Sunderland 'Til I Die (2018) s01e07 Episode Script

1
Massive Sunderland supporters--
They tend to use red
and white theme on flowers.
People get dressed in their own shirts,
and some occasions
we do red and white coffins as well.
People leave wishes in their wills
with families that they wanna be dressed
in red and white.
They want this, they want that,
and they want the flowers. Yeah.
So, they do express what they want,
before they pass away.
When it does happen,
they are a lovely sendoff
for the avid, die-hard Sunderland fan.
Do you think they're the true fan,
with a red and white coffin?
They're definitely dedicated.
We're brought up to watch Sunderland.
It's a community.
It brings people together,
and it's a passion.
Although we're doing poor at the moment,
they'll continue to support.
Always. Through thick and thin.
At the moment,
we're in a straw-clutching situation.
I'd say we've past that stage
of clutching.
The thing is you've gotta win.
Simple as that.
You've gotta win games.
If Sunderland don't win games,
they'll go down.
We're in a relegation dogfight.
And there's only so many games left.
There's loads of pressure.
But you gotta be prepared
to keep taking hits,
and keep getting whacked,
and keep getting slapped,
and keep getting back up
until, hook or by crook, it turns.
McGeady is there with Oviedo again
down in the corner.
McGeady back to Oviedo
on his left at the edge of the area.
Oviedo's shot Goal!
Bryan Oviedo!
Sunderland lead by a goal to nil
at The Den.
This is when you've got to be brave now,
in this second half.
Chris Coleman just had a word
with Fletcher.
To play against the two big lads
at the back,
you cannot afford to get bullied.
He needs a goal.
You know, he's gotta be stronger.
There must be a breakdown somewhere,
because they're not, and I mean not
taking anything onboard.
They're just inviting pressure.
Sunderland are just inviting pressure.
We haven't got a grip on the game.
We haven't started this second half.
And it’s Cooper.
There's a call for hand ball,
and then it’s clear over the line, is it?
The referee's given the goal!
The referee’s given the goal.
The instructions he gave the wingers
were to stay high and wide.
I've never played in a 4-3-3 before,
so I was kind of unsure what to do
when I didn't have the ball.
We have no chance of winning a game
with that system.
Almost impossible to win it.
When I came in, in the summer,
I had aspirations of this club going back
to the Premier League,
and it's went the exact opposite.
If a player keeps making the same mistake,
show them the mistake they're making.
Sparky gone to Southampton, has he?
Mark Hughes.
I've had managers before,
they come in and go crazy.
He just kind of like comes in and it’s,
oh, this, that, you know.
“We could have done this better."
And then it's just,
"Right, so move on."
Just kind of an acceptance of
An acceptance that, that's okay.
Come into training
and everyone’s laughing and joking.
It's like, "We just got beat 3-0 at home."
You know?
Come in. Well done. Come in.
There were instances on Saturday
where the pressure is incredible,
'cause every little mistake we make,
every ball we give away,
we know what's gonna happen.
But sometimes, we gotta try
and play through.
We want the players to take ownership.
We don't want it
that they do things on the back of
one of the members of staff shouting.
'Cause then that's them being reactive
rather than proactive.
Sometimes, you play really badly,
and you win.
If you play poorly and lose,
it's the worst feeling.
We must never forget that we are here
to help them individually as well.
You know, that is our job.
And, of course, it's results-driven.
We need results to stay in jobs.
But we're there as well
to try and help them,
not put more pressure, berate them,
and tell them about all their mistakes.
How can we help them get
in a positive frame of mind
where they feel confident
to go and deliver the game plan?
If you concentrate on that,
they feel better,
they feel part of it, and you probably get
better performances then.
Every game now is a massive game,
and we need to start picking up wins.
Get in the box, Fletch.
Go on, you big fucker! Get in that box!
As a striker,
you just wanna be scoring goals.
And if one, like, one gets by
it plays on your mind a little bit.
He's actually a very technical player.
He holds the ball up well.
If he thinks that he's not gonna score,
then he never will.
Keep going. I see how you get.
Don't beat yourself up a little bit.
Don't even worry about all that.
It's one of them. It's frustrating and--
-I want that first goal.
-Of course you do.
Don't worry about the goal.
Worry about your performance.
Playing well is what you want,
and goals will come.
We spoke to him.
He needs to be more aggressive.
But he's willing to work,
and he cares, so
No problems with that. I'm sure
once he gets one, he'll get two, three
I've had a few chances.
One against Bristol City
that I should have scored there.
I'm hoping that it comes sooner,
rather than later.
Last two games,
we played very, very well.
And that's all we've gotta maintain
is that standard, that same input.
It's been very good.
Yeah, I feel, like, everyone's mood
is a bit, like, higher.
