[crowd roaring]
[commentator 1] Now, the referee
is going over to the assistant on the far side.
[dramatic music playing]
The referee has...
wiped out the goal.
Sunderland 1,
-Burton Albion 2. -[crowd clamoring]
[stammers] It's all over, bar the shouting.
Bastard. You greedy bastard!
-You bastard! -[fans yelling over each other]
[reporter] Misery at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland were relegated
for the second straight season...
-We're down now, aren't we? -Yeah.
[fans applaud] Well done!
Well done, mate.
Well done on destroying the club.
[team official] Fuck off.
Um...
It's just another... I'm sick of them blowing it, really, like.
It just all feels...
that's the end of it, like.
[reporter 2] Something had to change. Now everything might be changing.
-How did the meeting go today? -All right.
[reporter 2] Ellis Short has cleared the debts and agreed to sell
to a mysterious consortium.
[reporter 3] Who are these potential new owners?
[reporter 2] We don't know a great deal,
but we do know the front man will be Stewart Donald.
Hello, there.
This is when you'll see us. I'll take charge of the football club
and you'll see the impact that we have.
As passionate football people,
we think Sunderland's lost its sense of what it really is.
This club's been losing too many games.
People need to stop seeing Sunderland as a free wage, free three points,
piss-take, etc.
That piss-take party stops now.
[dramatic music fades]
[Charlie] Right, this is the shape of the business that you work for.
On an operational basis, this business
was losing, and planning to lose, £30-40 million a year.
Right? It is a...
failed, fucked-up business, and unless you guys understand that,
you'll never fucking make it in this world.
This was fucked.
Hundred percent fucked.
Does anyone know the interest payments the club was paying on its debt were?
It was in my presentation to all staff. [clicks pen]
So you should've dug up the presentation and looked at it, it's important.
-Anyone? -[staff mumbling]
-[board member 1] Was it 30? -[board member 2] No.
[Charlie] The club was paying £7 million interest a year.
All of the ticketing revenue from last year...
went on interest payments.
It was on track to being the first large club ever to go properly bust.
So, this isn't your fault, guys.
Okay? It's not your fault the club's fucked up.
But you do have a role in the renaissance.
[mellow music playing]
Every day counts right now.
We're still in a firefight.
[birds chirping]
[Charlie] We're still with our backs to the wall.
We're still digging ourselves out of the trench that we jumped into back in May
and we need all you guys in that trench with us.
Good morning. Ticket office.
[Charlie] You are absolutely integral
to making the football club sustainable.
-[fans chatter] -[seller] Who's next?
[Charlie] The football club being sustainable
is integral to the happiness of the entire city.
-[mellow music continues] -[birds chirp]
So you are in positions of huge responsibility and value.
[dramatic music playing]
This is a meaningful, valuable job.
This is what stops people crying in church.
Do something memorable in your career that you look back on in 20 years' time
when you say, "I was part of the team
that turned that club around."
[dramatic music fades]
["Shipyards" by The Lake Poet playing]
♪ On the river Where they used to build the boats ♪
♪ By the harbor wall The place you loved the most ♪
♪ I can see you there alone ♪
♪ But, oh, you know ♪
♪ I'll be there ♪
♪ Soon ♪
♪ All your life You worked your fingers to the bone ♪
♪ You worked hard For every little thing you owned ♪
♪ That you gave away for years ♪
-♪ As if you'd known ♪ -[trains rumbling]
♪ They were calling out ♪
♪ But if you could see me now ♪
♪ And if you could see me now ♪
♪ I hope that I'm making you proud ♪
♪ Proud ♪
[song fades]
[seagulls and crows cawing]
It's vital that we go up, and really, in lots of ways,
if we can get out of League One, you feel that the serious work begins.
Um, it's just, as you get close to the season, it...
your heart beats a little bit faster and a little less regularly,
so we'll see what happens, but...
I'm looking forward to this, there's no doubt about that.
I've been blown away by Sunderland.
Nothing I've ever seen can compare to Sunderland.
The passion of the fans. They're mad. Absolutely football mad, they are.
