The new football season is nearly here but we're not gonna waste time twiddling our thumbs. Here's some stuff to watch in the meantime.
You've probably asked yourself this question a hundred times already since May: 'when does the football season start again?' We've all had a busy summer as football fans, it's hard to keep track of everything.
The Premier League start date is Saturday, 14 August and the rest of Europe will all be kicking off the new football season in and around the same time. Safe to say, we're a little excited, apprehensive and, above all else, impatient.
It all started to feel real when the
Premier League fixtures were revealed and you realise that next season is about to become this season in the blink of an eye.
That being said, we're still a couple of weeks or so away and the wait can feel like forever. So, with that in mind, we've put together a list of seven things to watch before the football season starts. There's some stuff to get you in the mood for the new season and some stuff to help take your mind off it and steady the nerves for a little while longer.
The United Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrOYdtSU9Fs
Clip via Madman Films
With Sancho signed and now Varane seemingly about to be secured, United look like they mean business this year - quite literally. They secured their joint-best finish since Sir Alex Ferguson retired under Ole Gunnar Solskjær last season but they've still yet to win a trophy under Ole or a league title since 2012/13.
Nevertheless, United have certainly looked more like, well, United over the past year or so, with fast, attacking football, last-minute winners and some incredible comebacks. Not only has the mood around the place changed but they just look more like what a United team should and that's what this incredible documentary is about: that 'DNA' - 'The United Way'.
A must watch.
The United Way is available to watch on Sky Documentaries
All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBbXGUKkJu8
Clip via Amazon Prime Video Sport
There have obviously been a number of Amazon All Or Nothing football documentaries already - each has its own charm, no doubt about that - but being the latest and arguably the most entertaining, we picked the Spurs documentary to plug in case you haven't watched it already.
We picked it simply because of the drama and pantomime of it all: José being José (retrospect makes it even better now), the otherwise elusive Daniel Levy, Danny Rose fronting as though he's a Roberto Carlos regen - there are, of course, plenty of serious moments but it's all just very funny at the end of the day.
Until the highly-anticipated Arsenal All or Nothing drops, this'll do ya.
All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur is available to watch on Amazon Prime
When Eagles Dare: Crystal Palace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXSrsQoOTRU
Clip via Amazon Prime Video Sport
One of the latest entries into the now relatively congested corner of content, we love When Eagles Dare because not only does it chronicle Crystal Palace's long journey from near extinction to creating a firm enough foothold to keep them in the Premier League for almost eight years, it is brutally honest from start to finish.
From nearly ceasing to exist in 2020 to the ever-iconic Ian Holloway years, Crystal Palace's Amazon treatment differs massively from the others in tone. Yes, the Take Us Home: Leeds does touch on the club's financial struggles and journey back to the English top-flight, but this is truly an underdog story following one of the oldest clubs in the world and how far they've come.
When Eagles Dare: Crystal Palace is available to watch on Amazon Prime
Sunderland 'Til I Die
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIqatfxGB0M
Clip via Netflix UK & Ireland
You've likely seen it already and if you haven't, we don't know what's wrong with you, but this is your last warning.
Sunderland 'Til I Die is an all-time classic of the genre - pretty much the one that truly started this whole resurgence of fly-on-the-wall football documentaries in the first place. It is a delicious nightmare that you somehow never want to wake up from. Unless you're a Mackem.
This Netflix documentary gives an unbelievable level of insight into, basically, how not to run a football club and how things can start to slip so quickly if you're not careful.
Cringeworthy attempts to rebrand, the largely sympathetic Chris Coleman; the utterly galling case of Jack Rodwell,
that Aiden McGeady moment - they're all gold for different reasons
Sunderland 'Til I Die is available to watch on Netflix
Diego Maradona
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmm7r4ynyIQ
Clip via Amazon Prime Video Sport
This one is for all those too young to ever realise just how good he was.
It's been less than a year since one of the greatest of all time died and the
circumstances around his passing are still being investigated, but one thing is for certain: football wouldn't be what it is today without him.
Netflix and Amazon have pumped out plenty of sporting documentaries but Maradona got his very own high-brow HBO joint and it isn't hard to see why. He was a footballing icon, a god in Naples and all over Argentina, not to mention someone who pushed it to the limit and lived life to the fullest - and that's putting it mildly.
An incredible tale of football and fame unlike any other.
Diego Maradona is available to watch on Amazon Prime