I love scoring goals, I do.
I love it!
I love finishing.
Banging balls I love it.
Yet again, a draw is not enough,
as Sunderland sit five points from safety,
needing two wins to haul themselves
out of the bottom three.
On condition, of course,
the teams above don't pick up points.
There's a lot of things I see managers do.
Even if you don't like Grabs as a person,
but you know he's valuable to the team
'cause he scored 12 goals.
Manage the player.
I think the manager thought
kind of Grabs was disposable,
and we could get someone else in
who could do the job,
and that didn't happen.
He hasn't given us a physical presence.
This kid looks like
if you called him names,
he might burst into tears.
The goalkeeper is lost all over the place,
and Grabban scores.
Grabban heads it home.
Lewis Grabban has scored
against his former club.
Comedy of errors.
Unbelievable.
You wanna score,
especially against your old team.
Yeah, I was happy to do that.
I can't deny it. So, yeah.
That was painful.
That was painful.
Embarrassing! Fucking nobheads!
We will never, ever get away
from where we are like that.
We won't.
I'm not gonna pretend it's
It's not enough.
It's not enough to get us
where we need to be.
And it's, you know,
it's the hard yards, it is.
I've stayed away from the games
because I've been injured,
but I was there the other night and
it wasn't nice.
A hundred.
From a personal point of view,
I need to get back playing.
I need to get back
to try and help the lads out.
Don't let him beat you!
Time is running out. There's no other way
of putting it, really.
Fuck!
My fucking head nearly exploded.
We need to win.
It hurt like fucking hell.
We have to keep going.
The teams around us
keep dangling carrots for us.
They're not putting us out of our misery.
Whilst that gap is there,
and it's not getting bigger,
there's still a chance.
Half the team is not good enough.
The other half don't care.
The only thing that's Premier League class
is the manager, unfortunately.
Premier League? We're in League One.
Forget about Premier League.
I can hear it in your voice.
I can see how tough it is.
Yeah, I Look, I can't, you know
It's a super club. It's a great club.
You know, you run out of things to say.
The good thing is
we haven't run out of games.
I can tell you I haven't run out of fight.
I'm just disappointed at
We've just missed another opportunity.
Yeah, I mean, I feel,
at this moment in time, really frustrated.
Personally, really frustrated.
So, we're in it now.
We're in a dogfight.
And Chris knows he's in a dogfight
and myself and everybody that's there,
we all know we're in a dogfight.
We've been clinging on for the last while,
and every bump that you get,
you sink that little bit lower.
It's difficult for me to talk about
what may happen or may not happen.
But I'm not naive to think
that there won't be fundamental changes
of the football club
if we were to get relegated.
So, it's tough.
But I'm absolutely sure
that Chris will do well for us.
I'm sure all the staff is talking about
their jobs, innit? That’s the bottom line.
Well, the last time we went down,
85 people got made redundant.
So, there you go. That tells you.
We're worried about our jobs.
You're hearing rumors about
what might happen to the club and that.
Yeah, we're all worried.
We're human.
We've got families.
We've got mortgages to pay.
Johnny is one of us. Right, John?
All right, mate?
Seen it all, haven't we?
Well, seen a lot.
We've seen a lot, Malcolm.
No one knows what will happen
if if the worst happens,
and we do get relegated into League One.
Who knows what will happen?
It's frightening,
and I don't think anyone is safe.
Well, there's something very special
about this city.
Faith and football go hand in hand.
In many ways, the Stadium of Light
is a kind of mega-church
which unites all faiths.
This season particularly has been,
we all know, a dismal season.
There's been a lot of people coming
with deep frustrations,
deep worry, concern.
The football club is a big employer.
It affects people's lives and livelihood.
The fear of relegation
is a very serious concern
for everyone in the city.
Frustrations on the football field
have definitely seen an increase
in my trade here in the church.
I haven't entirely lost hope yet.
I'll always have hope.
We're very lucky here in Sunderland
in that we have a very strong community.
That's what this season is all about
re-firing the faith in our hearts
as individuals
and as a community of believers.
Easter time, the time of miracles,
the time of resurrection
with faith, with hope,
and the community spirit
which exists in this city.
We'll be like a phoenix rising.
And wherever we go
we will rise again.
-Sunderland!
-Sunderland!
Come on!
If we don't win this, we've had it.
We're just getting adrift.
Like I say, I never slept last night.
Tossed and turned.
Just the thought of the game.
Sunderland's six points from safety,
but it could have been eight,
had Barnsley not conceded a stoppage time
equalizer against Bristol City.
It is the weekend for miracles,
you know, Easter.
And resurrection.
Yeah.
Well, the stakes get higher
with every passing day.
