Sunderland 'Til I Die (2018) s01e02 Episode Script

1
Huddlestone
out for Johnny Russell.
He's gone inside here, Johnny Russell!
Where's it gonna drop?
Bradley Johnson delivers for Derby.
Well, that's how life tends to be
here in Sunderland.
Derby's first attack,
and they take full advantage.
Well, Simon Grayson's face
really tells the full story.
They've dominated
the opening 10 minutes or so.
You've gotta be stronger defensively.
Derby take the lead.
An expected threat
with the players that they have.
Being a keeper, if a goal's gone in,
you've gotta get on with it.
You've just gotta come back stronger.
Try and turn it round.
Was that a handball?
-It was!
-Penalty
Derby disputes it,
but the decision is made.
A penalty, you should score.
I think a penalty,
you should definitely score.
It's probably the best chance
that you're gonna get to score.
That's how I think about it.
Because I've already
put myself forward to take it.
Not that anyone has,
but I've got no intention of missing it.
That's Lewis Grabban.
Can he beat Scott Carson?
Yes is the answer!
And Sunderland on the board!
And they will certainly feel
that's much more reflective
of what they've put into this.
But amidst adversity
and the questioning of their character,
Simon Grayson's side
have certainly come up with an answer.
We are Sunderland!
We are Sunderland!
It's great for Sunderland
and Simon Grayson
that people write them off.
The pressure isn't there.
They've got the opportunity now
to go and show how good they'll be.
Sunderland! Sunderland!
Into the penalty area,
Vaughan has headed onto Grabban!
Lewis Grabban scores for Sunderland!
Now McGeady with the shot!
That's a fantastic goal
from Aiden McGeady!
Sunderland on the left with McGeady,
bending the ball into the penalty area.
Grabban's there! That's 3-0!
Lewis Grabban scores!
That should solve
the points for Sunderland.
Given their supporters
so much to be hopeful about.
So it may be a brand new Sunderland.
You have.
Come on. Be honest.
Sandy, do you want a cuppa?
There's been a real togetherness,
since the start of the season.
First league win in August since 2010.
And for me, that is
an unbelievably positive start.
Now we're gonna do double-knee!
I need you to blue.
High and long!
We just gotta keep building on it.
And in football, wins cover everything.
I think Simon and I both recognize that.
When you've got suspensions
and injuries kicking in,
that's when you need that depth of squad.
So, it's very much myself and Simon
sitting down and planning what
we have to do to strengthen the squad.
Big money is being spent
in the Championship.
Wolves have been throwing money around
like confetti.
Middlesbrough have been very busy
in this window,
and it didn't go without them
making one more signing.
As the transfer window gallops to a close,
fans across the country are glued
to their radios and the internet,
wondering can their club afford
to buy that special player.
The transfer window
gets the pressure on the clubs
to get the right business done.
A period of massive expectations
for football fans everywhere.
This transfer window's vital
for Sunderland.
We're lacking in numbers,
and the numbers we've got
is not the best quality.
Every player we buy has got to be right.
The August transfer window
is absolutely key
for a club like Sunderland,
who suddenly are in the Championship.
The people at the top have
to help the manager get in who he wants.
Any money they have, use it.
Make some significant deals happen
to get yourself out of the Championship.
As soon as a new manager comes in,
then immediately you're talking
about rebuilding the squad.
You would discuss with the manager
who the players are as such
that you wanna bring in
and what positions they play.
I'll make sure we've done
background checks
and got the right
medical history on the players.
You work together
to try and make it happen.
I knew that we were not gonna have
loads of money like other clubs,
but we're very short on numbers.
A lot of players left the club,
and they need replacing.
So what we try to do is bring in
some players that will be hungry,
and get some sort of value.
Hopefully, the more victories will keep
everybody happy and real positive.
My black book has scribbles of figures
and more figures relating
to different players and different deals.
I would like to say it's more scientific
than it looks, but it's not.
We are keeping track of the motion
in the transfer window.
We've got Barnsley standing by.
If anything happens between now
and when we go off air at 7:00.