And in lots of ways,
that doesn't make me suited to owning them
because I get quite emotionally attached to...
to things and to people, which means that I feel that emotion.
Um... [sighs]
And in lots of ways, that's probably not good for me,
um, because I try and give it 100%
but it means I'm working all hours to try and...
try and, you know, realize their dreams for them,
and, uh, I feel-- I feel that pressure.
It'll put me in an early grave, but I'll have a lot of fun.
[radio host 1] The only football phone-in
-across the North East... -[radio host 2] Total Sport.
-[interviewer] Who is Stewart Donald? -[host] It's a good question
because he's not known around this part of the country.
He's a businessman from Oxford. He runs an insurance company
but he also has a 10% stake
in Oxford United,
who play in League One,
the division Sunderland will be playing in this season.
[BBC host] A new era
at Sunderland Football Club is underway.
The club is debt-free and is being run by a new owner,
Chairman Stewart Donald
and Director Charlie Methven...
I start from a very simple place, being a fan myself.
One of the worst things as a football fan
is not knowing what's going on
and not feeling part of something that fundamentally is yours.
Which is interesting because if things aren't going well,
you'd have to take criticism.
The football club is for the fans.
They want to know what's going on at their club,
so if I don't tell them, they're not gonna know.
People are getting in touch,
I can see text messages...
"Are Sunderland in a position financially to keep our promising young players?"
I guess that's a big question to answer in a short space of time.
There are other clubs interested in a lot of our players.
The bigger issue is not whether or not we can afford to keep them,
-it's whether they actually want to stay. -[mellow music playing]
[host] I think it's time we went
to the phones, got your questions out there.
[man] What you gonna do about the pink seats?
[man 2] Over the last few years,
the seats have faded to pink and it's been a real issue for the fans.
[Stewart] If I had my way, I would invite the fans down
and we'll all change the seats together.
And we'll get the players to do it, the staff to do it
and we'll get the fans to do it.
[host] Lots of people getting in touch. Tony is on the line,
wants to speak to Stewart Donald.
If you keep on doing what you say you will,
you'll have 30,000 in that stadium.
'Cause all we want's honesty and passion,
and you sound like a man that's gonna give us this.
That's unbelievable. What a club. We've just got to deliver for everyone.
What we wanna do is get the stadium buzzing again.
That means selling as many season cards as possible.
This is a new dawn. Please, please join us.
[mellow music fades]
[birds chirping]
[Stewart] Morning, all.
[sighs heavily, mumbles] All right?
[Charlie] When Ellis Short sold the club to Stewart...
How are you? You all right?
...there was not a queue of ready buyers at the door.
-Morning, everyone. How are we going? -[man 1] Morning.
-[man 2] Morning, Charlie. -[Charlie] When a club is losing
£30 million a year,
you've got to a place where the business is insolvent.
Player wages were 34 million for last year.
[keyboard clacking]
[Stewart] Gordon Bennett.
[Charlie] Stewart's the owner of the club,
and ultimately the biggest area of expenditure
is on the playing side.
[Stewart] We've got the most expensive team on the pitch,
seven or eight million pounds higher than our nearest rival, I'm sure.
[Charlie] The club simply cannot afford
to carry on paying players
Premier League salaries to play League One football.
-[Stewart] Hi, Charlie. -Stew, hi, how you going?
[Stewart] Yeah, all right.
Just, um, trying to squeeze these expenses down all the time.
[Charlie] On the commercial and marketing side and PR side,
I'm working away very hard to get that turned around.
That's a gradual process.
Getting the playing squad turned around
has to happen... now.
Obviously, you're talking about, um...
Matthews.
Of course, you're not sure how he's going to react.
[host] We have more breaking transfer news for you on talkSPORT this afternoon.
-[dramatic music plays] -[TV host] Sunderland have terminated
the contract of record signing Didier Ndong
after the player went AWOL.
He leaves the club with three years left on a five-year deal.
You're talking about him, and then you've got Ruiter,
who's out of contract,
but there aren't that many that are out of contract.
[TV host] Jack Rodwell,
a £10 million-signing from Manchester City,
but after a frustrating time at the club, he was released earlier this year.
