Sutton United chairman Bruce Elliott is a happy man after the club made at least £20,000 from the quartet of glamour pre-season friendlies.
Tuesday night’s 4-0 defeat to a Chelsea XI, in front of 2,577 fans, brought to a close the four games Elliott said were all about promoting Sutton United to the community.
Despite not winning any of the games (losing 3-4 to Arsenal, 0-1 to Fulham and 0-4 to AFC Wimbledon), getting more than 6,200 fans through the Gander Green Lane turnstiles is more than enough benefit for the chairman.
Now, as the Blue Square South season draws near with an opening trip to Eastleigh on August 17, the serious pre-season assessments get underway on Saturday with the visit of Cambridge United.
Down the line: Dale Binns guides a pass out of defence against a high-class Chelsea side - worth a reported £15m SP78021
Elliott said: “Everyone at the club has put in a super-human effort to get these games on, promoted and well organised – and the season has not even started yet.
“When you have the opportunity to play big names, you have to take it and make the most of it. We have done that and we should all be very happy.
“Chelsea brought a team worth £15m – including a lad called Cristian Cuevas who signed for them yesterday for about £3m.
“They were impressed about everything we had to offer, which is great for us as a club and hopefully means they will come back.”
He added: “Without taking into account the bar, catering, ice cream van and match sponsorship, we have raised around £20,000. It’s fantastic.
“We’re so hoping it will kick-start something for us, and that more fans will come back to Gander Green Lane as a result of coming for the first time in one of these four games.”
Jenny the giraffe: Sutton United have launched a new campaign to get people through the GGL turnstiles SP78021
United have launched a campaign called Adopt Jenny the Giraffe, aimed at encouraging Premier League season ticket holders to adopt United as a second club.
Elliott is hoping that when a Premier League team is away from home, the fans will come to United instead.
He said: “I was talking to a Chelsea fan who said he had never been to United before and he only lived down the road.
“He often took his boy to AFC Wimbledon games when Chelsea were away, but he said he would be coming to United – this is what we need.”
During last night’s game, a section of Chelsea fans lit blue flares to celebrate a goal, something not often seen at Gander Green Lane.
Elliott said: “It was something and nothing. Once the smoke had drifted away that was it, I am not sure everyone even noticed it and the game was not stopped.
“We should be focussing on the positives, and the positive is that it was a wonderful evening and very well supported.”
Blue hue: Chelsea fans show their flares during the win over Sutton United SP78021
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