Fan Letters: “I’m worried this Netflix series will badly effect Sunderland’s current season!”

Dear Roker Report,

Is anyone else a little worried that the upcoming Netflix series could have a detrimental impact on the current squad? I was at the advanced screening of episode one at the Sunderland Empire yesterday and I was absolutely blown away by all of it... the production quality was immense, the content superb, and the intro video had me in tears.

That aside, there’s no hiding away from what went on and George Honeyman said something during the Q&A that struck me. He said that he doesn’t really want to re-live what happened as we are in a good place right now, and that’s very fair. I wonder how some of the players who have moved on since that time might cope if some of the footage puts them under the microscope with fans, or paints them in a bad light.

Guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens as the rest of the series unfolds.

Ian Hughes

Ed’s Note [Gav]: Without giving too much away... I honestly wouldn’t worry. We all know what went on during that time and there’s no hiding from it, but I actually felt having watched all eight episodes that it was cathartic - it helped me to realise just how bad it actually was, and how right now we’re in a great place.

Sure, some of the players don’t come out of it looking good, but I actually felt sympathetic towards the majority of them and felt more anger towards the managers - Grayson and Coleman - and the then-owner, who as we know was absent for most of last season.

I hope the players feel the same way too - it was a bad time to be a part of the club, but now we are all going in the same direction we can probably use the series as an opportunity to reflect and ensure that the same mistakes are never repeated again.

Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

Dear Roker Report,

I just wanted to write in to congratulate Duncan Watmore on his performance on Tuesday night against Notts County. I thought he was terrific and he doesn’t look to have lost any of his vigour or pace. Once he’s ‘match fit’ I think we’ve got a real asset on our hands.

So from me to him, Duncan... well in fella.

Keep the faith.

Glen Crumbie

Ed’s Note [Gav]: Hear, hear. I thought he did really well all things considered, and some even thought that he was our man of the match.

He’s a fun player to watch, Duncan, in that he’s so incredibly direct and you don’t actually know what he’s going to do half the time - as good as Maguire, McGeady and Gooch are, none of them are like Watmore in that sense, so it’s exciting to think about how good he could potentially be if he’s past all of his knee issues.

Sunderland AFC via Getty Images