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.
Carlisle United
Nickname: The Cumbrians
Founded: 1896
Stadium: Brunton Park
Distance from Sutton: 330 miles
Head Coach: Mark Hughes
Top Scorer 24/25: Matthew Dennis (6)
League Finish 24/25: 23rd (League Two)
Last Meeting: Sutton United 1-1 Carlisle United (8th May 2023)
The closest professional team to Scotland, Carlisle United find themselves in the fifth tier after more than two decades in the EFL, dating back to the 2003/04 season when they were last relegated to the Conference from the Third Division.
A dismal run of form last term brought the dismissal of former Gateshead and MK Dons boss Mike Williamson, who was replaced by former Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Stoke City gaffer Mark Hughes. A man who has previously managed in the Premier League and guided the Potters to three successive top half finishes, ‘Sparky’ was unable to prevent Carlisle’s slide into non-league via back-to-back relegations.
The likes of Cameron Harper, Gabriel Breeze, Terell Thomas and Kadeem Harris were all regular figures throughout the 2024/25 campaign, although the Blues have had to contend with the departure of Sam Lavelle, who played more games than anyone else last term, along with the experienced Josh Vela and top scorer Matthew Dennis, who has joined Notts County.
However, Carlisle have already invested in the transfer market, bringing Altrincham top scorer Regan Linney to Brunton Park, and was joined in the door by former U David Ajiboye along with Morgan Feeney, Sam Murray and Junior Luamba from Shrewsbury Town, Manchester United and Salford City respectively, alongside Bevis Mugabi who arrived from Cypriot side Anorthosis.
Sutton last met the Cumbria-based side on the final day of the 2022/23 season, with Kylian Kouassi’s early opener being cancelled out by a late Joe Kizzi own goal to end the campaign with a 1-1 draw, with Carlisle securing a fifth place finish before going on to win the League Two Play-Offs the following month with a 5-4 penalty shootout victory against Stockport County.
Eastleigh
Nickname: The Spitfires
Founded: 1946
Stadium: Silverlake Stadium
Distance from Sutton: 73.7 miles
Head Coach: Kelvin Davis
Top Scorer 24/25: Tyrese Shade (14)
League Finish 24/25: 13th
Last Meeting: Sutton United 1-0 Eastleigh (25th January 2025)
A regular fixture in the National League, Eastleigh entered their 11th consecutive campaign in the fifth tier with a second successive 13th place finish last season.
Former Southampton goalkeeper Kelvin Davis replaced Richard Hill in the dugout at the Silverlake Stadium in February 2024, guiding the Spitfires to safety with a mid-table finish in 2023/24 before signing a new three-year deal.
Top scorer Tyrese Shade proved to be a superb recruit from Swindon Town last summer, notching 14 goals alongside the reliable Paul McCallum, who followed up his 31-goal haul the previous season with nine strikes last term, while Ludwig Francillette developed strong chemistry at the back with Niall Maher, striking up an impressive partnership throughout the campaign.
Angel Waruih played more games than any other outfield player in midfield alongside captain Jake Taylor, and was rewarded for his displays with Eastleigh’s Young Player of the Season award, while the Spitfires have already added quality to their ranks with the arrivals of the highly rated duo Aaron Blair and Temi Eweka from Maidstone United, along with goalkeeper Nick Townsend and attacking midfielder Kieron Evans from Welsh clubs Newport County and Cardiff City.
More recently, the last week has seen Davis bring Josh Lundstram, Jordan Cousins and Aaron Pierre to the club, following AFC Bournemouth defender Archie Harris through the door, and will bolster his options heading into the upcoming campaign.
FC Halifax Town
Nickname: The Shaymen
Founded: 2008
Stadium: The Shay
Distance from Sutton: 231.4 miles
Head Coach: Adam Lakeland
Top Scorer 24/25: Jamie Cooke (7)
League Finish 24/25: 6th
Last Meeting: Sutton United 0-3 FC Halifax Town (15th March 2025)
The resignation of manager Chris Millington brought an end to his two-year stint in charge at FC Halifax Town, having guided the club to a play-off spot last season, and has since been replaced by King’s Lynn Town boss Adam Lakeland.
