Sunderland ‘Til I Die: Brilliant documentary of a struggling massive club

I’m not a Sunderland AFC fan. Yes, I watched their games sometimes--only if they were playing against Liverpool. I do admire Kevin Philips and Niall Quinn, one of the best duo in the football field. Kevin Phillips himself was the Premier League top scorer in the 1999–2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland.

But that was the story of past decades. In the recent years, Sunderland is struggling at the lower league division. And that is what ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’ try to capture. How this great club with amazing history, awesome stadium with all that training facilities, and super loyal fans, struggled in the bottom of the league table.

The documentary was produced by Fulwell 73, a company owned by Sunderland fans. I’ve read somewhere that Fulwell 73 initiated to buy ownership of the club. But I don’t know much about it.

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The Struggle and The Optimism

The documentary series begins with the scene inside a church. A local padre is praying to God to grant the club’s players “self-belief and a spirit of confidence because the success of our team leads to the success and prosperity of our city”. The next scene, we see a rather sad situation. Fans were angry because the club is keep losing. We can hear them singing the chant “You’re not fit to wear the shirt.”

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We then learn a little bit about Sunderland history as a city, as a big club, as well as a community.

“Everybody in Sunderland has got a relation who’s either worked in the shipyards or worked in the pits, everybody,” says Peter Farrer, “And unfortunately those jobs have gone. Not many people have had it easy in Sunderland. It is a hard place.”

Peter Farrer is a loyal Sunderland supporter. He is one of the first recurring characters of this series. From him, we will hear a lot about his hope for Sunderland to be back to Premier League.

The opening credits performed by the local band the Lake Poets, harks back to the city’s industrial past. It’s a great song choice for a soundtrack. Definitely relate to the theme of the series.

The first three episodes of the series telling us the story when Simon Grayson was appointed as Sunderland manager. He works closely with Martin Bain, the Chief Executive, while Elis Short, the owner was totally absent from the club. At first the fans were supporting Grayson. The club morale was high. Everyone has this optimistic views of the club’s future. But Bain was something else. He looks off, most probably because the club was losing money fast.

On the first trial game Sunderland was beaten badly by Glasgow Celtic. 5 goals for nothing. But no one is blaming the manager. According to the supporters, it was the players who didn’t give their best for the club.

The bad luck continuous. To the point that Simon Grayson was sacked because as Martin Bain putted it, “it’s a bussines based on result.” Oh, yeah, it will be so easy for us to dislike Bain character, he is that guy with meaningless business rhetorics. Somehow he draws a great contrast to the community which full of working class.

Throughout the early episodes most probably it would be easy for us to judge that both Martin Bain and Simon Grayson were somehow incompetent for their jobs. But that would be unfair judgement because the situation was hard. The financial problem was real. They couldn't get the ideal players they need.

Simon Grayson was replaced by The Welshman, Chris Coleman. His presences was significant and positive. People adore him for he has this warm chemistry, and he delivers a good spirit and motivation to the team.

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The anticipations for Coleman's managerial skill were high. Many supporters stated their hope that finally Sunderland is on a capable hand. There was a scene where a local butchery will provide a new type of Sausage, to celebrate Coleman's arrival. Pretty touching. The people were so honest and absolutely love the club with all their hearts.

Well, it didn't last long. Because then the poor results keep coming. Losing after losing. Bad defense, poor attacker. Players loose their confidence in the pitch. It was sad to watch. Did I told you that I'm no Sunderland fan? But I could relate to their anger and frustration.

There is one game where they finally won. "It feels like we've just beat Barcelona!" a supporter said, he looks so happy. And so does everybody.

"Could it be a turning point for Sunderland?" ask the TV commentator.

The answer is no. Their performance is worsen to the point that they will relegated to the lower division. This is a total nightmare for the supporter.

There are many memorable moment captured by this documentary. For me, one of the most memorable moment is the scene where Chris Coleman getting called a “prick” by a fan after Sunderland’s relegation was confirmed.

Supporter: How do you feel?
Coleman: I feel responsible.
Supporter: You haven't got a fucking clue, mate.
Coleman: Okay. You don't know me very well.
Supporter: Bullshit. Fucking prick.
Coleman: You calling me a prick? I'm a married man with six kids.

The confrontation almost got to a physical one. If only there were no people to calm them out. That was intense.

But as a good documentary, the series also offering you many uplifting moments. That moment where people showing their love. The moment where the club's staff are so dedicated to what they're doing. And of course, as a sport documentary, the best moment would be about the players showing great athleticism and professionalism.

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I love the moment when Ashley Fletcher finally scores after 9 games. Lee Cattermole shouted to the fans to support a player whose confidence can easily dip. "Fucking here, here!" shouted Cattermole, his finger was pointed out to Fletcher, "Get behind him, come on!"

I also love the moment where Jonny Williams come off the bench to score against Middlesbrough after a period out injured due to a dislocated shoulder. Jonny Williams is a character that you will easily rooted for in this series. In episode six, he shows just how strong character he really is. He speaks about his injuries, how he struggled mentally.

"The emotions I go through, some days I'm so down thinking my season is over," says Williams.

That goal against Middlesbrough was really important for him. Feels uplifting.

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Aside from the story and characters, what makes this documentary so good would be the production level. The shoots were beautiful , the post-production, the color grading, all looks great. Being commissioned by Netflix, looks like this documentary has met the highest industry standard.

I heard that they will do a 2nd season for this series. I don't know what to expect. Seems like the 1st season would be a hard one to surpass.

You can watch Sunderland ‘Til I Die on Netflix.

Here is the trailer: