How did this Stewart Donald buy Sunderland for so cheap? I’m seeing his net worth is “only” £8.4 million too...
Sunderland ‘Til I Die | Season 3 on Netflix on 13th February
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) look forward to a new life under Ruben Amorim. What system will we be playing? What players will impress? and how will it all go? We also say goodbye to Ruud Van Nistelrooy and review United's 3-0 win at home against Leicester City.
Stewart Donald seem way out on this. Way to much involved in the fotballing side of things. The radio-interview in the series... He's sitting there and talking about tactics and players..
Sunderland will be stuck down there as long as he's the owner. Unless he steps back and let people with a clue about the sport run it
Sunderland will be stuck down there as long as he's the owner. Unless he steps back and let people with a clue about the sport run it
He’s been trying to sell for months.
This scene
Can see Woodward suggesting stuff like this, this boy is the budget version of Ed.
Season 1 was far better because this one seems like a vast PR stunt for the new owners.
Also Charlie is a complete tit, out of his depth.
Also Charlie is a complete tit, out of his depth.
Imagine they'd have been promoted had they not sold Maja in January who scored 15 goals in 24 games, and spent 3x as much on Grigg who scored 4 in 18.
Still interesting to watch, even if the whole season was hijacked by the chairman and Methven. I imagine it's a lot closer to the way Matt Judge and Ed Woodward run United than any of us would care to know.
I'd not followed up on anything regarding Sunderland since the end of the first season (except Lynden Gooch, who I get occasional news on from various US sources), so I was surprised to see Josh Maja kick on from his debut to essentially looking like a lower league god in the first half the season. Had no idea he'd gone to Bordeaux and played for Nigeria, which is a pretty impressive rise.
Not sure why Luke O'Nien is seemingly the only player aside from Aiden McGeady they bothered talking to or focusing on. Bit random.
I'd not followed up on anything regarding Sunderland since the end of the first season (except Lynden Gooch, who I get occasional news on from various US sources), so I was surprised to see Josh Maja kick on from his debut to essentially looking like a lower league god in the first half the season. Had no idea he'd gone to Bordeaux and played for Nigeria, which is a pretty impressive rise.
Not sure why Luke O'Nien is seemingly the only player aside from Aiden McGeady they bothered talking to or focusing on. Bit random.
Not all of them would want to be on it and my guess is that some of those players aren't really interesting. Footballers for the most part aren't interesting. All they do is train and think about the next match. With O'Nien you've got a younger player making a step up with stars in his eyes for League 1 Sunderland and McGeady brought a perspective that probably he only could. Just look at the interviews with Maja. Dicking the club around for months and he says nothing but "talk to the hand". These guys aren't what's interesting, it's not what the show is about. Similar to the F1 show you're watching the scene that you normally have no insight to. To me this was definitely the most interesting way to do it.
For those that think Stewart is doing a bad job, there's not really a comparison of what's a good job is there? Comparisons with Woodward are apt. Doing well on the commercial side, swimming in muddy waters when it comes to signing players or dealing with contracts. He did say there's nothing like this and he's probably right. Hollywood might be the only decent comparison. God what a bunch of cnuts agents are, aren't they?
*SPOILERS*
The scene in the finale where they have just lost the playoff final and the woman says "Why is it never us celebrating?" was so genuine and heartbreaking.
STID does remain to be one of the best football best documentaries currently going on. Hoping for more seasons and spin offs as well. In comparison. the Amazon 'All or Nothing' Man City series was so biased and unoriginal in its treatment.
The scene in the finale where they have just lost the playoff final and the woman says "Why is it never us celebrating?" was so genuine and heartbreaking.
STID does remain to be one of the best football best documentaries currently going on. Hoping for more seasons and spin offs as well. In comparison. the Amazon 'All or Nothing' Man City series was so biased and unoriginal in its treatment.
Just binged both seasons. Found it to be great watch, and gives very good insight on the workings of a club.
The scenes at the end were so sad, though the look on Charlies face when he is told about the PA system is like something out of The Office :lol;
The scenes at the end were so sad, though the look on Charlies face when he is told about the PA system is like something out of The Office :lol;
Seen a couple posts saying similar. How does this show them in a good light though? They seem so clueless and out of their depth. Liked the first season and this one too.
Really puts things into perspective when seeing transfers being haggled over a million quid.
Btw, who’s the Italian looking dude who sits in the owners box? Him giggling when Sunderland fans singing they were the best club in Europe
That's Juan Sartori, he's Uruguayan I think. He has a 20% stake in the club.Seen a couple posts saying similar. How does this show them in a good light though? They seem so clueless and out of their depth. Liked the first season and this one too.
