John William Michael Sutton (born 26 December 1983) is a former English football player. He has played for a number of clubs in England and Scotland as well as Australia during his career, and also represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

at the under-15 and under-16 levels. He currently runs his own personal training business and is still involved in coaching football. He is best known for his goal scoring exploits in Scottish football, most notably at Motherwell.

Playing career

Early career

Born on 26 December 1983 in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, England, Sutton was a promising youth

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er, representing Norfolk at various age levels. He was a modest batsman and useful off-spinner of moderate pace. He started his football career as a youth trainee with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

and as part of their reserve squad. Whilst playing at under 17 level he scored 25 goals in 26 games. In 2002, he went on loan with Carlisle United (where he scored his first career goal against

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

) before agreeing to be released by Tottenham and signing on a months contract with

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

. In 2003, Sutton joined

Raith Rovers Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football Leagu ...

. He made a quick impression at Raith, scoring 13 goals in 20 league appearances for the

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as ...

club. Several clubs enquired about his availability in January including

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

where he spent three days on trial, Dundee and

English Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

club

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...

, who signed him for £60,000. He failed to make an impression at Millwall, playing just 4 league matches. He did however contribute to Millwall's run to the

2004 FA Cup Final The 2004 FA Cup Final was the 123rd FA Cup Final and the fourth to be played at the Millennium Stadium, the Welsh national stadium in Cardiff, due to the ongoing reconstruction of the usual venue, London's Wembley Stadium. The match took place o ...

, coming on as a substitute against

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they ado ...

in their quarter-final replay.

Dundee

Sutton returned to Scotland on a season-long loan with Scottish Premier League side Dundee, making his debut on 7 August 2004 in Dundee's 1–0 defeat to Hearts. He scored his first goal for the club the following week netting the winner in the 47th minute in their

Dundee derby The Dundee derby is a football match between Dundee and Dundee United. The clubs are based yards apart in the city of Dundee, the fourth-largest city in Scotland. History Dundee is the older of the two, having been founded in 1893, compared ...

win over

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

. His form proved better back in Scotland, scoring 8 times in 33 league appearances.

St Mirren

On 31 August 2005, Sutton joined Scottish First Division club St Mirren on a two-year contract, making his debut on 10 September 2005 against Queen of the South, He scored his first goal for the club three days later against Stenhousemuir in the Scottish Challenge Cup. Sutton scored the winning goal for St Mirren in the

2005 Scottish Challenge Cup Final The 2005 Scottish Challenge Cup Final, also known as the Bell's Cup Final for sponsorship reasons, was an association football match between St Mirren and Hamilton Academical on 6 November 2005 at Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie. It was the 15th f ...

against

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...

. Sutton was sent off on 26 December against Queen of the South after a challenge with Jim Thomson, although the red card was later rescinded upon appeal. He scored 17 goals in all competitions that season, helping St Mirren win promotion to the Scottish Premier League in his first season. In total, Sutton made 75 appearances scoring 30 times for the club. With his contract having expired at the end of the season, he became a free agent in May 2007. In an interview with the '' Daily Record'' on 5 October 2013, Sutton stated joining St Mirren saved his career saying that the club had the "enthusiasm for the game" he needed.

Wycombe Wanderers

On 28 June 2007, Sutton signed for

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

, making his debut on 11 August against Accrington. He scored his first goal for the club on 2 October, against Barnet in their 2–1 defeat. On 19 August 2008, after one season, Sutton's Wycombe contract was cancelled by mutual consent. In all Sutton made 48 appearances scoring six times for the club.

Motherwell

Sutton then signed for Scottish Premier League club Motherwell on a three-year contract. He scored on his debut against

on 23 August, and followed it up with a 79th-minute winner against Hibernian a week later. Sutton continued his impressive start to his Motherwell career with a consolation goal against Celtic in a 4–2 defeat, an equaliser against his former club St Mirren and the winner against Falkirk, bringing his total to an impressive five goals in his first six league matches. On 2 February 2009, Sutton scored a brace in Motherwell's 3–0

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Inverurie Loco Works. In his first season, he scored 12 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions. Motherwell qualified for the 2009–10 Europa League through the

FIFA Fair Play Award The FIFA Fair Play Award is a FIFA recognition of exemplary behaviour that promotes the spirit of fair play and compassion in :association football around the world. First awarded in 1987, it has been presented to individuals (including post ...

and were drawn against Welsh club

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

in the first-qualifying round. In the first-leg in Scotland, Llanelli shocked ''The Steelmen'' 1–0, but Sutton scored twice in the return leg as Motherwell won 3–0 to progress through to the next round, where they were drawn

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n side Flamurtari Vlorë. In the first-leg in Albania, Sutton scored from the penalty spot early in the match, but the referee ordered a retake, which he missed. There did not seem to be any infringement before the kick was taken and manager

Jim Gannon James Paul Gannon (born 7 September 1968) is a professional football manager and former player who most recently was manager of Hyde United. He started and finished his career as a player in Ireland, but made most of his professional appear ...

blasted the decision as Flamurtari won 1–0. Sutton's penalty miss did not matter at all, as ''Well'' blew the Albanians away in the second leg at Fir Park, winning 8–1, although Sutton did not score in this match either, nor did he score in either leg of the third qualifying round tie with Steaua București, as Motherwell lost 3–0 in Romania and 3–1 at home to go out 6–1 on aggregate. Sutton netted a brace in the historic 6–6 draw with Hibernian on 5 May 2010. He finished the 2009–10 season with a total of 14 goals in 38 appearances. On 27 February 2011, Sutton scored twice as Motherwell shocked Celtic 2–0 at

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–08 SPL season. M ...