The ball has bounced relatively kindly
for Derby today,
but some breathing space would be welcome.
Sunderland can only dream of that,
but hopes of survival still linger.
And Fletcher could be in the clear!
Carson relieved in the end.
Yes, yes, yes!
Fletcher
Extraordinary!
Fucking here, here!
Get behind him, come on!
Back him!
Fletcher marauding,
and it's opened up here!
Well, that would have killed it.
In his corner.
It must be! O'Shea in there! He's done it.
Well, the sky has fallen in, on Derby.
Four goals!
Four!
This crazy, crazy division
confounds us again.
Chris Coleman's Sunderland have produced
the most unlikely result yet
to lift themselves off the bottom
and put themselves in range,
once again, of safety.
But the celebrations and the emotions
on those Sunderland faces
really does tell the story.
An emphatic Sunderland win at Pride Park.
Derby 1, Sunderland 4.
Don't take me home
Please don't take me home
I just don't wanna go to work
I wanna stay here, sip all the beer
Please don't
Please don't take me home
Don't take me home
Please don't take me home
I just don't wanna go to work
I wanna stay here
and drink up all the beer
Please don't
Please don't take me home
Absolutely fantastic.
You see all them come out there.
Buzzing. Buzzing.
We've got a chance now. Come on! We have.
Outstanding.
Absolutely outstanding.
It was well-deserved.
Honestly, well-deserved.
They played so well.
Fletcher, at the start,
looked a bit rocky,
but once he got his goal,
he was like a different player.
There's the main man. There he is.
They're Look!
Fletch, they want you, bro.
The weight lifted.
You can see it by my smile.
To get my first goal
is a massive relief for me.
As a goal-scorer,
when you go eight games without a goal,
and people are saying to you,
"Don't worry. It'll come."
You could see everyone's face like
I think all the boys were happier
than I was to be fair
because they know how much
I've been working hard and training.
I don't think I'll sleep tonight
to be honest.
Cheers, mate.
I was told that there's been an incident.
I don't know exactly.
I've heard one or two rumors,
but until I speak with everybody
to find out exactly what's happened,
it's difficult for me
to say anything, really.
The scene on Dovedale Road,
a string of damaged cars
and concerned owners.
Me and my dad both said,
"Where has your car gone?"
We looked outside, looked left,
and at 40 meters down the street,
and it was the other way around,
smashed to bits.
Sunderland have suspended Darron Gibson
with immediate effect this morning
after the player was charged
with a drink-driving offense.
but when police arrested him,
his speech was slurred,
and he had 105 milligrams of alcohol
in his blood.
Sunderland is being smashed up,
you're in here off your face.
That looks good for the club, doesn't it?
I'm not gonna blow smoke up your arse.
You sit here and are fucking
pissed out of your head.
-Who's been pissed out of their head?
-You.
-What, now?
-Of course you are.
Darron Gibson was released on bail.
He'll return here for sentencing
on May the 25th.
Darron is a player
who I could never, ever fault
for his desire to get on the pitch.
So, obviously, having been arrested
on the charge of drink-driving,
I think there's maybe,
in Darron's life off the pitch,
there's been an accumulation of things
that have built up for him
as an individual.
You have to walk that very thin line
of the welfare of a human being
and an employee.
And obviously, as a highly-paid footballer
there comes a sense of duty,
a certain standard
that you have to behave to.
He fell well below that,
but he knows that, having spoken to him.
But what I could never accuse
Darron of being
is somebody that came
to this football club
and didn't care about Sunderland. He did.
He made mistakes along the way,
and has paid the consequences.
All right, so it's chaos, now.
It's dark. It's gloomy. It's chaos.
People are going, "What a mess!
What a mess our football club is!"
You don't think it
when you're in the middle of it,
you're in a tornado of pain and suffering
and anxiety and stress.
But out of chaos, calm can arrive.
Forty three previous games
has brought us to this point.
Never the less, there's still
a glimmer of hope and a chance
that we can keep it going, keep fighting.
When you've been beaten down for so long,
you've just gotta fight back against it.
Do you know, I feel sick.
I really do feel sick.
If we get beat today, that's it.
It's all over.
Just one last thing before we go.
Lucky black cat.
Come on. Lucky black cat.
I'm superstitious,
but it's becoming quite pointless.
Right. Haway lads, let's hit the road.
-Georgie, you all right, mate?
-I'm all right.
Hey, boys.
Probably the greatest escape
we have ever pulled,
than anything we've ever done
in the Premiership before
if we got out of this somehow.
If the gods are with us,
and we get a referee
that's not blind or stupid
we might be in with a shout.
More than any other game this season,
this is the game we gotta take care
of our business.
We've got a real good chance
of getting three points
which could keep us in there.
