SHAKE IT OFF
The first two series of Sunderland ‘Til I Die were epic. Car crash documentary TV at its finest, full of real characters with self-awareness so low it would put Alan Partridge or Richard Keys to shame [EDM continues]. But as any footy doc fan knows by now, it’s never so good when the team wins. Try watching five minutes of the ultra-boring Amazon All Or Nothing Manchester City documentary without falling asleep and you’ll see the difference. The genius of Sunderland ‘Til I Die lay in its terrifying lack of PR airbrushing, giving audiences the popcorn-eating pleasure of sitting back and watching things go disastrously wrong, like Dad’s Army in real life. “We needed series three to see Sunderland win,” explained the show’s producer Gabe Turner upon the release of this latest batch of episodes, which chart the club’s successful 2021-2022 season in League One. Real? Well… maybe Sunderland fans needed that reward after the endless taunts from rivals across the country as a result of the first two series.
However, football moves fast, especially in the Championship circus, so even Sunderland’s 2022 peak now seems like an eternity ago. Alex Neil who? Just three months after being promoted, he left the Stadium of Light, lured by the bright lights of Stoke City (how did that go anyway?), since then the Black Cats have struggled through another two permanent managers. : Tony Mowbray – whose dismissal last December is increasingly difficult to calculate – and Michael Beale, who lasted twelve games before disembarking through the red and white revolving doors marked Do One.
The final straw for some appeared to be Beale’s treatment of full-back Trai Hume, who had offered a handshake to his manager after being substituted in the defeat at Mowbray’s Birmingham but was subsequently turned down. Beale then went into full Arsene Wenger mode, claiming he “didn’t see” Hume, despite Hume being a 6ft tall grown man standing three feet away from him in a red and white kit. Someone called Specsavers. It had not been washed with Wearsiders and Beale was gone 48 hours later.
The unspoken problem with the Championship is that there are simply too many clubs expecting success. At least 20 start the season with the goal of reaching the playoffs or better, and most end up disappointed. When the parachute payments expire, as they do for Cardiff, Swansea, Huddersfield and Stoke – all languishing in the lower tiers – those dreams of a return to the Premier League turn into flights of fancy. But with 19 of today’s second-tier clubs having tasted the riches of the top flight at one time or another, fans’ desire for a return to big-time football is completely understandable, but also unsustainable. So here we are in February. Leicester, Leeds and Southampton – with their big budgets and Premier League-ready squads – are just a small delay in Ipswich heading straight back to the top flight after an unstoppable charge. And there is Sunderland, tenth in the table, after handing it over to Mike Dodds until the end of the season.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
Join Bryan Graham at 7.30pm for updates on Manchester City 4-1 Brentford, while Scott Murray and Rob Smyth will be on duty in the Big Cup for Inter 2-1 Atlético and PSV 2-2 Dortmund respectively.
ANDREAS BREHME (1960-2024)
The football world has paid tribute to World Cup winner Andreas Brehme, who has died at the age of 63. The former West German defender scored the winning penalty in the Italia 90 final to bring a third world title back to his home country. The gifted left-back was perhaps best known for his spell at Inter, where he won the Serie A title and the UEFA Cup in his four seasons. Inter players will wear black armbands against Atlético in honor of the German, who was a set piece specialist during his time at San Siro. “A great player, a great Inter fan. Ciao Andy, forever [a] legend,” the club said in a statement. Another former club, Kaiserslautern, which he also managed, added: “He wore the Red Devils shirt for a total of 10 years and became German champion and German cup winner with FCK. In 1990 he fired the German national team to the World Cup title with his penalty and became a football legend.” RIP, Andreas.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“How can I be a flop when I’ve only played twelve games and not all of them from the start? And not in my position either? Oh well, that’s the football world, you know.” PSV’s Luuk de Jong laughs at suggestions in British tabloids that he is among the Premier League’s worst strikers after his troubles at Newcastle ten years ago. Read the full interview with him here.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
The death of Andreas Brehme adds to the list of glorious footballers we have lost in recent times. He personified Germany – tenacity, skill, icy nerves and those flowing locks you would kill for. Auf wiedersehen” – Krishna Moorthy.
I suspect that the people throwing tennis balls onto the court during recent German league matches are in fact fans of former Bundesliga team (sadly now sixth tier) Tennis Borussia Berlin. Expect them to continue causing a stink and racket by releasing thousands of table tennis balls since the club was originally founded in 1902 as Berliner-Tennis-und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia” – Adrian Irving.
Re: Yesterday’s football day. At this stage, the low-suffering Manchester United fans would kill to return to the glory days of inconsistent signings. These days, the grim predictability of new recruits struggling to find their feet at Old Trafford – or indeed any other stadium – has taken the shine off the best part of the season: the transfer carousel” – Warrick Brown.
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our precious letter of the day is…Krishna Moorthy.
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