Last couple of months,
I had some opportunities
to play in Belgium, Greece, Denmark,
stay in Holland as well, but
I had one dream, and I wanted to play
for a club in England.
I do lots of measurements as I go along.
It takes a little bit longer,
but then I can tell the club
a fair amount today
rather than doing measurements afterwards.
It's fine. That's better, then I can
sign today straight after the medical.
Exactly.
That's it. All good.
-Thanks very much.
-You're welcome, Robbin.
And best of luck up in the Northeast
and with Sunderland.
-Yeah. I will give them my best.
-Get them back up to the Premiership.
-This season. No pressure.
-I hope so.
When I first came to the club,
we didn't have a goalkeeper.
We signed Jason Steele, but we needed
that competition for players.
We needed two goalkeepers
to really push each other,
and try and get the number 1 jersey.
So to get him on a free, was a good bit
of business we did as a football club.
We must get you a Sunderland shirt.
Yes, you can.
Because of my job,
we have to move to another country.
Jade, she has to leave Holland as well.
And she has to leave Holland
because she loves me.
I've got respect for her,
and I'm really happy
that she's willing to travel
with me to England.
And my son is going to be four months
and
hopefully, he's gonna learn two languages.
Then he will speak better English
than his father.
It's not always easy.
My wife, she supports me all the way.
This is my dream, and I have to follow it.
Hopefully, I can show myself down,
and if I do well, I will keep
my spot between the sticks.
Good luck. Opposite sides.
Good. Yeah.
Bring that ball. Great stretch.
I've always been the number one
at Utrecht.
It's always when you come somewhere new,
you have to compete with someone else
for the spot.
Steeley, last one!
Yes! Get that hand up!
That's the life of a goalkeeper.
You compete with others.
Nice and sharp. Good.
As a striker, maybe you can play
on the right wing or on the left wing.
As a goalkeeper, it's not possible
because there's only one spot.
Two keepers left the club in the summer.
So it was always on the cards
that they were gonna sign two.
First time I met him, Robbin was
in the changing room before training.
He come in, and we shook hands.
Listen, we're here at work,
and it is what it is
at the end of the day.
Tough being in the first team.
Like I said, it was dog eat dog.
You're constantly getting hit.
It's how many times you get back up.
The last man standing wins, don't he?
We always knew the new players
who were gonna come in
were gonna give the other players
a kick on the backside and say,
"We're here now to make this team better,
and we'll take maybe your places."
The intensity of training has increased,
and hopefully,
the proof will be in the pudding
over the next few weeks
with a few good results.
Just to find out the very latest news
on transfer's ins and outs
and rumors of what might happen next.
Well, I think it's been made clear
right from the start,
right from the word go
of Simon Grayson coming in,
that he wasn't gonna have
a huge pot of money to spend.
He probably knew it would depend
on quite a lot of wheeling and dealing,
but it doesn't seem to be
There isn't a great deal of news
about too much at the moment, is there?
Ultimately, football these days
is about money.
Players are hard to come by.
They are expensive.
In terms of financial pragmatism
of the club,
there's been a number of mistakes
in the past.
Over the last five or six years,
the club spent somewhere in the region
of £343 million in transfer
and only recouped
I think the net spend is about 198.
That's a colossal amount of money.
I'm realistic enough to know
that the club needs investment
in the squad.
So, I'm looking at a couple of young lads
that aren't even 20 yet to come in.
Up till January of last year,
the club's last 40 signings
only three have yielded a profit
for the club.
So, what I'm suggesting
or advocating is that
and this may seem fanciful,
75% of the first team pool
should be under 25.
That would leave a manager
with the potential
to play six players in his starting 11,
who are over 25.
So any manager canny say,
"You're asking me to win the league
with kids?" They become assets.
We're testing our best young talents,
rather than playing with players
who get us better results,
but no end product for the club.
I think the only question marks
you would have
if they can meet the challenge
without embarrassing us too much.
I think it would be healthier
for the club,
healthier for the young players,
and cheaper.
I suppose we just really need
to speak to Simon.
Tell him because
I don't mean "tell him."
