So I’ve steeled myself to watch episode three - the play off final.
It is very well done and, in the interest of the narrative, generous to us. Stand out moments: pre match their skipper (Alex Pritchard?) saying “all this small club stuff is nonsense, Wycombe have done far more than Sunderland in the last five years”; at 0-1 down early in the second half that Voakes miss!; little bit too much O’Nein celebration but otherwise we come out of it better than I felt we actually did on the day (it’s about them after all).
They really are a massive club, the back room stuff demonstrates just how far we were punching above our weight, the story following their fans shows just how badly they needed that win.
It’s a good watch for those interested in just how much a club matters to the fabric of a society.
Think I'll cancel my subscription for a short while
My Son was born 3 days before the final and was on a high prior to the game. The day was a massive disappointment that I don't choose to re-live.
Inside Wembley it did actually bring home how big a club they are. They filled all the tiers made a sh*t load of noise and probably could have sold more on top. Thought the fans of theirs I met on the day were spot on. However, the 'attendance play-off' versus Sheff Wed made we want to put one over them.
On the day they were a much better team. O'Nien celebrations bit OTT, but I don't hold that against him. He was a big part of our identity when he was at Wycombe.
What does make me proud though was how much Ainsworth had us punching above our weight and getting every last bit out of players.
I actually don't mind 09 going nuts. It absolutely irritates me when one of our players looks like he is attending a funeral after scoring against his former team. To expect 09 to hold back when winning a playoff final to get to a division he had never played in before would be churlish. Not to mention that he had been a Sunderland player for four seasons by that point!
The O’Nein story of injury, fight for fitness, Alex Neil as new manager realising what a top bloke he is and his man marking battle with Barry Bannan in the semi is one of the sub plots. Hoped our key role in his rehabilitation as a pro player might get a mention but too complex I guess and…..it’s all about Sunderland.
The Ross Stewart back story is a good one though, spoiler alert- he was Scottish none league, Albion Rovers came in for him, his club wanted £1,500(!) Rovers only had £1,000, so Ross’s dad stumped up the other £500 to facilitate the deal - the rest is history.
I've always been really impressed with him whenever I've seen him play. Brilliant in the air and always a goal threat. The sort of player you'd have in any team at any level to bring on and grab a winner.
As has been said, if anything that day left no illusion how big a club Sunderland is. And for all the minor hostility in the build-up their fans were great on the walk down Wembley Way and even consoled my crying six-year-old on the way out! Easy when you’ve just won I guess. Would’ve been a more sinister affair had ickle Wycombe upset the odds.
The Vokes “what if?” chance gets mentions but didn’t a semi-fit Hanlan come on and take a few strides before a side foot straight into the keeper’s arms? “What if?” a fully fit Hanlan had burst into the box and buried it?! On the day they were far superior and had too much for us. Not sure I want to relive it!
As I remember it Hanlan could have squared it to a couple of men free in the area but took a very difficult shot on himself
I think they more or less went straight up the other end and scored. But like everyone else I've not watched it back so my memory might be playing tricks
That's how I saw it @eric_plant had he pulled it back and squared to Vokes the keeper was stranded etc etc. I doubt we would have gone on to win but a tense extra time would have been nice.
The Vokes miss is still a hands over the eyes moment...or a great save by the keeper depending on your point of view.
Yes, we all seem to remember it differently. I was screaming for Vokes to bury it under the advancing keeper as he seemed to be jumping at Vokes, but he then managed to sit on the ball because of the slightly delayed, slightly weak shot. Probably not how it happened at all...
Just watched the series. It remains an impressive sport-doc, even if it's missing the David Brent-esque central character and Will Grigg-signing madness that elevated it so much the first time around. The joins and storyline scripting was a bit more obvious this season but it has a lot of heart and the final scene was very affecting.
Luke O'Nein has such great main-character energy, though I was expecting them to feature him more in the last episode with a storyline arc around conflicting emotions against the club that kick-started his career. Maybe that was left on the cutting room floor. The insights on what it was like to man mark Barry Bannan were interesting and the stuff at the start about opponents deliberately targeting his shoulder was eye-opening. Is League One really that cynical? Would we have ever done anything like that? I do hope not, even though Luke would be exactly the player tasked with doing so if was still with us!
Though I would never watch this season, the first two were decent, and Sunderland fans come across well. The only eye roll to series like this is that the fan base in question always acts as though they are "extra special" supporters, with more passion for their club than other football fans, when in reality every fan base is very passionate, aside from MK. The reality is also that most supporters turn on their team at some point with boos when losing, and act as if they have been behind them from the start when things turn around again.
Comments
i'm with @Lloyd2084 At the time i thought 'wow, that must've taken a wicked deflection'.
Nope.
So I’ve steeled myself to watch episode three - the play off final.
It is very well done and, in the interest of the narrative, generous to us. Stand out moments: pre match their skipper (Alex Pritchard?) saying “all this small club stuff is nonsense, Wycombe have done far more than Sunderland in the last five years”; at 0-1 down early in the second half that Voakes miss!; little bit too much O’Nein celebration but otherwise we come out of it better than I felt we actually did on the day (it’s about them after all).