I don't feel like I have to prove something, to be honest.
Just for me, really, I just want to...
prove to myself-- 'cause I know what I can do in the game
and I've got aspirations, so I want to achieve that.
Uh, well, the view is that Cattermole is going to be tough to shift.
Yeah. We need to get a plan and we got to get a plan quickly,
haven't we?
[seagulls cawing]
[reporter] New Sunderland owner Stewart Donald said in an interview
this morning that he'd agreed broad terms with a new manager
in which would be his first appointment as owner here at Sunderland
after taking over.
A young manager is hot property having won PFA Scotland Manager of the Year.
-How you doing, guys? All right? -[men mumble]
[Charlie] Okay, everybody.
Good afternoon. Welcoming our manager, Jack Ross, to the club.
Did Stewart Donald have to sell you this club?
[Jack] I think the new ownership aspect is a key point.
Would I have preferred the club not to be in League One?
Probably.
But equally, you also have that belief
that you can be part of an upward journey.
That one is certainly more enjoyable than the other one.
[reporter 2] Do you have to win promotion?
[stammering] Is that the objective of the challenge?
For the owners, they haven't said that. For me, yes.
It's going to be a challenge. It's going to be a lot of work
to be done in a short period of time. Gonna be a tough league,
but you've got to have ambitions and goals.
For me, it's to win promotion.
[dramatic music playing]
[dramatic music fades]
-And this is your office. -It's all right, isn't it?
These are the first team training pitches, so you can see them from your office.
Obviously you'll be out there most of the time, but...
[Jack] I think it's an ideal opportunity for me.
A lot of hard work ahead of us,
a lot of hard work in a relatively short period of time.
It's a big period of transition for everybody.
Until you're really in the heart of the club,
you don't understand the challenges that are there.
[engine rumbling]
[trainer] Nelson. Leaving Maja and Asoro.
-Yeah. -Late again.
Might as well crack on with yous.
Stand there.
Face that way.
-[indistinct conversation] -Both arms straight above your head.
Good.
Punctual as ever, lads!
Punctual as ever.
Where yous been?
-Chilling at home. -[trainer] Chilling at home?
-[Maja] Yeah. -[table creaks]
Morning, gaffer.
-[Jack] You all right? -[indistinct chatter]
How are you? Are you well?
-[Maja] I'm good. You? -How's your summer?
-Good, yeah. And you? -Good, mate.
[continued chatter]
Good. Back to it?
-[Maja] Yeah. -Yeah?
-Buzzing? -Yeah.
-[Jack laughs] -I just want on with it.
[Jack and Maja laugh]
[indistinct chatter]
[Charlie] Stewart and I have quite different brains.
If you like, it's the difference between the left brain and right brain.
Although he may not admit it, he looks to me for the big vision of,
"Where can this all go, how can we make it happen?"
Um, I was a journalist and now I'm a marketeer.
My role is to have a vision,
to imagine things,
to feel things.
Then to express those feelings
into plans,
strategies, ideas.
How can we turn this into something special?
Sorry, guys.
-[woman] It's all right. -[indistinct chatter]
[Charlie] What we're aiming to do,
as a marketing team and a fan engagement team,
is we want to win all the top prizes.
We're aiming to be the most engaged club in the country,
the club that everyone... that other fans around the country say to their club,
"Why can't we do it like Sunderland?"
[Charlie] The problem is, I've inherited a fragmented, disillusioned,
disunited team, which has been leaderless
for quite a while now,
so they need to see me
doing things.
They need to understand and see what "good" looks like.
-[music plays from laptop] -This is "Dance of the Knights", right?
Which, for some people, has some associations
with glorious times past, etcetera,
for that short period when everything was going really well.
My personal instinct is new start,
fresh beginnings, new sound.
Can someone challenge me on that?
Um... It's been here since the stadium opened,
so it was the run-out music when the stadium opened,
or the build-up music.
So with a certain age group
-of fans, I think it resonates. -Yeah.
It doesn't get you up for it, it's too slow, it's boring.
-Like, "We're going in the stadium..." -[man] It's quite dramatic, though.
