Just watched this. Agree with comments that this is nowhere near as good as season one (as much as the ending was amazing for us).
My biggest criticism is summed up by the opening few minutes - it felt like they’d hired actors. The new guy explaining the current situation to a group of employees felt entirely staged. It played out like an episode of The Office. And all the inserts were shots of kid playing in slow motion. There was nothing real about it.
I went into this looking for ideas to shamelessly rip off for my own doc, and came away thinking, there’s plenty in there I want to avoid. So much was forced, particularly from the supporters they focus on. It felt to me like the only truly natural moment was ‘why is it never us celebrating?’
As @Valley11 said, they seemed to lack stories in their rushes. Which is insane given the nature of their season.
Finally watched episode 6 last night, I'd been saving it :-) My guess is, they had the stories, but Sunderland, especially Methven, said no. Remember the delay in it actually appearing?
Compared with the first season there is very little narrative around the players. Only 6 episodes rather than the 8 of the first season, and seemingly quite a variation in running time of individual episodes. Suggests to me a bit of a butchering.
The Checkatrade really shafted them in the end. Everyone, club and fans, mugged off by that stupid competition.
I thought that in the limited time they caught the key narratives of our side, but you had to know them, the average viewer wouldn't pick up. There was no v/o to remind people when Jonny Williams came on that he had been a "star" of series 1, but it is seen that he came on and started to swing it our way, whereas McGeady came on and basically fluffed it. And there is the delicious slo-mo of Josh's match-winning cross. That was worth a month's subscription on its own :-)
Haven’t finished it yet but I thought the stuff with Sophie the marketing woman was extremely poorly handled. I’m a TV producer who has made several documentaries over the years and the way this was edited, and the focus on her as a dud, insolent employee, was appalling.
Remember this is a single mum who presumably lives in the area and will be looking for another job, not a £50k a week footballer (Maja) that the series should be about. It feels like it was cut like this because the source material was so thin.
This and the Tiger King, where Carole Baskin claims the show was edited to sex up the ‘she killed her husband’ allegations, is not showing Netflix in a great light. Yes give film makers freedom but Netflix has a responsibility to hold those film makers to account before broadcast.
Couldn't agree more re Sophie. Her sacking was clearly a tactical decision by that enormous wanker Methvin to make a point to other staff. In the scene before staff are saying goodbye to her in the car park he is bawling her out because the ticket office staff haven't yet got the attendance for the Boxing day game which is still in play. Still, you could see from the expression on her face that she hated every minute working for that odious arse.
Just binge-watched the second series and I am livid about that arsehole. "I'm the visionary, it's the Marketing team's job to make my vision reality." "Someone get me a beer." "For once I think I might not have got it right, yet." "Of every club I've ever supported...." Demanding staff make calls on his behalf and he tells them what to say - can't he pick the phone up himself? Why did no-one punch him hard in the face during the making of this film?
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Shout out for Andrew Camiss, the former soldier and devoted fan and family man and for Father Marc Lyden-Smith whose sermons about the club and his connection to the community were so admirable.
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Maja and/or his agent didn’t choose to leave - Sunderland chose to sell him.
Just watched this. Agree with comments that this is nowhere near as good as season one (as much as the ending was amazing for us).
My biggest criticism is summed up by the opening few minutes - it felt like they’d hired actors. The new guy explaining the current situation to a group of employees felt entirely staged. It played out like an episode of The Office. And all the inserts were shots of kid playing in slow motion. There was nothing real about it.
I went into this looking for ideas to shamelessly rip off for my own doc, and came away thinking, there’s plenty in there I want to avoid. So much was forced, particularly from the supporters they focus on. It felt to me like the only truly natural moment was ‘why is it never us celebrating?’
As @Valley11 said, they seemed to lack stories in their rushes. Which is insane given the nature of their season.
Finally watched episode 6 last night, I'd been saving it :-) My guess is, they had the stories, but Sunderland, especially Methven, said no. Remember the delay in it actually appearing?
Compared with the first season there is very little narrative around the players. Only 6 episodes rather than the 8 of the first season, and seemingly quite a variation in running time of individual episodes. Suggests to me a bit of a butchering.
The Checkatrade really shafted them in the end. Everyone, club and fans, mugged off by that stupid competition.