The Shaymen clinched their third top seven spot in four seasons after a 1-0 win over Braintree Town on the final day of the season, embarking on another attempt at promotion. However, they fell short at the first hurdle with a 4-0 defeat to eventual winners Oldham Athletic in the eliminator round, and are set for an eighth successive year in the fifth tier after rising from the Northern Premier League in 2010.
Only four teams had a better defensive record than the Shaymen last term, who’s backline of Sam Johnson, Adam Senior, Adam Alim-Adetoro, Jack Evans and Ryan Galvin helped to concede just 46 goals, and was invaluable to their push towards the play-off places.
Meanwhile, top scorer Jamie Cooke continued to impress at the Shay Stadium with seven goals from midfield, establishing a key partnership at the heartbeat of Halifax’s team alongside Tom Pugh, while his goals helped his side remain competitive at the right end of the table alongside the likes of Andrew Oluwabori (6), Billy Waters (5), Florent Hoti (5), Zak Emmerson (4) and Angelo Cappello (3).
Oluwabori and Waters both departed mid-season for Exeter City and Oldham Athletic, however, and the Shaymen’s rebuild has already been extended from their manager to a number of key players, with Senior and Galvin joining newly promoted League Two side Barnet, while Evans has made the move across Yorkshire to join Harrogate Town.
The Shaymen have since strengthened their options though in an attempt to maintain competitiveness next season, with Cody Johnson, Thierry Latty-Fairweather, Josh Hmami, Dylan Crowe, David Kawa and Will Hugill joining the club.
Forest Green Rovers
Nickname: The Green
Founded: 1889
Stadium: The New Lawn
Distance from Sutton: 118.6 miles
Head Coach: Robbie Savage
Top Scorer 24/25: Christian Doidge (13)
League Finish 24/25: 3rd
Last Meeting: Forest Green Rovers 2-1 Sutton United (11th March 2025)
Forest Green Rovers have entered a new era, with manager Steve Cotterill mutually departing after failing to guide the Green back into League Two at the first time of asking.
In his place sees Macclesfield boss Robbie Savage take over the hotseat at The New Lawn, having guided the Silkmen to promotion from the Northern Premier League last season.
The world’s first fully vegan club will now be looking to mount another promotion charge under Savage, having ended the 2024/25 campaign third in the division and were only denied a shot at promotion by a penalty shootout against Southend United at the semi-final stage.
Despite a whirlwind couple of years which has seen Forest Green drop from League One back to the National League in just two seasons, Savage still has plenty of talented players at his disposal. Kyle McAllister, Charlie McCann and Ryan Inniss have all remained from their EFL days, and they subsequently added Tom Knowles and Adam May to their ranks last summer, along with former Southend United striker Harry Cardwell who joined at the end of August 2024.
A comfortable third place finish was clinched in part thanks to the stellar work from defenders Inniss, Sean Long and Jamie Robson, the latter of which played more games than anyone else alongside May with 48 appearances last term, and helped to secure the joint-second best defensive record (42) in the division after title winners Barnet – a key part of their promotion charge.
A new man has been given the task of achieving promotion now though with Savage takes the reigns, and he has already brought Macclesfield trio Laurent Mendy, Tre Pemberton and Neil Kengni with him from the Leasing.com Stadium, along with reliable National League frontman Kairo Mitchell, and joins Luke McNicholas, Jayden Clarke, Yahya Mamba and Isaac Moore in Gloucestershire.
As such, Savage will be hoping to continue Rovers’ momentum and steer them back into League Two
Gateshead
Nickname: The Heed
Founded: 1977
Stadium: Gateshead International Stadium
Distance from Sutton: 306.2 miles
Head Coach: Alun Armstrong
Top Scorer 24/25: Luke Hannant (15)
League Finish 24/25: 8th
Last Meeting: Gateshead 4-3 Sutton United (18th February 2025)
It’s all change at the Gateshead International Stadium, with Gateshead set to embark on another campaign in the National League after failing to secure a play-off spot last term.
Having finished in sixth in 2023/24 and only missing out on a promotion charge due to issues with their stadium, the Heed will have been optimistic heading into 2024/25, keeping hold of the bulk of the quality within their ranks.