-It's slow. -This is how I'd do it if I was the D.J.
-[EDM plays] -You've got to try and build people up,
try and get the atmosphere building through a track.
If you think about the atmosphere that Chris and I agreed
we'd try and create, we want it to be rocking in there
and a bit...
a little bit mad, a little like people--
Sunderland fans take pride in the fact that this place
is going to be a bit noisier, a bit more in-your-face.
One thing I would say is, it doesn't matter what you play
unless you get a new P.A. system.
[EDM continues]
-[clicks] -[music stops]
-[birds cawing] -[cars rushing in the distance]
[indistinct chatter]
[door squeaks open]
[Jack] I always knew there was gonna be a big turnover here because I think
there's a lot of players left the club, either permanently or ones here on loan.
[player whistles]
You have to obviously recruit and then create a team
and a squad and a winning mentality,
one that probably reflects my own personality and how I am anyway.
[dramatic music playing]
-[indistinct chatter] -[camera shuttering]
[Jack] What we'll try to do is identify
certain traits within these players we've recruited.
Loads of different aspects to consider, positions we need to fill.
[players laughing]
You can give players a common goal, the obvious one is getting promotion.
You also have to understand what motivates them individually.
There's some within our squad who have been hurt by what's happened
the last couple of years because they were part of a squad that was relegated
and they've acknowledged they played a part in that. They want to put it right.
[player] I didn't play good football last year.
Did I enjoy it? No, absolutely not.
Did I believe in what we were doing as a club? Absolutely not.
There was nothing going on.
I'm here, I'm inside you. I'm inside you.
[Lee] That's the truth.
As a group, we were nowhere near where we had to be.
-[ball clanks on post] -[indistinct yelling]
[player 2] You work all your life to be a professional footballer.
You make it at your club
and then you're part of the team
that gets relegated, and you know, it really does take its toll on you.
But me being made captain was, uh...
It's a fantastic privilege to have.
When things are going well, you can, like, be proud of...
of being captain of this football club.
[Jack] There's others who...
that obvious hunger and ambition is to progress up the league
-'cause they've not been there before. -Slippery ball.
[Luke] I remember sitting on the bench, I looked left and I had
Bryan Oviedo,
who just came back from the World Cup,
Aiden McGeady, who got bought for £10 million
before he's played in the Premier League.
And there was me next to him and I was like... [sharp inhale]
Yeah, I'd just won League Two last year and I was like,
"What they've got on me."
I get to come across these players day in, day out.
To learn from them
-is the perfect scenario for me. -[players murmur]
[camera shuttering]
[Jack] There may be others that want to prove some people wrong
'cause of their opinion of them.
[Baldwin] Back end of my time at Peterborough
was probably highlighted for the mistakes that I made
and dwelling on 'em too much.
As defenders, you're in a territory where it could prove costly
if you make a mistake.
So I'm in a position now
where I'm focused and I'm headstrong
to get over any blip
that I have.
[Jack] Can't go with, "We get promoted, this is what it means to all of us,"
'cause it'll mean different things to different people.
Right, boys.
[woman] Right, look at Ian.
[Jack] What we've managed to bring in is a hungry group of players
that are desperate to try and progress the club
and also progress their individual careers.
-[assistant] Thank you. -[woman] All done. Thank you, boys.
[indistinct chatter]
-[wind whistles] -[flags flapping]
[Stewart] Jesus, that's fresh. [chuckles]
I'm going to get smashed round this corner.
I'll have to start running. Ooh...
We need to get rid of this. Yeah.
Somebody's mentioned that to me a couple of times
and I've left it to see whether or not it'll get done, and it hasn't got done.
That's about having pride in your...
I would've thought something like that we would pick up on.
[mellow music playing]
[newscaster] A positive story coming out the club this week,
they've started putting the seats back in
the North Stand.
Pictures coming out from the club today, it looks really nice.
And the likes of Catts and Maguire fit them in with the drills.
Good PR, right?
[Stewart] Got that all right.
Afternoon, all. It's a bit fresh, isn't it?
[man] It's a good publicity stunt.
