'The club was finished' - inside Sunderland's TV drama

Sunderland's return to nan Premier League has rekindled memories of a revelatory tv bid documenting nan club's turbulent 1996-97 campaign. It was a task that would seizure nan changing look of shot while ending successful heartache.

"Men against boys," railed an incensed Peter Reid arsenic his Sunderland broadside trailed visitors Wimbledon by 2 goals astatine half-time of their December 1996 match.

"All complete nan pitch. Weak," he continued, storming retired of nan dressing room aft telling his charges to "get connected pinch it".

Only a fewer minutes into nan first section of Premier Passions, nan expletive-filled diatribe provided an eye-opening preamble for viewers of BBC One.

"Every now and past you've sewage to get into players," Reid says coming of that rant. "But if you did it each week it wouldn't work. I'm not that stupid.

"Even though it looks beautiful brutal, I still person a laughter astir it pinch nan lads erstwhile I spot them.

"I don't deliberation it would beryllium acceptable nowadays. I deliberation society's changed if I'm honest, but them days - listen, it happened to maine arsenic a player. I'm not saying it was nan norm, but it did happen."

As nan nine prepared to time off its beloved Roker Park location aft nigh-on a century, nan bid - broadcast successful February and March 1998 - besides elaborate efforts to capitalise connected nan commercialized possibilities opening up arsenic nan game's apical flight, past known arsenic nan Premiership, exploded successful popularity.

When a missive from nan BBC proposing nan accumulation landed connected nan table of Lesley Callaghan, nan club's caput of PR, she and nan committee saw it arsenic an opportunity to archive a "historic moment".

"It felt for illustration thing important was happening pinch nan maturation of nan Premier League, TV deals and building of caller grounds aft nan Taylor study [into nan Hillsborough tragedy]. It was a chance to beryllium portion of that.

"We each felt location would ne'er beryllium a bigger communicative to tell. Everyone was moving difficult for nan nine and nan city."

Sir Bob Murray CBE, president astatine nan clip and now life president, says it was a chance to people "a caller beginning", pinch nan nine floating connected nan London Stock Exchange to raise costs for nan Stadium of Light - being built astatine Monkwearmouth wherever blackened miners had toiled for decades earlier their colliery was closed.

"It was a very testing time. There was nary early astatine Roker Park. It was difficult for group to comprehend because of nan emotion attached to it, but I knew it.

"We only turned complete astir £4m and were losing money. Although Roker had a capacity of astir 22,500, we only sold retired that play against Manchester United and Newcastle. There was nary training ground.

"The nine was vanished arsenic an operation. It needed to beryllium fixed. The bid was a chance to summation its profile."

There to screen those storylines connected behalf of nan BBC - which had afloat editorial power - was head John Alexander, calved only a fewer miles distant successful nan County Durham municipality of Peterlee.

"The group I was moving pinch presumed Sunderland would beryllium my club," he explains. "The point is, I didn't cognize overmuch astir football.

"But it's truthful overmuch a portion of that area that I said I'd emotion to do it because I knew it was ne'er conscionable going to beryllium astir nan sport. It was astir nan place, nan fans and everything else."

Initially wary of allowing cameras into nan sanctum of nan dressing room, Reid says his misgivings soon disappeared.

"They were a bully crew, awesome lads. Some of nan bits they show of maine getting into nan players are because it makes bully TV, I should imagine.

"There were different times erstwhile I'm rather measured and tactically thoughtful, [but] it conscionable shows you wherever I get into them.

"You do shape relationships. They sewage to cognize erstwhile to travel and spot maine and erstwhile not to," he adds pinch a laugh.

For his part, Alexander remembers a crippled of "cat and mouse" pinch nan head who he felt possibly "didn't want to beryllium put nether nan microscope".

"I met Peter and he was great, telling america we could person immoderate we wanted.

"The first week we said 'to make things arsenic easy arsenic possible, we'll put a mic connected your overcoat truthful we won't person to interfere pinch you'. Of course, he didn't put his overgarment on.

"Then half-time comes astatine a crippled and we've been promised we tin spell into nan squad talk. We walked to nan doorway and virtually wrong 10 seconds he said 'you batch tin [get out] for a start'."

Leading a mini unit comprising 2 researchers, a cameraman and sound expert, Alexander realised "this can't spell on, you've sewage to spot us".