They really are a massive club, the back room stuff demonstrates just how far we were punching above our weight, the story following their fans shows just how badly they needed that win.
It’s a good watch for those interested in just how much a club matters to the fabric of a society.
Still a tough watch though.
Jeez, I’d rather be repeatedly kicked in the balls than watch that. It’d be far less painful.
Think I'll cancel my subscription for a short while
My Son was born 3 days before the final and was on a high prior to the game. The day was a massive disappointment that I don't choose to re-live.
Inside Wembley it did actually bring home how big a club they are. They filled all the tiers made a sh*t load of noise and probably could have sold more on top. Thought the fans of theirs I met on the day were spot on. However, the 'attendance play-off' versus Sheff Wed made we want to put one over them.
On the day they were a much better team. O'Nien celebrations bit OTT, but I don't hold that against him. He was a big part of our identity when he was at Wycombe.
What does make me proud though was how much Ainsworth had us punching above our weight and getting every last bit out of players.
You are a brave man, @perfidious_albion!
I actually don't mind 09 going nuts. It absolutely irritates me when one of our players looks like he is attending a funeral after scoring against his former team. To expect 09 to hold back when winning a playoff final to get to a division he had never played in before would be churlish. Not to mention that he had been a Sunderland player for four seasons by that point!
I hope one of our players never celebrates success over a previous team...especially if it's a promotion at Wembley.
Very true! I am already nervous that Taffs is going to look happy if we beat Posh in the trophy final.
The O’Nein story of injury, fight for fitness, Alex Neil as new manager realising what a top bloke he is and his man marking battle with Barry Bannan in the semi is one of the sub plots. Hoped our key role in his rehabilitation as a pro player might get a mention but too complex I guess and…..it’s all about Sunderland.
The Ross Stewart back story is a good one though, spoiler alert- he was Scottish none league, Albion Rovers came in for him, his club wanted £1,500(!) Rovers only had £1,000, so Ross’s dad stumped up the other £500 to facilitate the deal - the rest is history.
Regarding Ross Stewart, I think I heard he was out for the season after making the move to "Russell Martin's Southampton".
Highs and lows...
They didn't show any of our scintillating football in the final...just seemed to be wrestling. 😉
I've always been really impressed with him whenever I've seen him play. Brilliant in the air and always a goal threat. The sort of player you'd have in any team at any level to bring on and grab a winner.
I hope Martin takes Southampton up just to upset MK...
As has been said, if anything that day left no illusion how big a club Sunderland is. And for all the minor hostility in the build-up their fans were great on the walk down Wembley Way and even consoled my crying six-year-old on the way out! Easy when you’ve just won I guess. Would’ve been a more sinister affair had ickle Wycombe upset the odds.
The Vokes “what if?” chance gets mentions but didn’t a semi-fit Hanlan come on and take a few strides before a side foot straight into the keeper’s arms? “What if?” a fully fit Hanlan had burst into the box and buried it?! On the day they were far superior and had too much for us. Not sure I want to relive it!
As I remember it Hanlan could have squared it to a couple of men free in the area but took a very difficult shot on himself
I think they more or less went straight up the other end and scored. But like everyone else I've not watched it back so my memory might be playing tricks
That's how I saw it @eric_plant had he pulled it back and squared to Vokes the keeper was stranded etc etc. I doubt we would have gone on to win but a tense extra time would have been nice.
The Vokes miss is still a hands over the eyes moment...or a great save by the keeper depending on your point of view.
I wish there was such a thing as football amnesia so I wasn’t able to remember shit like this.
From the moment we arrived at Wembley it just never felt like we were going to win that game. The peak was the semi final.
I recall the Vokes one as one of those agonising ones where the ball just won't drop quickly enough
Again, I might be completely misremembering it
Yes, we all seem to remember it differently. I was screaming for Vokes to bury it under the advancing keeper as he seemed to be jumping at Vokes, but he then managed to sit on the ball because of the slightly delayed, slightly weak shot. Probably not how it happened at all...
Just watched the series. It remains an impressive sport-doc, even if it's missing the David Brent-esque central character and Will Grigg-signing madness that elevated it so much the first time around. The joins and storyline scripting was a bit more obvious this season but it has a lot of heart and the final scene was very affecting.
Luke O'Nein has such great main-character energy, though I was expecting them to feature him more in the last episode with a storyline arc around conflicting emotions against the club that kick-started his career. Maybe that was left on the cutting room floor. The insights on what it was like to man mark Barry Bannan were interesting and the stuff at the start about opponents deliberately targeting his shoulder was eye-opening. Is League One really that cynical? Would we have ever done anything like that? I do hope not, even though Luke would be exactly the player tasked with doing so if was still with us!
Though I would never watch this season, the first two were decent, and Sunderland fans come across well. The only eye roll to series like this is that the fan base in question always acts as though they are "extra special" supporters, with more passion for their club than other football fans, when in reality every fan base is very passionate, aside from MK. The reality is also that most supporters turn on their team at some point with boos when losing, and act as if they have been behind them from the start when things turn around again.
I remember being very much more frustrated at Hanlan's chance than Vokes's
That's because O'Nien didn't have any conflicting emotions in the slightest!
Semi-final first leg.
It was probably the most un-Ainsworth performance that season.