, and on 16 April 2011, he scored a screaming half volley from outside the box in the Scottish Cup Semi-Final against St Johnstone. His final appearance for Motherwell came in the 2011 Scottish Cup Final, losing 3–0 to Celtic at Hampden Park. He finished the season as their top scorer with 17 goals.

Hearts

On 25 May 2011, Sutton signed for Heart of Midlothian (Hearts). Making his debut against Rangers at Ibrox on 23 July, Sutton started the first three matches of the season including Hearts Europa League tie against

Paks Paks is a small town in Tolna county, in the south of Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube River, 100 km south of Budapest. Paks as a former agricultural settlement is now the home of the only Hungarian nuclear power plant, which provi ...

, in which he won a penalty. His fortunes changed under new manager Paulo Sergio as his appearances became limited to substitute appearances and the odd start prompting doubts about his future at the club, though Sergio denied this. He scored his first goals for the club on 13 August against

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

scoring twice in a 3–0 win in one of his few starts. Despite his lack of games Sergio and Sutton both denied he didn't have a future at the club. Sutton came on as a substitute in Hearts 3–1 victory over Hibernian in the Edinburgh derby on 2 January 2012, to assist two goals. In his debut season he made 18 appearances, scoring 3 times before being sent on loan in February 2012, to Australian side

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional association football, soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under ...

. On his return he played in Hearts four pre-season games scoring three times, becoming Hearts main striker under new manager

John McGlynn John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. Sutton stated on his return ''that If Sergio was still in charge then I wouldn't be anywhere near the first team.'' On 4 August 2012, Sutton scored from the penalty spot in a 2–0 win over St Johnstone. After Hearts entered

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

in June 2013, Sutton was made redundant by the club as he refused to accept a pay cut. Following his departure, Sutton explained that he had been told by Hearts that he didn't feature in their future plans, insisting he was no traitor to the club, and admitted joining the club was a mistake in the first place.

Central Coast Mariners (loan)

It was first reported on 26 January, that Australian A-League club

were one of several clubs interested in acquiring Sutton on a loan deal. Other clubs that were believed to also be interested were St Mirren and even Edinburgh rivals Hibernian The Mariners soon entered into discussions with the player, in the hope of securing him on a four-month loan as a replacement for recently departed striker

Matt Simon Matthew Blake Simon (born 22 January 1986) is a retired Australian international football (soccer) player who played as a striker. Simon attended St Edward's College, East Gosford, where he was influenced to play soccer. Simon started his s ...

, and hoping to fill the void left by youth international Bernie Ibini-Isei who was due to join up with the Australian Under-20s. On 31 January 2012, it was announced that the move had been finalised pending international clearance. On 3 February, it was confirmed Sutton had signed a four-month loan deal and would join up with the squad the following week. He made his debut on 18 February, against

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...

in a 2–0 win.

Motherwell (second spell)

After being made redundant by Hearts, Sutton signed for Motherwell for a second time on a two-year contract on 28 June 2013, being handed the number nine shirt. He made his second debut in the first leg of the third qualifying round of the Europa League, in a 2–0 loss against Kuban Krasnodar. Motherwell would be eliminated after Kuban Krasnodar proved to be too strong and failed to win either legs losing 2–0 and 1–0 respectively. Sutton scored in three straight games against Partick Thistle, Kilmarnock and St Mirren. Two weeks later, on 28 September 2013, he scored his first brace of the season, as Motherwell won 2–0 against Ross County and he scored another against Ross County on 14 December 2013, in a 2–1 win for Motherwell. After sixteen goals in twenty league appearances, in March 2014, manager Stuart McCall described Sutton as the key signing of the season. Sutton was involved in the 92nd minute winning goal from Craig Reid in the 1–0 league victory at

on the last day of the 2013–14 league season on 11 May 2014, a victory which seen Motherwell secure second spot for the second season running, leapfrogging Aberdeen in the process. Sutton's first goal of the 2014–15 season was the winner in a 2–1 league win at Ross County on 13 September 2014. He then scored his first goal at

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

in the next match, a 1–1 league draw at Celtic on 21 September 2014. Sutton scored in three consecutive league matches in December 2014, in games against Ross County, St Mirren and Partick Thistle. The latter two strikes gave new Well manager

Ian Baraclough Ian Robert Baraclough (; born 4 December 1970) is an English football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of the Northern Ireland national team. He previously managed the Under-21 team. As a player, he was a defender f ...

back-to-back 1–0 victories in his first two games in charge. He registered two more league goals in January 2015, in a defeat at Dundee, and a home draw with St Johnstone Following the return of

Scott McDonald Scott Douglas McDonald (born 21 August 1983) is an Australian former professional footballer and is the current head coach for National Premier Leagues club Gold Coast Knights. Originally a striker, McDonald could also play as an attacking m ...