We're gonna have to be resolute in it.
Easy for me to say.
Relegation last season
was horrendous for the football club.
Ultimately, if you go out of the Premier
League go into the Championship,
you go from 100 million in TV revenue
to 40 million in TV revenue.
So, the business has a cataclysmic shift,
which is really hard to contend with.
It's really just an attempt to
change the way
we've been recruiting players.
And there is an opportunity
for us to recoup, as a club,
a value on some of these players
at that age group.
We can try and do that,
and if we look at the team at Preston,
the average age of that team
is about 22, 23.
We've bought players
for 20 grand, 50 grand.
I knew I wasn't coming into a club
that had everything going
in the right direction,
in a real positive manner.
I knew there were gonna be hurdles,
previously, along the way,
because it's a rebuilding situation.
Martin was one of the people who
put his neck on the line by employing me,
and ultimately, they're the people
who make the decisions,
and they're the people
you do need a relationship with.
We are gonna give an opportunity
and pathway to our younger players.
And hopefully,
we will get the benefit of that.
Obviously, I think
the Academy is really good.
I think we've got an unbelievable Academy.
I just think it's such a big weapon.
What's this? What's this?
It's nice watching someone else run about.
If we can build up some sort of setup
for this to keep happening, then
you're building the club
on a much more sold basis
rather than buying in unknown players
for how ever many million
that look good on YouTube.
Look at Jordan last year.
He went for 30 mil.
He's been at the club since he was seven.
You know?
It's like, he's one of my best mates.
Growing up on the streets with few mates,
all you would do is play football,
day in and day out.
I was about six at the time,
and there was a young side just training.
And they didn't have a keeper,
so I just went and joined in
'cause I was bored.
That's how I became a goalkeeper
basically.
Sunderland have agreed to sell
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford
to Everton for up to £30 million,
which would make him
the third most expensive keeper
in the history of the game.
You get your full first actual contract
when you're under nine's.
I got offered one then,
and I've never looked back.
We are into a penalty shootout.
Fourth time against Jordan Pickford.
Saved! Jordan Pickford!
The quarter-finals of the World Cup.
There are many people in this crowd today
who would not even have been born
the last time England were
in a World Cup semi-final.
There were chants of,
"You're one of our own."
Jordan Pickford is a hero!
It's been a while since we got this far.
Lads on the team from Sunderland,
which is fantastic.
He's only the second England keeper
to save a penalty
in a World Cup penalty shootout.
It's a big change since I was 8 years old,
going to the Academy of Light every day.
George is the only one
who's still there since I was there.
He's a year below me, but known him
since I was a 10-year-old.
He's a great lad.
You got dreams. You know what I mean?
I would absolutely love
to play for England.
Get Sunderland back in the Premiership.
They're all dreams at the minute.
Just try and take it game by game.
My aim is just to stay in the team
one week at a time.
George, at this moment,
has proved he's got some good qualities.
He's very energetic,
he can handle the ball,
he can play in different positions,
which helps.
We've talked about the risk
that it entails,
but we will give them the opportunity.
Then it boils down to their attitude,
their character.
They've got this opportunity,
and don't let it pass you by.
I'm 22, and I'm only
just breaking into the team.
You have a lot of doubts.
There's times when I thought,
"Is it ever gonna happen?"
Mistake by Jones,
and it's McGeady loitering
and looking to make something happen.
He's warmed the hands of Joe Murphy.
Promising start from both teams.
Honeyman.
I've worked my ass off for this.
The manager came in
and gave us a decent chance.
We're gotta repay him
when he gives us that chance.
Can they just find that little moment?
George Honeyman
Honeyman in with a chance here!
And it's in!
George Honeyman with a beautifully-taken
winning goal.
His first for the club he's served
since he was just 10 years of age.
It's what I was dreaming of.
Now, it's actually happened.
I've been here for more than half my life.
I've been in the Academy for so long,
and the club put faith in me.
It was just
a really special moment for us.
Today, you saw his quality
and his work rate, endeavor.
Great opportunity for local lads
to make a career in the game.