I thought that in the limited time they caught the key narratives of our side, but you had to know them, the average viewer wouldn't pick up. There was no v/o to remind people when Jonny Williams came on that he had been a "star" of series 1, but it is seen that he came on and started to swing it our way, whereas McGeady came on and basically fluffed it. And there is the delicious slo-mo of Josh's match-winning cross. That was worth a month's subscription on its own :-)
Yes that’s a good point on the lack of player arcs. And you have to be a football fan to pick up on the more interesting football sub plots. The crew didn’t have as much access as they needed, changing room stuff especially.
What I find a bit disingenuous is how they avoid a voice over but use - very often fake - commentary to explain what’s going on. If not that, then the chosen fans who say precisely what the production team need them to say. I’d rather they just used a V/O, although I accept a wider audience probably wouldn’t notice this a great deal. It’s just that so much of the presentation is fake.
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Maja and/or his agent didn’t choose to leave - Sunderland chose to sell him.
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Maja and/or his agent didn’t choose to leave - Sunderland chose to sell him.
How do you get to that conclusion?
His contract was to the end of the season, rather than let him go on a free, they took a reduced transfer fee, as he went aboard.
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Maja and/or his agent didn’t choose to leave - Sunderland chose to sell him.
How do you get to that conclusion?
His contract was to the end of the season, rather than let him go on a free, they took a reduced transfer fee, as he went aboard.
But were they not shown trying to offer him a new contract?
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Maja and/or his agent didn’t choose to leave - Sunderland chose to sell him.
How do you get to that conclusion?
His contract was to the end of the season, rather than let him go on a free, they took a reduced transfer fee, as he went aboard.
But were they not shown trying to offer him a new contract?
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Maja and/or his agent didn’t choose to leave - Sunderland chose to sell him.
Not how it came across. The Agent was being deliberately obstructive and had form for moving players abroad where the Agent picks up a huge bonus. If they sold him it was because they would have got zip I six months but with hindsight that's what they should have done.
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Maja and/or his agent didn’t choose to leave - Sunderland chose to sell him.
Not how it came across. The Agent was being deliberately obstructive and had form for moving players abroad where the Agent picks up a huge bonus. If they sold him it was because they would have got zip I six months but with hindsight that's what they should have done.
I understand that it is the same agent for Joe Aribo and for each transfer the agent picked up £1million for his troubles.
Sky Sports transfer news stated that one or more of the Sunday papers were reporting that West Ham and Palace had been alerted to a potential return to England by Maja. Looks like his agent's been busy.
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Maja and/or his agent didn’t choose to leave - Sunderland chose to sell him.
How do you get to that conclusion?
Because if Sunderland hadn’t chosen to sell him he couldn’t have signed for Bordeaux in January - simple conclusion really. Obviously it would have meant losing him for nothing in the summer, as it was they ended up even worse off than that as they were £1.5M down (£1.5M in for Maja and £3M out on Grigg), a much worse team and blowing promotion.
The documentary completely glossed over Sunderland accepting an offer for Maja - which is the most significant thing that happened all season - and made it out like he just turned up in Bordeaux and signed for them without Sunderland’s knowledge.
Have to say our play-off winning side looked so much better than what we have now. Nearly wept when I saw Aribo do one of his jerky turns on the ball and Bielik and BFG in full flow.
I think we all knew then we were witnessing a final high. That's why it felt so good.
Haven’t finished it yet but I thought the stuff with Sophie the marketing woman was extremely poorly handled. I’m a TV producer who has made several documentaries over the years and the way this was edited, and the focus on her as a dud, insolent employee, was appalling.
Remember this is a single mum who presumably lives in the area and will be looking for another job, not a £50k a week footballer (Maja) that the series should be about. It feels like it was cut like this because the source material was so thin.
This and the Tiger King, where Carole Baskin claims the show was edited to sex up the ‘she killed her husband’ allegations, is not showing Netflix in a great light. Yes give film makers freedom but Netflix has a responsibility to hold those film makers to account before broadcast.
Can we be careful dropping spoilers of shows into random threads. Some people (like myself) haven't watched Tiger King yet. Can use the spoiler tool above.
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Maja and/or his agent didn’t choose to leave - Sunderland chose to sell him.
How do you get to that conclusion?
Because if Sunderland hadn’t chosen to sell him he couldn’t have signed for Bordeaux in January - simple conclusion really. Obviously it would have meant losing him for nothing in the summer, as it was they ended up even worse off than that as they were £1.5M down (£1.5M in for Maja and £3M out on Grigg), a much worse team and blowing promotion.
The documentary completely glossed over Sunderland accepting an offer for Maja - which is the most significant thing that happened all season - and made it out like he just turned up in Bordeaux and signed for them without Sunderland’s knowledge.
