A series that truly encapsulates how weird and wonderful being a football supporter is. The way the season unravels creates some of the most dramatic moments you will watch in a show, you'll scarcely believe what happens moment to moment. It doesn't matter what team you support, the show will have you cheering alongside the fans, the manager and even the chefs. The best part is how the fans and people of the club are presented, the human aspect to a season of football is something anyone can relate to. Do not miss this show!
54 Reviews
Not A Soccer Fan. A Fan of This Doc
twright-5140225 December 2018
Simply put, this documentary connects you with the management, the players, and most importantly, the die hard fans and community of Sunderland. I grew up in an atmosphere filled with sports. I played. I coached. Passion is the name of the game. This doc is filled with it. You feel the pain. You feel the hurt. You feel the town yearning for success. Thank you Sunderland, for letting me feel your passion. A must watch!
Brilliant!
Sleepin_Dragon24 December 2020
What a brilliant series this is, so interesting for so many reasons, I am a football addict, but I think this series would have appeal to many, not just football fans.
An interesting, and very frank insight into a club that's heading in the wrong direction, in terms of standing, finances and general mood.
I couldn't believe how frank some of the interviews were, it really is very insightful.
I can understand what it's like to see your club heading in the wrong direction. I'm an avid Swansea City fan, and did head to Sunderland many years back to see us win at The Stadium of Light, the noise at the end was incredible, you could hear the frustrations of the fans very, very loudly.
One of the best grounds I've seen, I couldn't believe how friendly the supporters were, lovely people.
An interesting, and very frank insight into a club that's heading in the wrong direction, in terms of standing, finances and general mood.
I couldn't believe how frank some of the interviews were, it really is very insightful.
I can understand what it's like to see your club heading in the wrong direction. I'm an avid Swansea City fan, and did head to Sunderland many years back to see us win at The Stadium of Light, the noise at the end was incredible, you could hear the frustrations of the fans very, very loudly.
One of the best grounds I've seen, I couldn't believe how friendly the supporters were, lovely people.
This Newcastle fan loved it, but not for the reasons I expected to!
freeman-mj22 December 2018
As a fan of local rival team Newcastle, who've had more downs than ups lately, I initially watched this with a bit of anticipation of enjoying seeing our rivals suffer.
But, pretty quickly I began to really sympathise with the staff and fans affected by such an awful season. Even though I knew the end result I found myself rooting for them. Some really good people at the club and I didn't enjoy watching them unhappy, and certainly I feel really bad for anyone who lost their job.
This was a great doc and I watched it all over a couple of days. As soon as it finished I came to check how they've done since the end of the program (pretty well at the time of writing).
I hope they get back up and look forward to the derbies again, so long as we win :)
But, pretty quickly I began to really sympathise with the staff and fans affected by such an awful season. Even though I knew the end result I found myself rooting for them. Some really good people at the club and I didn't enjoy watching them unhappy, and certainly I feel really bad for anyone who lost their job.
This was a great doc and I watched it all over a couple of days. As soon as it finished I came to check how they've done since the end of the program (pretty well at the time of writing).
I hope they get back up and look forward to the derbies again, so long as we win :)
Better than tha Man city one
benjamn-5026618 December 2018
Fantastic series where you truly get to feel the frustrating and hopeless situation sunderland was in as a club. Includes the true working class fans in several interviews etc which truly makes you understand how much a football club could mean for a place like Sunderland
Eye opening.
shaunmartin-8814716 December 2018
The Fall and Rise of SAFC
jamieone27 December 2018
Did not expect to enjoy this as I am a Sunderland supporter and last season was a nightmare. Everything was very enjoyable from the behind the scenes filming to the supporter interaction. The title music was amazing and summoned honour City perfectly, even the title graphics were fab. Well done Netflix.
A must for football fans
chrisgibbon23 December 2018
Wow. A show we football fans can relate to. A team playing poorly, a team frustrating it's fans - and what passionate fans. Far more enjoyable than the man city documentary - what's the fun in a team that wins everything!
You really feel sorry for the passionate supporters - let's hope there is another series which may show this old great club on the rise
10/10
A true insight into the fall of a club
paul-patrick-128 December 2018
Disappointing follow-up
chomp1510 April 2020
The first season was extremely good. Being from the North East and being lucky enough to have a job in football it was never going to be a series I would dislike. It was fantastic entertainment, despite obviously knowing what was going to happen.
The second season popping up on netflix took me by surprise as I wasn't really expecting there to be one. Having just finished watching it I kind of which they hadn't bothered.
It felt short, and yet nothing much happened, so it couldn't really have even been padded out longer. The Will Grigg transfer saga was some very entertaining cringe material. Just textbook what not to do as a club owner at every single turn. I would have loved to see the reactions of the equivalent people at Wigan as it unfolding.
Unfortunately that was pretty much it. The rest of season two was just really boring. And I work on football related stuff every day. Sticking this on at night should be more entertaining than looking at stats and spreadsheets. Sadly it isn't.
I really hope there are no plans for a season 3. Even before the shutdown it would have been a thankless task trying to prise out enough footage to make it watchable.