, to Motherwell in February 2015, Sutton was forced to settle for a place on the substitutes bench for the remainder of the season, as McDonald regularly partnered Lee Erwin in attack. Sutton, on as a late second-half substitute in both games, scored back-to-back braces in successive home wins against

on 20 March 2015, and St Mirren on 7 April 2015. He converted a penalty in a 2–1 defeat at St Mirren in the penultimate league match, a defeat which consigned Motherwell to the Scottish Premiership play-off spot. The club maintained their Premiership with a 6–1 aggregate victory against Rangers in the play-off, with Sutton converting a late penalty in the second leg home win to round off the scoring in a 3–0 win. He finished the season as top goalscorer at Motherwell again, with 13 goals from 43 appearances.

St Johnstone

Sutton signed a pre-contract agreement with St Johnstone on 15 June 2015. He was due to sign for St Johnstone on 1 July, after his previous contract was due to expire, but Motherwell granted him an early release on 17 June. Sutton scored on his Saints Premiership debut against former club Hearts in a 4–3 defeat for his new club. At the end of the season, he was made available for transfer or loan by St Johnstone.

St Mirren (second spell)

After leaving St Johnstone, Sutton rejoined

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship, known as the cinch Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish Champio ...

side St Mirren in June 2016, signing a two-year deal with the Paisley side. Sutton made his second debut in a

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

group stage win at Livingston on 16 July 2016. He scored his first goal since his return to the club in the Renfrewshire derby against

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...

in a 1–1 home draw on 6 August 2017. Sutton netted four times in total en route to the Challenge Cup final, including registering a very late double against

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is ...

in a 2–1 win in the quarter-finals. He played the full match in the final, but

beat St Mirren 2–1 to win the trophy on 25 March 2017. Sutton scored on his 100th start for St Mirren (across two spells), also against local rivals Greenock Morton in a 4–1 away victory on 11 April 2017. He was released by St Mirren at the end of his contract.

Greenock Morton

On 28 June 2019, Sutton came out of retirement, signing a playing contract with

while continuing in his coaching role with the club.

Coaching career

Greenock Morton U20

After leaving St Mirren, Sutton decided to retire from playing and accepted a coaching position with

. He took caretaker charge of the first team in September 2018, along with Derek Anderson.

Personal life

Sutton is the son of Mike Sutton and the brother of ex- Celtic striker

Chris Sutton Christopher Roy Sutton (born 10 March 1973) is an English former professional football player and manager. He later became a pundit and commentator for BT Sport, regularly working on their coverage of Scottish football. He is now also a pundi ...

. Sutton is married to a

Glaswegian The Glasgow dialect, popularly known as the Glasgow patter or Glaswegian, varies from Scottish English at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum to the local dialect of West Central Scots at the other. Therefore, the speech of many Glaswegia ...

woman and they have twin sons.

Career statistics

Honours

Player

St Mirren *

: 2005–06 *

: 2017–18 * Scottish Challenge Cup: 2005–06; Runners–up 2016–17 *

Renfrewshire Cup The Renfrewshire Cup was an annual association football competition between teams in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The final was generally a Renfrewshire derby contested between the two largest team ...

: 2006–07 Motherwell *

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottis ...

Runners–up: 2013–14 Heart of Midlothian *

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

: Runners–up

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Central Coast Mariners * A-League Premiers: 2011–12

Individual

* Scottish Football League Young Player of the Month: August 2003, November 2005 * Scottish Football League Player of the Month: March 2006 * Scottish Challenge Cup Player of the Round: 5th Round, 2016–17 *

Motherwell FC Motherwell Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Motherwell have not dropped out of the top-flight of Scottish football since 1985, and have lif ...

Top Goalscorer: 2010–11,
2013–14, 2014–15 *

Raith Rovers FC Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife. The club was founded in 1883 and currently competes in the Scottish Championship as a member of the Scottish Professional Football L ...

Top Goalscorer: 2003–04

References

External links

John Sutton profile
at Motherwell FC official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, John 1983 births Living people Footballers from Norwich English footballers Association football forwards Carlisle United F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Raith Rovers F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Dundee F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Motherwell F.C. players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Expatriate soccer players in Australia Central Coast Mariners FC players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Football League players English Football League players A-League Men players Scottish Professional Football League players English expatriate footballers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players England youth international footballers St Johnstone F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. non-playing staff Greenock Morton F.C. players