The big thing we've talked about
was momentum in this league
because the games come thick and fast.
It's gonna be a long, tough season, but
we just gotta keep grinding.
Desperate for squad depth.
The point you make about fatigue
is absolutely spot on.
They did. They looked knackered
by the end, didn't they?
It's a tough division.
There's no getting away from it.
It is a tough division.
The squad, at this moment of time,
it's very depleted.
Relying a lot on youth players.
It shouldn't be just youth players.
The biggest deals of the day so far,
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain going to Liverpool
for £35 million from Arsenal.
Spurs have signed Serge Aurier,
as well for £23 million.
They're gonna need help
from the bench.
There will games where they will tire out.
We need someone to bring on
to help them out.
And definitely a striker.
That's what I'd like to see.
I think that's the job of the manager now
to bring a load of players in,
who are ambitious and forward-thinking
and gonna go and get promotions.
Get up!
Everybody who gets appointed
the manager of Sunderland thinks
that they're the one that's gonna be
the real successful one.
You do think that you can be the one
to go and turn it around.
Come on!
Just keep it on the move.
But this isn't gonna happen overnight.
It's like the Titanic or a big juggernaut
that you're moving.
George!
I know that I'm judged on results,
but hopefully, we'll be given the time
to turn it around.
Fuck off!
Lee, a bitterly disappointing
afternoon today.
Yeah, very frustrating.
We need some bodies. Let's be honest.
We've not signed enough bodies.
The squad's not big enough to cope.
Hopefully, the club
will approach that right.
I think we suffered every year
for lack of bodies.
It's up to the lads we've got here now
to put on better performances
than today.
-Cheers.
-Thanks, Lee. Appreciate that.
All right. Let me see what I can do.
All right. Okay, cheers.
I've got seven scouts in England
and one in Scotland
and their main focus has been
going to League One and League Two games.
So what we're charged with,
as a recruitment department,
is to produce a list of people
that we think--
You've done this in terms of profiling
these types of loans.
For example, with not understanding
what the wage budget
-might be.
-Absolutely.
You're a bit in the dark, aren't you?
Run that by me again.
What you're saying is,
these are the leagues we've looked
at certain players in?
So in League One you've looked
at 66 players that you've tracked.
That's how many reports we've had back.
Some are duplicates.
For the club's circumstances,
it won't make sense, 'cause you've looked
at six in the Premier League,
but it's unlikely we'll attract
six Premier League players.
Well, I think
what the lads have tried to do,
Martin, is just trying
and cover a spectrum
with a hint of pragmatism about it.
Absolutely.
I think this club is an excellent vehicle
for any player to try and make his mark.
I don't disagree with you.
You think we make enough of that?
I don't think we do.
Why would a player come here
as opposed to somewhere else?
All the clubs are after
this similar bunch of players, really.
I think there's a lot of great signs
that we're on the right track.
I still think that we have got to be
out there more.
Talking more about what we do,
showcasing more about what we do
in and around.
No, agreed.
Get in and show your presence.
No better way to do it than that.
That speaks volumes for sure.
At the moment, the whole outside world
thinks this club has nothing to offer.
For sure. Then the final thing--
Why am I looking at Ibrahimovic
at the bottom of this list?
Did you find some money from somewhere?
I'm the chief scout in charge
of match reports on opposition.
And sending the scouts out
to cover games.
And recruiting. Player recruitment.
-Hi, mate. You all right?
-Not bad, mate. Yourself?
-Okay. Are you far off?
-Just over five minutes, top.
Do you want to go in this car,
though, save your car?
No, I'm all right.
I'm not driving with you, mate.
I want to make kick-off.
You ever seen the film
Driving Miss Daisy?
Let's just say he's a careful driver.
He'll never get done for speeding,
that's for sure.
-Hey, pal. Good to see you.
-Nice to see you.
Right, here we go. Can't wait, mate!
You gotta go and look
at what's gonna be available for you.
It's no good just taking a game in
for sake of the game.
The job's hard enough.
You have to concentrate on the players
that you have in mind
and what you have to work with there.
Yeah, great Tuesday night out,
to be fair.