Really puts things into perspective when seeing transfers being haggled over a million quid.
Btw, who’s the Italian looking dude who sits in the owners box? Him giggling when Sunderland fans singing they were the best club in Europe
I watched the second series and I agree with others that it is less compelling viewing than the first series. I think it’s a combination of the club, after back to back relegations, collectively being less deluded about their current status, as well as the absence of divisive figures like Gibson, Rodwell and Bain. The new owners come across as essentially well-meaning, if out of their depth and a bit cringeworthy at times.
You know there was a deleted scene after the signed Grigg of Charlie dancing around to "Will Griggs On FIre" and everyone just cringing too much they had to cut it.
Feck, gotta feel for those Sunderland fans. What a brutal way to end the season.
Anyone who watches Sunderland, if they kept Maja by paying his agent the fees he was seeking, would they have earned promotion? If that's the case, surely they should have caved to the agent's demands rather than ponying up £3 million for Grigg?
Anyone who watches Sunderland, if they kept Maja by paying his agent the fees he was seeking, would they have earned promotion? If that's the case, surely they should have caved to the agent's demands rather than ponying up £3 million for Grigg?
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Stewart Donald sounds exactly like Brent. Same accent. Methven reminds me of the recent BBC Dracula bloke.
Started watching Season 1 again after finishing Season 2. Still kinda shocking how it could all go wrong so quickly once getting relegated. There were plenty of PL experienced players on that team. Starting the pre-season losing to Celtic 5-0 was a clear sign of things to come. Really feel bad for O'Shea. 
The drop in quality within the club (in all areas - staff to players) from when they were in the championship to league one is a real eye opener. Also noticed many of the same fans and staff in both seasons.
Anyone know what that opening theme song is? Tried using Shazam and it didn't return a result. Perfect song for this series.
The drop in quality within the club (in all areas - staff to players) from when they were in the championship to league one is a real eye opener. Also noticed many of the same fans and staff in both seasons.
Anyone know what that opening theme song is? Tried using Shazam and it didn't return a result. Perfect song for this series.
Just finished S2 there. Did Donald and Charlie fall out half way through the season? After the first few episodes you never see the two of them together in the same place.
At times it feels like they can't possibly deserve such consistent misery - but then you remember them celebrating misery in 2012 and smile to yourself at the just desserts. They've had little else ever since.
At times it feels like they can't possibly deserve such consistent misery - but then you remember them celebrating misery in 2012 and smile to yourself at the just desserts. They've had little else ever since.
Started watching Season 1 again after finishing Season 2. Still kinda shocking how it could all go wrong so quickly once getting relegated. There were plenty of PL experienced players on that team. Starting the pre-season losing to Celtic 5-0 was a clear sign of things to come. Really feel bad for O'Shea.
The drop in quality within the club (in all areas - staff to players) from when they were in the championship to league one is a real eye opener. Also noticed many of the same fans and staff in both seasons.
Anyone know what that opening theme song is? Tried using Shazam and it didn't return a result. Perfect song for this series.
Cheers mate.
As for 2012, I can't really fault them. Any other club's supporters would have done the same, wouldn't they? Just seemed like pouring salt in the wounds as there was so much confusion going on in the stadium at the time.
On another note, on their list of potential loan targets from season 1, they had McTominay
I'm just starting the first season, and it's so difficult to watch knowing it's headed towards a disaster.
Same here. The focus moved to how valiantly Donald and Methven were trying in the face of insurmountable odds, despite them coming across like David Brent and Tim-nice-but-dim.
Enjoyed watching the real Brexit FC fail though.
Here’s something that may help with that regard, lad:
Look at the unbridled joy in that stadium when City’s victory is confirmed. The absolute glee. The pricks deserve everything that has come their way since and please God, there’s even more misery to come.
Look at how cruel their taunts were to our players as they trudged off the field after losing a title only thirty seconds before. They are a disgrace.
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It said they turned the club from haemorrhaging over 20m a season to breaking even within 1 year. I'm not sure how that constitutes them being out of their depth and clueless.
Exactly. fecking very smart businessmen to cut costs and yet still have them challenging. People here are such wankers who think they are experts from a bit of googling. Armchair wankers who have done feck all in there own lives.
I'm so fecking happy that Cattermole missed that crucial Wembley penalty though. Such a prick.
