High-flying Sunderland are showing chaotic Man Utd how a football club should be run - and now Premier League new boys can put Ruben Amorim on the brink

But while Welcome to Wrexham shows a small, humble club on the rise amidst a lavish takeover, Sunderland Till I Die portrays a gigantic club in freefall. Midfielder Darron Gibson threatens to hit a fan during a drunken argument. Jack Rodwell is refusing calls to leave as his £70,000-per-week salary is bankrupting them.

Coach Chris Coleman is openly criticised by one of his players and is then subjected to a tirade by a furious fan. Why is the fan so angry? The club have just been relegated to League One for the first time in their history, having been in the Premier League for the previous 10 years.

Sunderland’s long-suffering fans are put through the mill in each episode and their visible pain makes for compelling viewing. Enough to attract an American actor who had no previous interest in the sport to buy his own club.

Sunderland stayed trapped in the third tier of English football for three years and were a laughing stock for fans across the nation. But now they are back in the top flight and no one is laughing anymore. And on Saturday, they will have a crisis-stricken Manchester United in their crosshairs…

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