Well I agree (with several people here) that the way the prog. dealt with this left far too many questions unanswered, but "choosing to sell him" is surely a bit harsh, based on all we know. RD "chose" to sell Grant to Huddersfield. I don't think you can find a chairman as far removed from RD as Donald. Unlike RD (re Aribo and Taylor, as well as Grant), they tried to offer Maja a new contract. It probably would be asking too much for the programme to explore the figures, but it could have asked Maja more about why he was moving, and especially why to Bordeaux. "Do you speak French, Josh? Won't you miss family and friends?" etc. And now we learn he might be returning to England after just a few months. As usual the real culprit -the agent - evades all public scrutiny. That is one thing all those scumbags are good at, knowing how to operate completely in the shadows.
That’s quite funny. I didn’t know they did humour at the Guardian
That cartoonist is David Squires, an English ex-pat/Australian Swindon fan. Every Tuesday he does a good take on the weekend's premiership action in a series of panels usually with a topical theme running thrugh them.
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Maja and/or his agent didn’t choose to leave - Sunderland chose to sell him.
Not how it came across. The Agent was being deliberately obstructive and had form for moving players abroad where the Agent picks up a huge bonus. If they sold him it was because they would have got zip I six months but with hindsight that's what they should have done.
I understand that it is the same agent for Joe Aribo and for each transfer the agent picked up £1million for his troubles.
Earlier on in the series one of the Sunderland guys even says his main fear is that Maja's agent has a history of moving his young players abroad so the transfer fee is less and he therefore gets a bigger cut of the deal.
One thing is clear though, Sunderland letting him go in January definitely cost them promotion. I personally think they'd have won the league comfortably if he'd stayed.
Madness how much the owner let himself get shafted on deadline day for Grigg. From a final 1.25m offer the day before to ending up paying 3m plus 1m in add ons.
For those having a crack at young Maja ask yourself what you would do in his position....commit your future to the hands of a pair of dodgy chancers or cash out and get a great move elsewhere that sets you up for life?
Sunderland didn’t have to sell him, they could have kept him and used him to get an auto spot and then let him go.....but they chose to take the cash.
He did look very smug though when asked what was happening and he smirked when saying he didn't know because he was concentrating on playing football. Given all the effort they made to keep him and the lack of respect from his Agent, the Chairman should have made him serve his contract out- they only got 1.5m euros for him and wasted more than twice that on Will Grieg.
Maja and/or his agent didn’t choose to leave - Sunderland chose to sell him.
How do you get to that conclusion?
Because if Sunderland hadn’t chosen to sell him he couldn’t have signed for Bordeaux in January - simple conclusion really. Obviously it would have meant losing him for nothing in the summer, as it was they ended up even worse off than that as they were £1.5M down (£1.5M in for Maja and £3M out on Grigg), a much worse team and blowing promotion.
The documentary completely glossed over Sunderland accepting an offer for Maja - which is the most significant thing that happened all season - and made it out like he just turned up in Bordeaux and signed for them without Sunderland’s knowledge.
Well I agree (with several people here) that the way the prog. dealt with this left far too many questions unanswered, but "choosing to sell him" is surely a bit harsh, based on all we know. RD "chose" to sell Grant to Huddersfield. I don't think you can find a chairman as far removed from RD as Donald. Unlike RD (re Aribo and Taylor, as well as Grant), they tried to offer Maja a new contract. It probably would be asking too much for the programme to explore the figures, but it could have asked Maja more about why he was moving, and especially why to Bordeaux. "Do you speak French, Josh? Won't you miss family and friends?" etc. And now we learn he might be returning to England after just a few months. As usual the real culprit -the agent - evades all public scrutiny. That is one thing all those scumbags are good at, knowing how to operate completely in the shadows.
Ah, forgot you see everything through the lens of your contempt for agents!
Sunderland May well have offered Maja a new contract but he didn’t have to sign, that’s his right, and he owes Sunderland no more loyalty than Sunderland owe to the 20 or so players that came through their youth academy with Maja that were released because they didn’t make the cut. This isn’t a one way thing, it isn’t slavery, players have contractual rights and an imperative to fulfil their career goals (whether that be financial or otherwise) in the short timeframe available to them.
The simple fact is that Sunderland were faced with the choice of £1.5M for Maja now or keep him for six months but get nothing, a difficult one but it was a choice nonetheless. They chose the wrong one and just because you’ve fallen for Donald’s cuddly charm doesn’t change the facts. Don’t you think them making that terrible choice - given that it (IMO) was the most significant factor in deciding Sunderland’s season - should have been covered?