There's no doubt about it.
And people fall for it, man!
They just want something to clutch at, that's all.
-We're clutching at straws. -[man drills]
[Stewart] We've got to go and help them, haven't we?
[Peter] I'm gonna contradict myself here.
I'm a lunatic,
I volunteered to go over and change them, me and my mate, Jimmy.
[assistant] Fantastic, it looks.
-[drill clatters] -How are you going? All right?
Must've done all this in a day and a half.
Played the whole stand out in a day and a half, so unbelievable, aye.
[lift whirring]
[indistinct chatter]
[volunteer 1] This used to be the singing end when it first opened
'cause the away fans used to be in that bottom right-hand side.
To me, it's like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be involved
in the club.
-[workers drilling] -I suppose, play a part in history.
My old seat's just up the back, there.
My other friend's seat's along there
and I've just removed them so I've got them in a big bag
to take home.
[volunteer 2] You should sign it on the back.
-Yeah. -[volunteer 2] Just in case one day
-you make it, you know what I mean? -[volunteer 1] One day you make it?
If one day you make it big.
-[men laugh] -You know what I mean?
Then it could be famous. You know what I mean?
"This is the chair that was fixed by..." What's your name?
-Luke. -[volunteer 2] Luke... Luke what?
-O'Nien. -[volunteer 2] Right.
That's what you could say. [chuckles] "Luke O'Nien built this chair."
[Luke exhales in relief]
-It's a good seat, eh? -Hands down,
this is the best chair in the stadium.
It's just so strong.
Whoever did this chair, done a good job.
[Luke] These guys have done a fantastic job.
We've just come to show
how appreciative we are of what they've been doing.
[George] Keep up the good work.
-Cheers. -I really appreciate it.
No bother. No bother.
[Luke] We probably held them back rather than helping them.
It's nice to meet them and say hello.
[overlapping chatter]
-[woman] Are you winning? -No, I'm not.
-Keeps losing his nuts! [laughs] -[Stewart] That one's not long enough.
-Whose idea was this? -[tool cranks]
[woman] Our new owners have been a godsend.
They've brought the spirit back, they've brought the atmosphere back.
-[drills rattling] -It means so much to me, this club.
[dramatic music playing]
[Stewart] The fans have enjoyed this
'cause it's their ground
and when they come here,
it'll give them real pride in the place.
[dramatic music fades]
-[Charlie] What do you reckon... -[man] We'll go up, we'll blast the music.
[Charlie] See if it works. I know there have been problems with the sound system.
Loud... Do you want it really loud before kickoff?
Yeah, um... let's see where we get to with that.
-[man] Yeah. -Let's see what it sounds like.
I don't want people feeling they're being totally assaulted.
At the same time, it needs to have
-a bit of, um... a bit of thump to it. -Yeah.
So you want some kind of, like, club atmosphere, almost?
Like a nightclub?
Yeah. Um... Or at least a very large-scale one.
[stammers] You know those massive raves?
It wasn't like in a nightclub... Sometimes it was,
-but it was a lot bigger than that. -Kind of a Balearic theme?
-Yeah. -Like a big super club?
Yeah, it's a bit Ibiza.
Well let's go give it a try then.
-We'll give it a go. -Let's give it a go
-and see what it sounds like. -Okay.
[receiver beeps]
Charlie, you ready for a run-through?
-[receiver beeps] -[filtered] Yeah, ready now.
["Dance of the Knights" remix play softly]
-[music whirs and distorts] -Sorry. Cue it up.
[music intensifies]
[music blares]
[music thumps through stadium]
[music softens]
[Frankie] How's that sound then, Charlie?
Let's have a look and see what it sounds like in the tunnel
-and dressing rooms, if that's all right. -[Frankie] Yeah, you're the boss.
[Charlie] Well, I wouldn't say that.
[music blares]
[music fades]
[Charlie] This club recently went
almost exactly 12 months without winning a single game here at this stadium.
Whereas, if we're gonna get promotion
from this division,
we're gonna need to be winning two or three games a month here.
[stirring music playing]
We want this to be a venue and a place
where away fans
and away players and away managers think,
when you go to Sunderland, as they say up here, you're getting out.