"After that we had to person a conversation, saying if we didn't get nan entree it really wasn't going to activity and we weren't retired to stitch him up.

"I retrieve him saying: 'The point is, I dream you're not conscionable going to person maine effing and jeffing nan full time.'

"Well," Alexander adds pinch a good-natured chuckle. "If you've seen nan squad talks, what was I expected to do?"

Picking up successful December 1996 pinch nan nine mid-table, nan 50-minute episodes besides featured unit and fans arsenic Sunderland slid towards nan bottommost three, hampered by nan nonaccomplishment of record-signing Niall Quinn and caller goalkeeper Tony Coton to injuries.

"As nan weeks went connected nan results began to return a spot of a nosedive," Alexander says. "But location was a definite constituent wherever everyone realised location was nary going back.

"And really everyone began to spot this was an opportunity to show group their committedness erstwhile things were going against them and that decisions weren't rather arsenic nan fans perceived from nan outside. In nan end, that transparency worked well."

Approaches for forwards Ronen Harazi - jokingly referred to arsenic 'RoboCop' because of a metallic rod successful his limb - and Jon Dahl Tomasson proved fruitless, while a late-season woody for Chris Waddle was branded a "panic buy" by a protagonist connected camera.

Keen to show they had not lacked ambition, boardroom scenes saw lawman president John Fickling tally done a database of missed targets including Rangers' Paul Gascoigne and Manchester United's Andy Cole and Paul Scholes.

Reid admits those enquiries were non-starters.

"You propulsion names into nan cookware from nan scouting side, but Alex [Ferguson, Manchester United manager] wasn't having it."

Murray acknowledges "there was nary money spare".

"Building a stadium for illustration we did, you haven't sewage costs rushing astir [for players]. You've sewage banks and building contracts having to beryllium paid. There was monolithic rate outflow each month."

Sunderland's conflict went to nan last time of nan season.

But their destiny would beryllium decided by different gathering pinch Wimbledon and a 1-0 nonaccomplishment astatine Selhurst Park saw them tumble backmost into nan First Division a twelvemonth aft being promoted arsenic champions, contempt their 40-point tally - a then-record.

It near Reid, doubly a convention victor successful his playing days pinch Everton, "shell-shocked".

"I'm not stupid. I had a fewer sleepless nights worrying astir it and I was conscious of nan stock price, but I ever thought we had a bully chance [of escaping]."

When nan clip came for an beforehand screening, Callaghan, who later became a nine director, travelled to a BBC guidelines successful London pinch Murray and Fickling wherever nan trio dispensed pinch nan buffet specified was their eagerness to watch each 5 episodes.

"People return nan mick retired of Bob for nan boardroom chat astir golden taps for nan executive toilets," she says. "But he laughed on successful nan aforesaid measurement arsenic nan fans."

Featuring a voice-over from Peterlee-born character Gina McKee, nan philharmonic accompaniment was a church-like choral statement successful a motion to supporters' viewing nan athletics arsenic akin to a religion.

With nan club's relegation, it was composed arsenic a requiem, Alexander confirms.

When nan bid was broadcast successful an after-the-watershed slot, Reid says his players - and family members - tuned in.

"The lads hammered me. I sewage plentifulness of stick, put it that way.

"The only clip I sewage into problem was pinch my Auntie Mary, God remainder her soul, who was a staunch catholic. It's adjacent to opportunity she gave maine a [telling off] for my language."

All progressive opportunity they look backmost fondly connected nan accumulation and praise its effect successful helping nan nine scope caller groups of supporters.

While Roker Park's stands were often half-full, coming location is simply a waiting database for Stadium of Light play tickets contempt nan ground's 48,000 capacity.

Liverpudlian Reid again led Sunderland to promotion successful 1999 arsenic good arsenic 2 seventh-placed finishes successful nan apical section earlier departing successful October 2002.

But he suggests nan run featured successful Premier Passions was "possibly nan champion achievement" fixed nan limitations and youthfulness of nan squad.

"It was a sadistic convention and it caught up pinch us. It was conscionable a matter of battening down nan hatches and trying to excavation our measurement retired of it," he reflects.

"They gave maine everything they had and were perfectly magnificent. You can't inquire for thing more."