first time in their entire 126-year history when back-to-back relegations were confirmed after a 2-0 defeat to Oldham Athletic in April 2023.
Butler’s side sealed their return with a 2-1 win after extra time against Chester in the National League North play-off final, bolstered by a robust defence consisting of Ross Fitzsimons, Ross Barrows, Will Evans, Maxim Kouogun and Tyler Denton, who conceded less goals than anyone else throughout the league season (30). Those five, along with Andrew Boyce, were regular fixtures in the Scunthorpe side last term, all making more than 40 appearances throughout the campaign.
Talented forward Callum Roberts top scored for the Iron, notching 20 goals which was bettered in the league only by South Shields’ Paul Blackett (23) and Kidderminster Harriers’ Ashley Hemmings (30), with his and Danny Whitehall’s (17) goals playing a crucial part in propelling Butler’s side up the league.
With league winners Brackley Town along with Kidderminster going for the league title on the final day, a run of four wins in a row saw Scunthorpe leapfrog the Carpetmen and seal a runners-up spot, as well as taking momentum into the play-offs. They overcame Chorley with a 4-2 win in the semi-final, before seeing off Chester at Glanford Park as Whitehall’s first half opener was cancelled out by a Connor Woods penalty on the hour-mark, and eventually took the match to extra time, where Carlton Ubaezuonu struck on the stroke of half time to restore the Iron’s advantage and soon seal a return to the fifth tier.
The Iron are slowly making their way back to League Two, and Butler has been hard at work in getting his squad ready for the new campaign. The likes of Gateshead duo Branden Horton and Jean Belehouan and York City duo Rory Watson and Billy Chadwick have arrived in Lincolnshire, along with Joey Dawson (Celtic B), Declan Howe (Gainsborough Trinity), Oliver Ewing (Leicester City) and Dubem Eze (Bolton Wanderers).
The two sides last met in that dismal 2021/22 campaign for the Iron; goals from Rob Milsom, Joe Kizzi and a double from Will Randall secured a 4-1 win over Scunthorpe, and saw the U’s go within two points of the League Two automatic promotion places.
Solihull Moors
Nickname: The Moors
Founded: 2007
Stadium: ARMCO Arena
Distance from Sutton: 133 miles
Head Coach: Matthew Taylor
Top Scorer 24/25: Connor Wilkinson (15)
League Finish 24/25: 14th
Last Meeting: Solihull Moors 1-1 Sutton United (4th March 2025)
The departure of Andy Whing to Barrow was a key moment in Solihull Moors’ season, with Whing exiting for Cumbria after a largely two years at the ARMCO Arena.
Having guided the Moors to the National League play-off final, along with the FA Trophy final the previous season, the Midlands-based side will have hoped to continue building with the former defender in their quest to finally reach the EFL, but were forced to scramble for a replacement as Whing opted to make the jump into League Two on his own terms.
Whing’s successor, Matthew Taylor, arrived from fellow National League club Wealdstone after half-a-season at Grosvenor Vale, and endured a difficult start to life in Birmingham. A run of eight winless matches was finally ended with a 2-1 win over Ebbsfleet United, but they continued to hover around the drop zone with a further two defeats and a draw from their next three games, as pressure began to build on the former Portsmouth midfielder. This was followed by three wins in a row though, and proved enough to keep the Moors comfortably mid-table come the end of the season.
The goals of Connor Wilkinson (15) and Jack Stevens (14) were key to Solihull’s season, scoring almost 50% of all their goals throughout the season, while Alex Whitmore was a reliable presence in the Moors team with 46 appearances throughout the campaign, completing 90 minutes in all but three games.
Heading into his first full season at Damson Park, Taylor will be hoping to guide the Moors up the division, and will be boosted by the arrivals of Tyler French (Sutton), Ben Worman (Gateshead), Dan Creaney (Tamworth), Oscar Rutherford (Dagenham & Redbridge), Callum MacFarlane (Fulham), Darius Lipsiuc (Stoke City) and Boston United duo Brad Nicholson and Cameron Green.
Southend United
Nickname: The Shrimpers
Founded: 1906
Stadium: Roots Hall
Distance from Sutton: 63.4 miles
Head Coach: Kevin Maher
Top Scorer 24/25: Gus Scott-Morriss (17)
League Finish 24/25: 7th
Last Meeting: Sutton United 1-1 Southend United (5th April 2025)
The 2024/25 campaign saw Southend United secure their first play-off place since being relegated to the National League back in 2021, after long-serving manager Kevin Maher guided them to a seventh place finish.