The second season popping up on netflix took me by surprise as I wasn't really expecting there to be one. Having just finished watching it I kind of which they hadn't bothered.
It felt short, and yet nothing much happened, so it couldn't really have even been padded out longer. The Will Grigg transfer saga was some very entertaining cringe material. Just textbook what not to do as a club owner at every single turn. I would have loved to see the reactions of the equivalent people at Wigan as it unfolding.
Unfortunately that was pretty much it. The rest of season two was just really boring. And I work on football related stuff every day. Sticking this on at night should be more entertaining than looking at stats and spreadsheets. Sadly it isn't.
I really hope there are no plans for a season 3. Even before the shutdown it would have been a thankless task trying to prise out enough footage to make it watchable.
Best doc series on Netflix
petrouin28 December 2018
Football fans who love the game have found a series to watch in a day. The filming is so careful and beautiful, that sometimes you think it's fiction. But this is real football and this series proves why we love it. Just brilliant, hope for second season.
Football behind the smokescreen
Ruskington11 May 2020
There is a dark side to English football, one that is increasingly obscured by the bloated glitz and glamour of the Premier League. This documentary does an excellent job of bringing it to light via the toil and turmoil of Sunderland FC's recent capitulation. You get to see what life is really like for players, staff and supporters as well as a fascinating insight into the local community and their relationship with the club. The second season feels a bit rushed and certainly isn't as compelling as the first, but overall this is still a much-needed depiction of the realities of professional football.
No need to be Sunderland fan
nico-737598 May 2019
I started this série thanks to one friend of mine and it's very quick to watch. We have an intéressant inside view of the club and the way their fans lives their passion.
I dislike the sequences that are used to show fans reactions that are not relative to what's happening on the pitch. I realised that some sequences are showed twice for the different game.
Also for the moment when the player filmed when is drunk is showed at the beginning of the season and at the end...
I understand that it's necessary to romance the whole season but I pay attention to that kind of things.
Hope to be well understood
A truly wonderful positive to take from a negative season.
edbamsafc20 December 2018
Its quite surreal that a brilliantly produced series that has been released as a Netflix Original centres on the worst season in Sunderland AFC's 139 year history. But despite it examining such a dark period for the fans and staff of the club, it somehow encapsulates what the club means to the City perfectly. Great insight into how the club was (at the time) run and the knock on effect the mistakes have on a fanbase that has been made to suffer for many years.
Hopefully a second season charting the clubs 18/19 season is released.
Hopefully a second season charting the clubs 18/19 season is released.
Great heartfelt viewing
craigdadswell28 December 2018
I am impressed
lmo-916-93097130 January 2019
I came into this series with no expectations or personal feelings towards Sunderland AFC. Nevertheless this series are just great. The filming are very beautiful and the reel emotions of fans, players, managers, staff and so on, are so heart-felt that I sat with a tear in my eye multible times. I really, really hoped for a win because I was so drawn by everything in this series. I have nothing more to say than the fact that this series is amazing.
Netflix got it right for once
charlpf23 December 2018
For all the sh** that Netflix churns out, this is actually a pretty good watch. It's not without the classic Netflix over-dramatic editing, but nonetheless a really good insight into Sunderland AFC and their troubles. Any British football fan will enjoy this. I really hope they've continued filming and there will be another season to come
Great scenes for every football fan!
florianambrosch27 December 2018
Simply Amazing
wsmith-5161023 December 2018
Series 1 Very Good Series 2 not so
paulmfcnoone21 May 2020
Really enjoyed Series 1. One of my programmes for a while. Focused on the fans a lot more and very enjoyable. Waiting a long time for series 2 to arrive. And have to say didn't enjoy it that much at all. While series 1 focused a good amount on the fans the 2nd series didn't as much. I still enjoyed it tho. It seemed to focus on Stewart Donald the owner and Charlie Methven
a lot. They seem totally clueless as how to run
a football club. A good show. And most football fans might enjoy this IMO
Excellent fly on the wall documentary
peterkbiu-293-82728129 January 2019
Loved this and the fact it dealt with all staff and fans throughout the club.
A little over edited in places (especially with the crowd and live action) but worth putting a few hours aside especially if you are a fan of the beautiful game.
A little over edited in places (especially with the crowd and live action) but worth putting a few hours aside especially if you are a fan of the beautiful game.
