Sunderland 'Til I Die Series 2 Review - 7 Ups & 5 Downs

3. Sympathy For The Devil

Charlie Methven's background in journalism made him sort of perfect for a documentary about something crumbling around him, not least because he spent the first portion of it doing what most executives do - burying the prior administration.

Anybody that has ever worked through any sort of takeover will recognise the principles. New boss digs out everything that came before them to underlings that had absolutely no say in the processes they were forced to follow by the old boss. Then unleashes brand new processes on those same underlings and expects them to fall in line or f*ck off despite the huge emotional upheaval such a thing has on somebody that can't afford a different pair of burgundy trousers every day or the nicest rented accommodation in the entire North East.

The documentary went looking for relatable empathy in the houses of downtrodden supporters but failed to afford club administrative staff the same. This eventually made for the most significant scene of the entire series (and more on that in the Ups), but the deaf ears the documentary gave marketing staffer Sophie Ashcroft when she discussed keeping her young children happy versus the relentless shots of Stewart Donald frowning in his Oxfordshire country mansion was dispiriting.