Honestly, it's better
than sitting at home.
It's a great pick out, innit?
-Great pick out, innit?
-Very good.
That said, I prefer the other one.
He's got gloves on. It's not even cold.
It's not cold.
They'll want two pairs on in Sunderland.
There's better.
There's better out there
that I think we can get. I do.
Things have got to change now.
It's not good the fans keep saying,
"We'll get better. We'll get better."
We can't get better unless they invest,
and they've got to get this club back.
It all boils down to money.
It isn't the players' fault.
It isn't the manager's fault.
It's not even Simon Grayson's fault.
It's Ellis Short.
Ladies and gents, good evening.
Tonight is about an informal gathering.
'Cause many of you have been clients
of the football club,
and, obviously, supporters.
I've looked, tonight,
at the number of guests
and someone gave me
the specific level of spend, who you are,
and what you're companies do.
And I genuinely appreciate it because
it is a significant amount of investment.
Just to reiterate what Martin said,
we appreciate your support.
And, again, tonight, feel free
to ask us whatever you want.
Simple matter is
we've got to win football matches.
Without winning football matches,
the club will get worse and worse.
I think if a player becomes available
that you think you might need,
and not for a lot of money,
two or three million,
I think that player should be bought.
That approach of the past
is no longer the desire of the owner.
He's not prepared to have a go again,
and quite a large degree of investment
into the playing squad.
-That's not what he wants to do.
-I think nobody can question
Ellis Short's financial commitment
to the club previously.
I think the difficulty is that
the decisions that Ellis Short made
is what's wasted that money.
Ultimately, he's now made the decision
that's no longer gonna be funded
to the kinda level
of what it was previously.
We can't walk away
from this football club
because we were born here.
We were bred here.
This football club is in our blood.
He's put us in this position, as an owner.
The decisions that he's made,
to the people he's employed,
and the money being spent,
he's put us in this position.
But it's us that's left with it,
on a weekly basis, on a daily basis.
If you're heading out to work,
what're you doing? It's Deadline Day.
Don't worry. We'll keep you
across everything you need to know
on our live transfer blog.
Of course we want your views, too.
What're your hopes and fears
for your club today?
As soon as I know anything concrete.
It's still all over the place.
If Cardiff is messing the journey up,
then I have got another option.
Give me five minutes.
Nobody seems to do deals
when they really should do deals.
It always seems to go down
to the last 24 hours.
Mark, I think I can get the guy
from Redding to Farnborough.
We inquired about one or two options
that we thought might come available.
So, we've got two coming out
of Farnborough, with agents?
Just text them, though
We would like another striker,
but the reality is,
everybody else,
right the way through football,
is looking for that striker
who's gonna get you a win.
If you could get in the car now
and start heading south
to Farnborough airport
Good man, Gary Cottrell out and about.
It's not just in the Premier League,
big money is being spent
in the Championship.
What a day Birmingham's had!
They signed Jota from Brentford
at a record fee.
Can my medical people
speak to your medical people? Yeah?
-Hello.
-Hold off booking that plane.
I've got a problem,
and tell Brandy to come and see me.
Right. Will do.
He wants you there now, yeah.
I don't even know when he came.
Whenever we bring players to the club,
their injury history is massive.
Out of all these players, he was
the perfect age and availability.
No injuries. They come at a price.
Gotta find the perfect player,
but who doesn't come at a cost.
That's where there's a lot of pressure on.
Time is running out for clubs
to make any last-minute buys.
It's Deadline Day.
So, we've got Marc Wilson coming in.
Karen Casey. Nice to meet you.
He's a central defender.
There's another one
as he charged across.
When you had the issues
with this knee, did it swell up?
-It actually didn't swell up too bad.
-More than just a pain thing
-you were struggling with?
-Just when I was striking the ball.
We thought that Marc would be
an experienced player.
Republic of Ireland international.
Experienced in the Premier League,
and would contribute guidance
to the younger players.
Then from West Brom,
I've got Callum McManaman.
We knew about your ankle.
You mentioned it.
There was no suggestion of surgery.