I know about the past
and we've got to cut it loose.
It's only what's in front of us.
That's all we can affect now.
Even in these dark days for us
where there's loads of pressure,
bottom of the league
Let's go, fellas.
we're always chasing
that next happy moment
that relief of a win.
Well, it’s a beautiful afternoon, Benno.
Absolutely glorious sunshine.
I wonder what Sunderland can pull
out the hat.
I've been relegated as a player,
and it's the worst feeling.
And it never leaves you, that feeling.
If Sunderland win
they can't go down this weekend.
They would, though,
still be six points adrift.
Come on, Sunderland!
Fletcher's still going.
He's in the penalty area.
Tried to get it teed up for McNair!
He's scored!
In the 34th minute from 20 yards.
Sunderland 1, Burton nil.
And it's Paddy McNair again!
And that bottom of the table looks much,
much better now.
As it stands,
Sunderland go up to 37 points.
They leapfrog Burton.
Three points behind Birmingham and Bolton.
So, game on?
Cattermole down the right,
trying to find the run of Asoro
into the penalty area.
The flag stayed down.
Asoro in the box.
Right side of the six-yard box.
Blocks the cross,
and it comes back to Honeyman.
His shot blocked as well.
Wilson has gone in.
Down, and the yellow card is flourished.
Six minutes left.
If only Sunderland could get a second now.
Sordell trying to get through
into the penalty area. Squares it.
Good save by Steele.
And Burton have equalized
with Darren Bent's header.
Steele made the first save,
and Darren Bent followed up with a header,
and Burton equalized in the 85th minute
through Darren Bent.
-Fuck off, Bent!
-Fuck off!
Fucking greedy bastard!
Five minutes of added time here.
Can Sunderland pull something
out of the hat?
Come on!
Clarke-Salter tried to put
the rebound home, but put it wide.
Matthews with the throw,
looking for McNair.
And he's being pulled about here.
Surely, that was a foul.
The referee says no.
You're fucking shite!
You cheating bastard!
Sunderland 1, Burton Albion 1.
And I can't see that we're gonna get
a huge amount more time.
The free kick is taken.
He's scored!
Liam Boyce has scored.
He's headed in the bottom corner.
And Burton now lead by two goals to one.
Three minutes into added time.
It's desperate really.
McNair's shot over the top
for a corner kick.
So, McGeady goes down to take the corner.
There's a bundle,
and it's all over the place.
Where's it come down to?
In the end, it's gone over the line!
It's in! It's bundled over the line!
It's over the line.
Jason Steele was up there as well.
It's Sunderland 2, Burton 2.
Now, the referee is going over
to the assistant on the far side.
The goalkeeper is complaining
that it was kicked out of his hands
when he was on the floor.
He is still arguing over on the far side.
The referee has wiped out the goal
and given the free kick.
It remains Sunderland 1, Burton Albion 2.
Ref, how much are they paying you?
How much are they paying you?
You cheating bastard!
Come on. Let's have a whip round.
Pay the ref.
You've got the sun in your eyes.
You couldn't do anything.
Absolute bollocks.
You're guessing. Guessing!
-We're down now, aren't we?
-Yeah.
I think that's it. Yeah.
I think that's it.
And it's a really crap way to go down.
'Cause they played really well.
They played really well.
Firstly, I think I'd just like
to apologize to everybody, the supporters,
for coming up short
and ultimately not having
what was needed.
Yeah, I think
brutal experience,
and the disappointment is huge.
You know, I knew what I was walking into.
I thought I could affect it more.
I haven't affected it like I wanted to.
So, I'll take that responsibility.
Chris, this is the second time
in 140 years
the club has been in the third tier.
I mean, where does the club go from here?
I don't know, to be honest with you.
I don't know what the plan is.
So
when I speak with Martin
He's as much in the dark as me.
Well done!
Well done!
Well done, mate!
Well done for destroying the club.
-Well done!
-Fuck off!
Yeah, just
Just another sickening blow,
innit, really?
That's the end of it like.
Chris!
How do you feel?
I feel responsible.
You haven't got a fucking clue, mate.
Okay. You don't know me very well.
-Chris, can I get a photo?
-Yes, of course.
Bullshit! Fucking prick!
No, Chris.
You calling me a prick?
I'm a married man with six kids.
-You're calling me a prick?
-Yes.
Sorry.
It doesn't matter how bad it is.
I supported Sunderland
when they went down last time,
in the Third Division,
and I'll be supporting them this time,
when they're League One.
We're always gonna be there.
As long as there's something
for people to follow, you know?
Sunderland has always been
a family club.
I could cry.
I can't eat. I just want to cry.
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand
Take my whole life too
For I can't help
Falling in love
With you
Sunderland!
We'll be back!