Um...
Everything's against you, the crowd's against you, the music's loud,
the atmosphere's massive.
Um... It's all set up for the home team.
And that hasn't been the case here for the last ten years.
What used to be a very intimidating place has become a soft touch.
And...
if we're going to have a successful season this season,
Sunderland simply cannot afford to have the disastrous home record
they've had in the last ten years. It's got to become a fortress. Um...
I'm not saying that the music is the determining factor,
and that the players and management are the determining factor in that,
but everything that we can do to gain an advantage, we need to do.
[stirring music fades]
[birds chirping]
[Stewart] There's still quite a lot to do on the playing front.
It's not gone...
as quickly as we'd like, so I feel we're a couple of weeks behind.
But Jack, he thinks he's got the team where he wants them.
Of course he'd like a couple more in.
Uh... [stammers] It's shaping up,
and now you're starting to... look at the team
and worry if, you know, you've made the right signings...
[stammers] ...have you strengthened in the right areas?
-Is the team gelling? -[indistinct shouts]
[ball thuds]
[continued yelling]
[players communicate plays]
[Jack] We've only got ten, eleven senior players here.
[players cheering]
[player cries out in pain]
[indistinct chatter]
For a player like Aiden McGeady, the level he's played at,
the ability he has,
the quality he has.
For him, again he's somebody who's unavailable.
[mellow music playing]
[Aiden] I want to help the team
gain promotion, that's the way it is.
I think, the more players we have fit,
the better chance we have.
[Jack] We could probably still do with more strength
and depth in certain areas.
When you plan as a manager and you see things coming together,
then naturally you want those players that are, um...
central to that to be available.
So, it's disappointing.
We have first team players unavailable for tomorrow.
The rest will be supplemented by under-23 players.
[indistinct chatter]
But we've still got a group that will go out there
who feel good about themselves. They're looking forward to it.
[Jack yells indistinctly] That's where we want you!
[players chatter]
[mellow music fades]
[birds cawing]
[dog barks in the distance]
[stirring music playing]
[seagulls cawing]
-[stirring music fades] -[indistinct chatter]
[dishes clinking]
[Charlie] How you feeling? All right?
-[woman] Yeah, we're good, aren't we? -[Stewart] Yeah.
[Charlie] It wasn't my best night's sleep ever.
No, I don't think any of us have slept that well.
I was sleeping quite well until Lora said, "Are you awake?"
-[all laugh] -"Are you awake?" at about 5:00.
[indistinct chatter]
I've never been this nervous
for a game of football. Never.
-[Charlie] I don't think I have either. -No.
-[Charlie] Not since I was a kid anyway. -No.
I was saying to the staff, you can do all the...
[stammers] ...everything else, but you can't play the game.
-[Charlie] No. -Got no control.
[man] Yeah, it feels like the...
In, uh... In Spanish,
our expression is, "the calm before the storm".
[stirring music fades]
-[suspenseful music playing] -[car engine hums]
-[Juan] We have the boss here. -Hi.
Nervous and panicking.
-Nervous? I've never been this nervous. -[Stewart] After you. [laughs]
[sportscaster] Finally,
the day we've been clamoring for has arrived.
The first day
of the new football season, with a new vigor,
a new team, new strip,
-new seats. -[fans cheering]
What a wonderful day.
[men laugh and chatter]
Thank you for taking us over, we needed it. We needed it.
It's a whole fresh start today, let's get that straight.
There's been a good vibe for a couple months around the ground,
around the football club.
[Stewart] How are you? You good? Of course you can.
[fan] I've had three heart attacks, you made them better.
-You're a savior. -[Stewart] You all right? Let's hope so.
-Sunderland blood. -[Stewart chuckles]
-See you later. -[Stewart] Enjoy the game.
[Peter] How many years? Must be 54 years for you.
-1963 was my first year. -I was '64.
How many years have you been coming?
1950...
1954-'55.
That's about 160 years between us, watching this.
-You don't look a day over 40. -[both laugh]
-[woman] All the better seeing you. -Are you well? Good to see you. All right.