Former Shrimpers’ midfielder and skipper has taken the reins at Roots Hall since their maiden campaign in the fifth tier, having made over 400 appearances for the club as a player, and if not before, has certainly cemented himself as a Southend legend after navigating their off the pitch difficulties to maintain impressive form, and after winning two Manager of the Month awards during the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, agreed a new long-term deal with the club in December 2023.
Key to their success last term was their consistency, ranking seventh and eighth for their home and away form throughout the season, while the goals of Gus Scott-Morriss played a crucial role in their rise up the table, with his performances from right wing-back up there with some of the best in the league.
The mid-season signings of Leon Pavillon, Nick Hayes, Tom Hopper, Ben Goodliffe and Charley Kendall also proved to be game-changing, propelling the Shrimpers to a strong end to the season in which they lost just five league games in the whole of 2025 so far.
Harry Taylor, Noor Husin, Jack Bridge, Nathan Ralph, Macauley Bonne and Kwesi Appiah-Forson were some of the most impactful players in Southend’s ranks last season, along with those previous mentioned, with each player making over 40 appearances as Maher found a settled and consistent side.
After taking momentum into the play-offs with two wins from their last four games, Southend overcame Rochdale AFC in the eliminator round in what was a thrilling encounter, with Kendall the hero in a 4-3 win after extra time, before Scott-Morriss scored the decisive penalty in the shootout away at Forest Green Rovers, with Goodliffe and Bridge striking in a 2-2 draw after extra time. However, Southend soon suffered play-off heartbreak at the home of English football, being denied their place in League Two with an extremely fortuitous strike from Oldham Athletic’s Kian Harratt.
After taking the lead on two separate occasions at Wembley, Oldham fought back in a topsy-turvy encounter that saw Joe Garner’s cooly-taken penalty take the match to extra time, before two goals in a matter of minutes from James Norwood and Harratt overturned Pavillon’s first half header, and meant it was the Latics who made their return to the EFL as the expense of the Essex-based side, who will be looking to go again this term, and have already showed their intent with Sam Austin, Harry Boyes and Slavi Spasov joining the club this summer, along with Goodliffe who has made the move to Roots Hall permanent.
Tamworth
Nickname: The Lambs
Founded: 1933
Stadium: The Lamb Ground
Distance from Sutton: 151 miles
Head Coach: Andy Peaks
Top Scorer 24/25: Dan Creaney (19)
League Finish 24/25: 10th
Last Meeting: Sutton United 1-0 Tamworth (7th January 2025)
Tamworth were the surprise package last season, with manager Andy Peaks leading the Lambs to an impressive tenth place finish in their first ever year in the National League, having guided the club to back-to-back promotions with the National League North title the previous season.
The only club in the division to play on a 3G artificial pitch, Tamworth rose into the fifth tier after a 1-1 draw with Warrington Town mathematically secured the title and were largely tipped for relegation, but defeated the odds in impressive fashion to finish just four points below the play-off places.
Peaks’ aggressive and intense style was invaluable to their success, but it was the work rate and camaraderie within the dressing room that drove the Lambs to not just survival, but a comfortable top half finish in their maiden campaign in the National League. Dan Creaney received the bulk of the plaudits with his 17 goals propelling Tamworth up the table, but the performances of Haydn Hollis, Jas Singh, Tom McGlinchey and Tom Tonks allowed them to remain consistent and competitive, with each player making over 40 appearances last term as Peaks named a steady side throughout the season.
While the Lambs have lost a handful of key players since the end of last season, including top scorer Creaney to Solihull Moors, they have been hard at work to make sure they remain competitive for another year in the fifth tier. A straight swap has seen Solihull forward Manny Duku come in to replace Creaney, while Alfie Bates (Brackley Town), Stefan Mols (Curzon Ashton), Harvey Sayer (Lowestoft Town), Reuben Wyatt (Northampton Town) and Joe Rye (Barnet) have all made the switch to the Lamb Ground along with AFC Fylde duo Tyler Roberts and Joe Riley.
Sutton last faced Tamworth in the Isuzu FA Trophy Third Round; Will Davies’ second half strike enough to sweep the Lambs aside at Gander Green Lane, and set up a run to the Quarter-Final that saw the U’s beat Kidderminster Harriers at Aggborough, before falling short in the last eight to eventual finalists Spennymoor Town.