Yeah I thought Charlie Methven, whilst clearly an absolutely colossal arsehole of the highest order, seemed very competent. Even that clip above which has earned him some mockery stemmed from a pretty sensible position of trying to create an atmosphere at their stadium. Walking out to the apprentice music might not have been the reason they were losing (and he never claims it was), but I agree with him that it didn't get anyone excited.
Obviously you can't tell how it has been edited, but I thought the complaints about how little people in the management side of the club were offering seemed well supported to.
It'd be great if someone produced an Office-style mockumentary based on a football club. Some scenes in S2 came close to that, especially the entrance music scene
Exactly my thoughts after the first two episodes. Some of that stuff Methven serves is pure gold, it's like actually watching David Brent. Jesus Christ.It'd be great if someone produced an Office-style mockumentary based on a football club. Some scenes in S2 came close to that, especially the entrance music scene
It's been a while since I saw the first season, but I recall it had a way heavier focus on the fans, staff and players. This one is very focused on the owner and Methven, and to a certain extent the coach and the striker saga. It's at least a couple of notches down quality and enjoyment wise for me.
As for the club I don't understand how they're going to survive the salary budget they're talking about in season 2.
It begs the question then, a) why were the fanbase pissed with them; and b) why, in the face of that pressure from the fans, are they looking to sell the club?
If they are good businessmen, and knew what they were doing, surely they'd have kept a hold of the club, with the promise of bigger and better things to come? This isn't a manager being under pressure here, it's the fecking ownership. Surely they held the keys and wouldn't have disengaged? Especially since they're not actually that far away from promotion, and their potential as a club in mind?
Since when are you looking at the fan base for evaluating finances? 99% of those lots wouldn’t have a fecking clue what a financial statement even looks like. How the feck does fans being pissed (when are mackems not pissed) have any bearing on the financial steps they made?
They are looking to sell the club because the plan was always to find other investors. They don’t have any money to financially support a club. The mission was to fix up the clubs internal finances and then seek other investors or buyers to take it from there. They’ve come in and within a season turned around the complete shitshow that was going on and has them breaking even after losing over 20m a season with a completely bonkers wage bill.
And the manager is under pressure, the manager in the series isn’t the manager now and was publicly criticized too.
If they were clueless and inept they wouldn’t have saved the club from the brink of financial ruin.
I'm not talking about the fanbase being the barometer of the owners' success, I'm talking about it in respect of the owners' perceived lack of conviction.
You answered my question in the second paragraph, which puts their actions in the appropriate context, because I thought that they were in it for the long haul, and that was the impression that I had from their public proclamations.
And re the point of the manager, I think you've again misconstrued what I was saying. I was saying that they aren't managers to have succumbed to fan pressure. They were the bosses and should have been able to withstand it. But, if your second paragraph is true, then it makes sense why they did what they did.
It'd be great if someone produced an Office-style mockumentary based on a football club. Some scenes in S2 came close to that, especially the entrance music scene
I thought that Charlie bloke actually knew what he was doing. Yeah there was loads of corporate bullshit chucked about for the cameras but he did achieve what he set out to achieve - record league one crowd/better match day atmosphere etc....
Stewart Donald on the other hand....seemed a lovely bloke but miles out of his depth. I often wonder how people like him become wealthy. Every decision he made was based on emotion. Heart ruling head. Seemed a bag of nerves. Constantly being pulled in two different directions. Knowledge of football very limited and seemed desperate to be liked.
I didn’t think Season 2 was as good as Season 1 personally, as another poster pointed out it was a shame they didn’t spend as much time talking to the players.
Stewart Donald on the other hand....seemed a lovely bloke but miles out of his depth. I often wonder how people like him become wealthy. Every decision he made was based on emotion. Heart ruling head. Seemed a bag of nerves. Constantly being pulled in two different directions. Knowledge of football very limited and seemed desperate to be liked.
I didn’t think Season 2 was as good as Season 1 personally, as another poster pointed out it was a shame they didn’t spend as much time talking to the players.
They’re currently 7th in league 1 having played 1 or more games than the teams above them. Shite aren’t they.
They spent zero in the summer (free transfers) whilst losing some of their key players in Honeyman and McGeady and a few others, if they dont go up this season they’re probably fecked.
They spent zero in the summer (free transfers) whilst losing some of their key players in Honeyman and McGeady and a few others, if they dont go up this season they’re probably fecked.
They'll get up eventually.
Sheffield united went down to league 1 in 2011 and didn't get promoted until 2017, had many failed play off seasons.
Sunderland probably the sort of club who'll quickly get back to premier league once they get winning feeling going. Stadium of Light one of my favourite grounds in England to visit aswell.