'It was like being in Big Brother, you never felt comfortable, it was a bit of an issue for us': The inside story of Sunderland, Netflix and the streaming drama that ended happily ever after

"Fans were used to it by then, having finished 16th, 14th and 17th over the previous three campaigns. Years of scattergun spending under a string of managers left a once-proud institution with an ageing, bloated squad and huge debts. To make matters worse, Allardyce was lured away by England that summer and his replacement, David Moyes, didn't sugar-coat things. He was saying as early as August that we were facing a relegation dogfight,"

"Despite a 34-year-old Jermain Defoe's 15-goal haul, the Mackems' decade-long Premier League stay came to an end in 2016-17 as they finished bottom and 16 points from safety. Moyes resigned. That whole season was depressing, recalls Henderson. That was our fifth relegation battle in a row, and there was clearly something rotten. I still tried to see it as a chance to hit the reset button and come back up refreshed."

Sunderland narrowly avoided relegation in 2015-16 under Sam Allardyce, surviving by two points ahead of Newcastle. Allardyce left for England and David Moyes warned of a relegation dogfight before the 2016-17 season. Years of scattergun spending, frequent managerial changes, an ageing and bloated squad, and large debts left the club weakened. Despite Jermain Defoe scoring 15 goals, Sunderland finished bottom in 2016-17, 16 points from safety, prompting Moyes's resignation. Supporters and former players described successive relegation battles and a clear need for a summer overhaul in 2017.

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