10 Best Football Documentaries Of All Time
2. Sunderland 'Til I Die
Sunderland 'Til I Die managed to achieve the impossible: it made a Black Cats ally out of this Middlesbrough-supporting writer. Produced by ardent fans Fulwell 73, the Netflix series was initially conceived as a puff piece with club owner Ellis Short's approval, in a bid to attract potential buyers. Fly-on-the-wall quickly deteriorates into fly-on-the-sh*t, as an expected single season in the Championship actually becomes one - of the wrong kind.
As Sunderland lurch towards an unimaginable relegation to English football's third tier, the toxic mismanagement of the club is made startling apparent. Just as much as executive Martin Bain, with his Brentian scheming and ludicrous indulgences, is the piece's natural villain, the club's fans are its undeniable heroes. The importance of the team to a local area struggling after years of pernicious cuts and dying industry dispels the myth of the overly-passionate and laughably simple North East football supporter. It's a tie that binds all the teams of the region - even if historical rivalries so often hide the fact.
Season 2 is not quite as fascinating, but worth a watch for the rouge trousers and Ibiza tunes of Bain's successor, Charlie Methven.