However, manager Rob Elliot – who had replaced Mike Williamson midway through the previous campaign – departed for Crawley Town in October 2024, and was succeeded by former Tynesiders defender Carl Magnay, who since opted to resign from his role after guiding the club to an eighth place finish. Magnay was replaced by former Darlington boss and Under-19 Head Coach Alun Armstrong, who takes on his first senior role since exiting the Quakers in 2023.
Versatile midfielder Luke Hannant was perhaps the most impactful player last season, contributing to 25 goals on his own (15 goals and ten assists), along with goals from Owen Oseni (12), Jovan Malcolm (9) and Callum Whelan (6) helped to make Gateshead the third highest scorers (76) in the division, bettered only by top two Barnet and York City.
Gateshead have since lost a host of players though, with long-serving captain Greg Olley departing after seven years at the GIS; his season-ending injury bringing his time with Gateshead to a premature end, while key players in Hannant, Regan Booty, Ben Worman, Robbie Tinkler, Jean Belehouan and Branden Horton have all joined Olley in the departure lounge, signalling a new era in the north-east, kick-started by the signings of Callum Johnson (Bradford City), Peter Jameson (Darlington) and David Ferguson (Hartlepool United).
Sutton last faced off against Gateshead on a cold Tuesday night in mid-February. Despite a 4-3 defeat at the GIS, it was still a memorable match due to Lewis Simper’s Goal of the Season-winning strike. A stunning half-volley from 35-yards put Sutton into the lead after going into half time behind, as goals from Will Davies and Alex Kirk brought the U’s back level before Simper took aim from distance, although it wasn’t to be for Steve Morison’s side as late goals from Hannant and Jack Roles restored Gateshead’s advantage in what was a thrilling encounter.
Hartlepool United
Nickname: Pools
Founded: 1908
Stadium: Victoria Park
Distance from Sutton: 288 miles
Head Coach: Simon Grayson
Top Scorer 24/25: Mani Dieseruvwe (17)
League Finish 24/25: 11th
Last Meeting: Sutton United 1-2 Hartlepool United (8th February 2025)
Hartlepool United will be looking to go again in the National League, with Simon Grayson the latest in a long line of managers going back to their days in League Two.
Having been relegated from the fourth tier back in 2023, Pools have been led by five different men prior to Grayson’s arrival this summer, with John Askey, Kevin Phillips, Darrell Sarll, Lennie Lawrence and Anthony Limbrick all taking over the hotseat at Victoria Road. Experienced manager Grayson is next in line though, returning to England after four years away in which he has taken on coaching roles in India and Nepal, being deemed the right man by Chairman Raj Singh to guide the Monkey Hangers back to League Two.
After appointing Sarll at the start of 2024/25, a difficult run of form saw the former Yeovil Town and Woking boss dismissed in October after winning just four of his 15 games in charge, and led to Lawrence returning to the hotseat until February before assistant Limbrick ended the campaign in charge having guided the club to a respectable 11th place finish.
However, Limbrick was controversially sacked in June, and means Grayson enters what looks to be a bit of a basket case heading into the new campaign. Despite that, he still has a number of talented players at his disposal, and has the chance to become a Hartlepool hero should he get the club back on track in their mission to return to the EFL.
Club captain Nicky Featherstone made his 600th career appearance back in December last year and continued to play a pivotal role in midfield alongside fan favourite Nathan Sheron, while Tom Parkes and Luke Waterfall were both stalwarts in defence, and were flanked by flying David Ferguson who played all but one game throughout the campaign prior to his exit to Gateshead this summer.
Furthermore, reliable National League frontman Mani Dieseruvwe continued his superb run of form last term in front of goal with 16 goals, alongside the likes of Luke Charman (4) and Gary Madine (7), the latter having signed for the club in June 2024 after last playing in the Championship with Blackpool. Charman and Madine will now have to increase their production to fill the gap left by Dieseruvwe though, who departed County Durham to join Rochdale AFC at the start of July, alongside new recruit Alex Reid who joined from Oldham Athletic following a successful loan spell at Wealdstone.
Reid is joined by Brad Walker, Jay Benn, Danny Johnson, Reiss McNally, Jermaine Francis, Cameron John and most recently former U’s loanee Besart Topallaj through the door, and signals plenty of intent from the Monkey Hangers.