Oh, and to be fair, he’s lasted circa 18 months in Bordeaux, I’m sure he’s fluent in French and has amazing cooking skills now!
@se9addick "fallen for Donald's cuddly charm"? Come on. Overall re Donald, I agree with whoever wrote above that he was out of his depth, taking on a club like Sunderland, and maybe they should have moved more quickly to secure Maja on a new deal. But the comparison with RD was, he too of course failed to secure players, because he really didn't want to. And how many club chairmen go to away games and sit with their travelling fans? Do you think that was made up?
I'm not arguing with you about the faults of the programme. I agree. And looking at Maja's record in Bordeaux, it isn't a disaster, he even scored a hat-trick in one game, but now it seems he is returning to England. Again, a failing of the prog. that it did not seem to ask him, why Bordeaux? I am all for English players playing abroad more, but this one stands out for being a bit unlikely, and we didnt learn anything from Maja about why. As for the agent, i won't repeat myself. But they are never seen on TV, unless Panorama are on their case. They are smart enough to know that if they were more in the public eye, intelligent fans like you might start to see where I'm coming from on them.
@se9addick "fallen for Donald's cuddly charm"? Come on. Overall re Donald, I agree with whoever wrote above that he was out of his depth, taking on a club like Sunderland, and maybe they should have moved more quickly to secure Maja on a new deal. But the comparison with RD was, he too of course failed to secure players, because he really didn't want to. And how many club chairmen go to away games and sit with their travelling fans? Do you think that was made up?
I'm not arguing with you about the faults of the programme. I agree. And looking at Maja's record in Bordeaux, it isn't a disaster, he even scored a hat-trick in one game, but now it seems he is returning to England. Again, a failing of the prog. that it did not seem to ask him, why Bordeaux? I am all for English players playing abroad more, but this one stands out for being a bit unlikely, and we didnt learn anything from Maja about why. As for the agent, i won't repeat myself. But they are never seen on TV, unless Panorama are on their case. They are smart enough to know that if they were more in the public eye, intelligent fans like you might start to see where I'm coming from on them.
I think the answer to “Why Bordeaux?” Is simple!
They were the only club willing to drop €1.5 million on a 19 year old kid from League One with six months left on his contract....plus, of course, the large sum to the agent.
I don’t know why they were so desperate for him but they clearly were!
I was just thinking this morning that if Maja had a different agent, who wasn't quite so greedy, he might have been directed towards a FAPL club willing to take a gamble on a young lower league striker. Namely Huddersfield...and I wondered how things might have panned out. But I concluded that RD would just have flogged Taylor instead, and we would still be in the third tier.
Comments
Compared with the first season there is very little narrative around the players. Only 6 episodes rather than the 8 of the first season, and seemingly quite a variation in running time of individual episodes. Suggests to me a bit of a butchering.
The Checkatrade really shafted them in the end. Everyone, club and fans, mugged off by that stupid competition.
I thought that in the limited time they caught the key narratives of our side, but you had to know them, the average viewer wouldn't pick up. There was no v/o to remind people when Jonny Williams came on that he had been a "star" of series 1, but it is seen that he came on and started to swing it our way, whereas McGeady came on and basically fluffed it. And there is the delicious slo-mo of Josh's match-winning cross. That was worth a month's subscription on its own :-)
Have to say our play-off winning side looked so much better than what we have now. Nearly wept when I saw Aribo do one of his jerky turns on the ball and Bielik and BFG in full flow.
I think we all knew then we were witnessing a final high. That's why it felt so good.
One thing is clear though, Sunderland letting him go in January definitely cost them promotion. I personally think they'd have won the league comfortably if he'd stayed.
Oh, and to be fair, he’s lasted circa 18 months in Bordeaux, I’m sure he’s fluent in French and has amazing cooking skills now!
I'm not arguing with you about the faults of the programme. I agree. And looking at Maja's record in Bordeaux, it isn't a disaster, he even scored a hat-trick in one game, but now it seems he is returning to England. Again, a failing of the prog. that it did not seem to ask him, why Bordeaux? I am all for English players playing abroad more, but this one stands out for being a bit unlikely, and we didnt learn anything from Maja about why. As for the agent, i won't repeat myself. But they are never seen on TV, unless Panorama are on their case. They are smart enough to know that if they were more in the public eye, intelligent fans like you might start to see where I'm coming from on them.
They were the only club willing to drop €1.5 million on a 19 year old kid from League One with six months left on his contract....plus, of course, the large sum to the agent.