Sunderland 'Til I Die Series 2 Review - 7 Ups & 5 Downs
4. Just Joshing
Much of the first half of the second series pivoted around if Josh Maja would stay or go in the January transfer window having proved himself an integral part of a potential promotion that appeared more vital with every passing week.
More on the deadline day drama later, but the unfocussed profiling of Maja during this period forced introspection on what exactly the documentary makers were trying to achieve with it.
Then just 19 years old and staring down the possibility of mammoth money for a move away, Maja is dragged in front of the camera to be vilified mere seconds after an exasperated Stewart Donald and his team confirm that he'll only communicate through his agent. Was a different answer expected here, or was the intention just to get that painfully awkward lingering shot of his fake smile and shifting hand movements?
Faced with an opportunity to punch upwards towards a game in desperate need of it, the show instead elected to manipulate viewers into despising a pawn rather than a king.
It was a running theme...