-Always. -[man] Looking smart.
-That way? That way? -That way. [chuckles]
[indistinct chatter]
-[man] Going to work? Good luck. -Yeah.
[electronic music playing]
-[fan 1] Good luck, guys. -[fan 2] Come on, boys, let's go.
Come on, boys! [claps]
[Jack] A lot of these players recognize
where we were preseason.
I've sensed from the players on the training pitch
that they're relishing these games that lie ahead, and they should be,
because the crowds are so big, the attention around the game is so big
and there's so much at stake.
[indistinct yelling]
[Luke] I didn't understand how big Sunderland was.
When I see fans,
I see the passion, but the numbers that Sunderland come in...
it's-- it's frightening.
[crowd applauding and cheering]
[Jack] The circumstances in being involved in these high-pressure games
is making sure they walk out there
with their chests out and their heads up,
saying, "Yeah, I fancy this today."
[crowd chanting and singing]
[commentator 1] There'll be a change in the music ahead of kickoff today.
Listen out for that.
[continued chanting and singing]
Enjoy it, boys, eh? Enjoy it.
[stadium music thumping]
[assistant] Okay, boys.
Let's go, boys.
-[intercom chatter] -Come on, then.
-[crowd roars] -[music pumps]
[commentator 1] So the new era begins.
Honeyman leading out the new-look Sunderland
to a stadium
which, uh... well,
we're told they're still trying to get in.
What do you make of the music? A bit of trance music.
It's not my type of music, to be truthful.
[commentator 1 chuckles]
[commentator 1] Stewart Donald watches from the directors' box.
There's a buzz unquestionably
around the Stadium of Light
for this opening match of the League One season.
-[whistle blows] -[ball thuds]
Sunderland, get us underway.
[fan 1] Come on!
[indistinct whistling]
[crowd applauds]
Come on.
[fan 2] Go on, go on, go on.
[crowd cheers, then oohs]
[Stewart] Ooh... Unlucky.
[fans clamoring]
[commentator 1] Maja in the penalty area, he saw a chance.
Ooh!
I thought he'd hooked it back in then.
[mellow music playing]
[commentator 1] Good start by Sunderland, positive.
Jack Ross will be encouraged by this.
[yelling] Come on, lads! Come on!
♪ Sunderland ♪
♪ Sunderland AFC ♪
♪ We're by far the greatest team The world has ever seen ♪
♪ And it's Sunderland... ♪
-[crowd continues singing] -[Charlie] What a noise.
That's where we need to get them, doing that even when we're not winning.
[Juan] What are they singing?
[Charlie] "Sunderland, Sunderland AFC,
we're by far the greatest team
-the world has ever seen." -[laughs]
♪ Sunderland ♪
♪ Sunderland AFC ♪
♪ We're by far the greatest team ♪
♪ The world has ever seen ♪
[commentator 1] With the right boot of McLaughlin.
Sails up over the halfway line.
-[crowd cheers] -Again, looking for Maja.
Laying it off behind him for it to be played into the penalty area here
and pulled back...
[crowd oohs]
[commentator 2] Whoa, blimey.
[dramatic music playing]
[commentator 1] It breaks at the other end here, now. Ooh...
Ooh...
-[players thud] -[whistle blows]
[crowd boos]
[commentator 2] No, he's given it!
[crowd clamoring]
It's a penalty to Charlton.
[dramatic music softens]
We might have a problem.
[commentator 1] Lyle Taylor, the one-time Sunderland target,
walks to the back of the penalty area.
[whistle blows]
[crowd screams]
-[ball thuds] -[net swishes]
[Charlton fans cheer]
[dramatic music intensifies]
[whistle blows]
[commentator 1] Charlton lead 1-0, live on BBC Newcastle...
Taylor tries to break through again.
[Charlie] Both our center backs, both of them,
are all over the place.
[commentator 1] The warning signs are there, Nick.
Little tap, here, to O'Nien.
A tired Luke O'Nien, I think.
Maguire into the middle, to O'Nien.
O'Nien on the right here to Love. Love has got O'Nien back inside again...