Utterly Appaling
thomasjay-220126 December 2018
As a documentary, series, story whatever you refer to it as this fails fundamentally. The involvement of the team behind it is loose to be quite frank and varies completely upon whether or not they will capture something positive. The filler shots of landscapes are amazingly filmed and the match highlights too are well captured but as for positives that's abiut it, the 'story' elements that are touched upon are left after 10 minutes, see for example the goalkeeper situation, William's injury and mentality issues and the perspectives of those in charge all of which have so much to offer in terms of drama and entertainment and all holding the potential to be very interesting where instead we see only the views of fans and their relationship to the club which is fine but seems to be a back up as the filmmaker's failed to get what they set out to acheive which is footage from inside the club. You get a slight grasp of the community feel to Sunderland but it's put across in a disjointed, fragmented manner where there's no clear line through which connects people. The odd cameo appearance from famous faces such as Jordan Pickford (former goalkeeper) and the likes of Jim White (TV Host) as Talking heads are a let down, offering no real insight and the latter popping up for expositional purposes only which seems unnecessary given the desired audience of football fans. As for the cast, the average Sunderland resident has more to offer than any of the staff or the majority of the players and our viewfinder Martin Bain feels like Mark Strong in method acting practice for some kind of Batman/Bruce Wayne dual role, constantly over serious, dramatic yet ultimately shallow. The end is quite positive although feels very, very strange given that it oddly feels like bait for a second season yet could also be a perfectly concise ending. Perhaps naively this was released too early and possibly should still be in production covering the recovery step which has been the 2018/19 season Sunderland AFC are currently enduring down in League One before a final release where a full cohesive and impactful story could've been portrayed. On the whole this Netflix original tried to redefine the sports documentary and failed, possibly due to certain circumstances, however if you truly are after some kind of insightful or interesting series in the world of football there's always 'First Team: Juventus' in the platform which has an objectively higher quality and offers a unique look into the top echelon of Football Clubs
Joy, tears and all between
MankiBoi18 February 2024
Well, I just finished last episode (S03E03) and tears were rolling down my face - highest highs and lowest lows make this documentary one of the best sport documentaries there is.
You follow the whole team and the fans, you get to know them up and close - like in a good movie where you invest in the characters but this time those are real people with real emotions.
Seeing those people suffer and then ultimately rejoice in their following of Sunderland FC is really an eye-opening experience. It also makes you think that football is even larger than life - football is life. And everything stems from it and into it. Watch it and watch it now.
You follow the whole team and the fans, you get to know them up and close - like in a good movie where you invest in the characters but this time those are real people with real emotions.
Seeing those people suffer and then ultimately rejoice in their following of Sunderland FC is really an eye-opening experience. It also makes you think that football is even larger than life - football is life. And everything stems from it and into it. Watch it and watch it now.
Insights into club, fans and football
keirwhipp29 December 2018
This brilliant docuseries highlights stark juxtapositions between a failing club against unfailingly passionate fans, whose club is the heart of their community. It also highlights the juxtaposition between players entrenched in a sense of professional entitlement against players who would sacrifice everything for the shirt.
Every aspiring leaders playbook as to how NOT to run an organisation
graham_c_read15 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This is a fascinating documentary and certainly not just for football fans.
We get to see every facet of the organisation, and it quickly becomes apparent that many areas are either poorly managed, or not at all. I knew I would be witnessing a car crash, but what surprised me was how predicatable it all was.
We witness a scouting team looking for players well beyond the budget of the club, the CEO sardonically highlights this to the recruitment team and it seems as if there is no common vision. It's agreed early on that they will lean on the youth team, but then as transfer deadline approachs, several players are brought in on what appears to be panic measures. Panic leads and strategy is put to one side.
Former star players inform the CEO they aren't interested, and yet there is no disciplinary action. We see the head coach giving a presentation to the team, written in red pen on a flip chart. Players are obviously bored. None speak up, there's no passion in the dressing room it seems. Another player is caught on camera, completely pissed, slagging off his team mates, and there is no management action. It's clear Grayson is weak and out of his depth.
During a meetings with sponsors, the manager, coach and team captain are eviscerated about performance on the pitch, and are unable to define the vision of the club moving forward, nevermind to do it in a convincing way. It's astonishing that we are with an organisation managing a budget of 60-120M and yet only the CEO is able to conduct himself with any professionalism.
This you see time and again, 'we hope it will be ok'. Defeatism seems to quickly take route.
In summary, this is a great example of what happens to an organisation when there is weak leadership and limited management structure. Someone should write a book :)
We get to see every facet of the organisation, and it quickly becomes apparent that many areas are either poorly managed, or not at all. I knew I would be witnessing a car crash, but what surprised me was how predicatable it all was.
We witness a scouting team looking for players well beyond the budget of the club, the CEO sardonically highlights this to the recruitment team and it seems as if there is no common vision. It's agreed early on that they will lean on the youth team, but then as transfer deadline approachs, several players are brought in on what appears to be panic measures. Panic leads and strategy is put to one side.
Former star players inform the CEO they aren't interested, and yet there is no disciplinary action. We see the head coach giving a presentation to the team, written in red pen on a flip chart. Players are obviously bored. None speak up, there's no passion in the dressing room it seems. Another player is caught on camera, completely pissed, slagging off his team mates, and there is no management action. It's clear Grayson is weak and out of his depth.
During a meetings with sponsors, the manager, coach and team captain are eviscerated about performance on the pitch, and are unable to define the vision of the club moving forward, nevermind to do it in a convincing way. It's astonishing that we are with an organisation managing a budget of 60-120M and yet only the CEO is able to conduct himself with any professionalism.
This you see time and again, 'we hope it will be ok'. Defeatism seems to quickly take route.
In summary, this is a great example of what happens to an organisation when there is weak leadership and limited management structure. Someone should write a book :)
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