We needed an extra wide player
with a little bit of pace
and trickery about him.
And we're hoping
that he's gonna be the one
that's gonna fill that role
that we're looking for.
I think when we look at Jonny,
we were looking for a player
who has something different.
That little bit of creativity.
Hopefully, we'll get the supporters
on the edge of their seats.
Hopefully, he's gonna be fit,
and we'll see
a real talented player in our books.
Principally, the main parts of the deals
are agreed with the agents and players.
So now it's a case of getting them
all scanned with the medical team,
and back to here
to go through the paperwork.
And no doubt, some final negotiations.
Plenty of activity up at Sunderland.
In through the door,
Callum McManaman
on a free from West Brom
on a two-year deal.
Marc Wilson's there
putting the finishing touches
to a one-year free move
from Bournemouth.
-Welcome to the club.
-Thanks very much.
You'll be a roaring success.
Congratulations.
Well done. Congratulations.
Another good one,
good deal for us today.
Jonny Williams, injuries of note:
he ruptured his left abductor.
So his groin.
Traumatic injury.
He missed off and on
around about 10 months.
Shoulder dislocation in December 2016.
He has had an ankle injury as well.
I've had a few injuries in the past.
Ruptured my groin, broke my leg.
Different ankle injuries,
and dislocated my shoulder.
I'm hopeful I can just come here
and get back to my best.
He's on his cardiac as we speak.
Should be done in the next five minutes.
Match-fit to play?
-Yes.
-He's training at the minute, isn't he?
-We're happy.
-Happy? Good.
-Congratulations.
-Thank you.
Look forward to meeting you
and having you as a great success.
Thanks very much.
-Once again, good luck. Well done.
-Thank you.
There he is, Big Ben, the old pal.
We are getting closer
to the famous moment,
the eleven o'clock deadline
fast approaching.
Let me tell you this.
Frantic activity around the country.
No matter how many times
you go through it,
there is always an organized chaos.
few minutes of this Deadline Day.
There was a last minute twist
where we had a player
who we got contacted to say,
"Okay, that might be an opportunity."
Barry, it's me.
Who's with you at Villa?
I've made no secret
that Ross McCormack is a player
that I've liked, I had at Leeds.
We would like to sign him
for this football club.
He's got the experience,
he's a goal scorer,
and he'll bring different type
of qualities to the squad
that we haven't got at this time.
Great strength from Ayew
darting at the heart
of the Forest defense. McCormack!
That's what Aston Villa
have been waiting for.
Ross McCormack gets his goal
in front of the whole ten.
Villa 1, Forest 1.
Ask him for his email,
so I can send a loan agreement.
If I don't get it signed in two minutes,
it won't happen.
I'm sending this over to you
just now, okay?
Know what you're witnessing?
Another signing taking place.
Thirteen minutes to go.
That's how I was instigated
before the deadline.
His agent rang and said, "There's a deal
to be done with Aston Villa."
And then
it was basically hell for leather.
Speaking to them, speaking to Chief Exec,
speak to the agent.
Okay, all right. Cheers.
Fucking hell.
Kill the camera for this part.
The club desperately needed a striker.
I completely get that.
And when it came to the transfer,
the financial terms
were completely different
from Villa's perspective.
And the wrong thing to do
in a transfer window is
jump in, and commit to lot of money,
and plug the gaps
in a way the club has done
for a number of years.
It's sticking plasters to solve problems.
Don't go out and splash cash.
It's not the thing to do.
Five minutes after that,
Martin comes in and
and tells me the news
that I didn't want to hear.
-Transfer window over.
-Done. Done and dusted.
Thank you.
It's been a long day.
A long two days.
In fact, it's been a long summer.
But I think we're pleased
with what we've brought in.
When somebody like Ross comes available,
who has signed for Fulham
for £12 million,
recognized striker scores,
then you get them over the line.
I know it's difficult
for people to understand,
but I was brought in to restructure,
to rebuild.
We just need to win on the pitch.
I've not been able to bring in players
that maybe Sunderland supporters expected.
Did I agree with it? No.
But that's just my opinion.
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