-[crowd cheers] -...but tackled.
Luke O'Nien, his decision-making
has been poor today.
[Jack] It's not about mid-table, it's not about survival,
it's about trying to win games all the time.
Success... promotion.
What will I do if I find myself in this scenario?
Whether it's a goal down,
you know, having to make a certain type of substitution.
[whistle blows]
[commentator 1] There's the halftime whistle.
Charlton leading by a goal to nil.
A good time for Sunderland to take stock.
-[chair creaks] -No, thank you.
[assistant laughs]
[Stewart] Problem is, you know, when it comes to halftime,
you feel helpless.
You have it sometimes where people are talking to you about...
the non-football things.
"Did you know the lift broke down today?"
I don't want to talk about that at halftime.
[indistinct chatter]
[fan] Ross is quite impassive on the touchline,
he's not really dictating anything.
But maybe there's a master plan for the second half.
-[exhales deeply] -[indistinct conversations]
Right... [clicks plate]
Upstairs, okay? Anyone coming?
No?
-[Lora] Should I get my car? -Yeah. Yeah.
[assistant] Will you be able to come back down?
[Stewart] Yeah, at the end. [sighs]
[Stewart] You all right?
Here we go then.
They need more presence up top, don't they?
[commentator 1] The owner and board members a little bit slack
in coming out for the second half.
Dribbling out of the boardroom.
With the action into the first minute
-of the second 45... -[whistle blows]
...one change, O'Nien now has been replaced
by Sinclair.
[Luke] When I got taken off at halftime, it hurt me because
I didn't have the impact I wanted to on the first game of the season.
I had a dream of, you know, scoring a couple and...
The manager said it was a tactical one but, regardless, it... it hurt me.
[commentator 1] Positive, Sinclair. He's a striker.
They've looked to try and address
the attack, basically,
and get back in the game. One-nil down.
[dramatic music playing]
[crowd cheers]
[cheering intensifies, then fades]
[commentator 1] Sinclair's got a bit of pace,
and that's catching the Charlton defenders out now.
[dramatic music intensifies]
-[crowd cheers] -Down the right with Gooch.
Here's the cross,
looking for Maja...
-Caught by Phillips. -[Juan] Ooh...
[Stewart applauds]
[yelling] Come on!
[commentator 1] Drops for Oviedo, on the left.
Tries to put it back in... Ooh!
-[crowd screams] -Sinclair punched it past the post.
[Stewart] Oh, no!
Come on!
[commentator 1] Maja turns... and scores!
-[crowd erupts in cheers] -Maja! Josh Maja equalizes
in the 65th minute,
with a lovely sweet turn
and left foot strike
under the keeper.
It's Sunderland 1,
Charlton 1.
[continued cheering]
[Stewart] You feel the place is ready to take off.
♪ The world has ever seen ♪
♪ And it's Sunderland... ♪
[Stewart] The fans do not want
another false dawn.
[ball thudding]
[whistle blows]
[crowd yells]
Come on, lads!
[crowd chants and sings]
Six minutes of added time.
Six minutes. Six minutes. Come on.
[Stewart, echoing] Just a win.
If we could just win.
-[dramatic music plays] -[commentator 1] It's another corner.
Maguire drives it to the back of the box and Gooch...
-[crowd oohs] -...who couldn't get his foot on it.
[Stewart] That's the ball!
[commentator 1] Looking for the header...
-[crowd roars] -It's Gooch!
Gooch has found the winner
in the 96th minute!
Sunderland 2,
Charlton 1!
[drawn out] Lynden Gooch!
-[continued cheering] -[Juan laughs]
[Juan screams with joy]
[Charlie] Our job is to keep ourselves steady,
even while...
-[crowd chants and sings] -...around us emotions are swirling
very, very strongly.
[final whistle blows]
[crowd roars]
The club as a whole has been swinging around violently
from one direction to the next for the last seven years.
Just constant turmoil.
What we need to try and do is to harness the passion of the fans.
[continued singing]
And if we get that right,
that intensity and that emotional support
can be like an unstoppable force.
[dramatic music and singing fades]
[mellow music playing]