Lockdown Sports TV - binge-watching advice from the YP sports writers

Phil Harrison

Starting you off with The Test (Amazon Prime) the sort of intense, fly-on-the-wall documentary series that cries out for all eight episodes to be watched in one sitting.

Any cricket fan watching will know what happens at the end of this excellent series which follows the Australian cricket team for two years, right up until the culmination of last year’s Ashes Test series. Plenty of memorable highs and intense lows along the way – the Ashes Test loss at Headingley for the Australians makes for compelling viewing.

Ice Guardians (Netflix) Made in 2016, this feature-length documentary explores the controversial role of the ‘enforcer’ in modern ice hockey and whether there is a place for fighting in the sport any more.

Both sides of the argument are offered an equal footing, with players, fans and writers all pitching in. It makes for some uncomfortable viewing at times, but there are considered and thought-provoking opinions on both sides of the fence.

Stuart Rayner

Both of mine are on You Tube/Google Play, starting with Take the Ball, Pass the Ball – the best thing you can say about this documentary is that it matches the standard of football it describes as it looks at the way Pep Guardiola transformed Barcelona in his time as manager.

The cast list itself is astonishing as anyone who was anyone at the Nou Camp during this time will pop up to help give a real insight into the personality who drove one of world football’s biggest clubs to unprecedented heights.

For those who prefer an older, more spit-and-sawdust underdog storyline, I Believe in Miracles examines Nottingham Forest’s golden era in much the same brilliant way. Come for the football, stay for the interviews.

Graham Smyth

It was difficult to imagine the second season of Sunderland ‘til I Die (Netflix) matching the first for cringeworthy David Brent style television and then came Charlie Methven and his desire to turn the Stadium of Light into one of those ‘massive raves.’

The episode on transfer deadline day shows just how quickly a club’s policy, or lack of plan, can lead to poor decisions.

I’m by no means a big fan of American Football, but Last Chance U (Netflix) which follows a number of high school football teams, is brilliant. Lots of moments that just couldn’t and wouldn’t happen in British sport, never mind in our education system. A different world altogether.

Richard Byram

I’ll start locally with Do You Want To Win? (Amazon Prime/DVD) The inside story of Leeds United’s 1992 title-winning season featuring the likes of Vinnie Jones, Gordon Strachan and the inimitable Bill Fotherby. Superbly crafted by Leeds-based The City Talking. As Good as It Gets (Amazon Prime/DVD) focuses on Leeds Rhinos’ Golden Generation on the club’s historic 2015 treble. Featuring the club’s most successful coach Brian McDermott and brilliant insight from its greatest player, Kevin Sinfield. Take Us Home Leeds United (Amazon Prime) is a fly-on-the-wall documentary about United’s first season under Marcelo Bielsa and United bid to win promotion back to the Premier League. Spoiler alert….

Formula 1 Drive to Survive (Netflix) is the best “inside track” (excuse the pun) sports fly-on-the-wall series I’ve ever seen – and I am not even a big F1 fan. Finally, The English Game (Netflix) is an FA Cup class war between the Eton toffs and Lancashire millworkers which ultimately led to the foundation of the Football League.

Ben McKenna

Look out for Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez (Netflix) a three-part documentary series on how former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez went from one of the most promising prospects in the NFL to being a convicted killer. The documentary chronicles Hernandez’s life and trial and also explores the impact that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – caused by repeated head injuries – has on NFL players. Fascinating. Tyson Fury: The Gypsy King (ITV) is a documentary giving unprecedented access to Tyson Fury and his family life as he plots to become champion.

Chris Waters

The Bob Willis Tribute Lockdown Vodcast (Sky Sports Cricket) is a tribute to the late, great Bob Willis who died last year at the age of 70. Sir Ian Botham, David “Bumble” Lloyd, Mike Selvey and Paul Allott join host Ian Ward to look back on the life and career of the English fast bowler. Contains plenty of footage/discussion of Willis’s career-defining 8-43 during the Headingley Test of 1981. There is plenty of focus, too, on Willis’s natural humour – at variance with his sometimes brutal persona on Sky’s nightly cricket verdict show – and his love of life in general. Well worth a watch for a more rounded, intimate portrait of Willis.

Leon Wobschall

For me, the BBC have missed a trick in not repeating Match of the Seventies (You Tube) on Saturday evenings during lockdown. An era of ploughed pitches, mavericks, cigarette smoke, British Rail football specials and intoxicating football and characters.

Six top-flight champions in that glorious decade of Shankly, Revie, Clough, Paisley and Mee et al in the dug-out and Bremner, Bowles, Hudson, Currie, George and Marsh on the pitch. A bonus with Dennis Waterman doing the voice-overs.

Nick Westby

Recently-released The Last Dance (ESPN/Netflix) charts Michael Jordan’s final season with the dominant Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. Only two episodes released but some never-before-seen footage of arguably the greatest of all time makes it compelling.

If you can find Keane v Vieira – Best of Enemies (ITV) do so. A spine-tingling rivalry, then and now.

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