PETER Reid's seven and a half year reign at Sunderland was immortalised in the BBC TV series "Premier Passions". But the television executives missed a trick.

Instead of stopping the cameras from rolling at the end of the 1996-97 season, they should have continued filming throughout the rest of Reid's time on Wearside. Then they could have come up with the ultimate fly on the wall disaster show: "What happens when football management goes wrong".

This evening, the current Coventry boss will encounter Sunderland's fans for the first time when his new club meet his former employers at Highfield Road.

The atmosphere is certain to be charged, with Reid himself admitting that the "couple of supporters" who fell out with him during his stay in the North-East may feel they have a score to settle tonight. If he'd said a couple of thousand he might have been getting nearer to the truth.

But why is such animosity directed towards the man who led Sunderland to their highest top-flight finish since 1955, and then repeated the trick the following season?

Reid's supporters - and there are still a sizeable number amongst the Black Cats faithful - still shower his first six seasons at the club with almost reverential praise.

The amiable Scouser replaced Mick Buxton in 1995 with Sunderland heading for the Second Division, but steadied the ship enough to lead the Wearsiders to the relative safety of 20th position.

The following season saw an instant turnaround, with Reid guiding Sunderland to the First Division championship thanks to a combination of cut-price signings and inspired loan deals.

Relegation from the top-flight quickly followed but, rather than licking his wounds, the former England international flew in the face of controversy by signing dyed-in-the-wool Geordie Lee Clark from neighbours Newcastle.

The move ultimately backfired, but it underlined an obstinate streak that was to characterise the latter half of his reign.

Clark might have been the most high-profile arrival that summer, but he was accompanied by a striker who was to a have a longer-lasting impact at the Stadium of Light.

Reid's record in the transfer market might be one of the biggest sticks with which he is beaten, but his £325,000 capture of a certain Kevin Phillips must go down as one of the best pieces of business in the club's history.

Sunderland almost returned to the Premiership at the first time of asking, losing on penalties to Charlton in probably the greatest play-off game of all time, but, inspired by the strike pairing of Phillips and Niall Quinn, they were promoted as champions in 1999 with a record 105 points.

So far so good, and things were about to get even better as the Black Cats established themselves amongst the Premiership big boys. For two seasons, Sunderland held their own in the upper reaches of the top-flight.

Reid's teams were never the most aesthetic of creations, but a combination of organisation and good old-fashioned graft helped secure successive seventh-place finishes.

The undoubted high points were back-to-back wins at St James' Park and, for a fleeting moment, Sunderland could justifiably claim to be the number one club in the North-East.

But, just as Reid was reaping the rewards of his labours, so he was simultaneously sowing the seeds of his own downfall.

After leading Sunderland to the brink of the top six, the stage was set for him to help the club break into Europe for only the second time in their history. But, instead, he presided over a devastating decline that was both sudden and steep.

At that stage, two or three well thought out additions could have made all the difference.

Instead, Reid lost his head and saddled Sunderland with a legion of highly-paid no-marks unable to hold their own in the English game.

Most were so bad that he didn't even play them. Milton Nunez cost £1.6m and managed two substitute appearances, Lilian Laslandes made five starts for his £3.6m, and Nicolas Medina is still to make his league debut more than three years after Reid shelled out £3.5m to sign him from Argentinos Juniors.

At the same time, Reid was also falling out with the players he already had. Allan Johnston and Nicky Summerbee were frozen out after well-publicised run-ins with their boss, while Don Hutchison was sold to West Ham despite being one of Sunderland's most influential midfielders.

The fans also began to question Reid's propensity for playing his players out of position - World Cup winning centre-half Thomas Helmer's appearance on the wing still baffles even today - and his willingness to stand by favourites such as Kevin Kilbane no matter how out of form they were.

From being second in the table in January 2001, Sunderland found themselves scrapping for Premiership survival 12 months later, eventually scrambling to safety in 17th place.

The calls for Reid's head were deafening but, showing considerable faith in his close friend, chairman Bob Murray insisted he was the right man to turn things around.

He was still backing his man when Sunderland failed to win either of their first two games of the 2002-03 season - a decision that he was eventually left to rue.

In a final act of extravagance, Reid spent £10m in a day to sign Marcus Stewart and Tore-Andre Flo. The former Ipswich man was a striker with potential but, at £6.75m, the capture of Flo was seen to be the panicked act of a man who knew his time was up.

Reid struggled on for another month but, when Sunderland lost 3-1 at Highbury on October 6, Murray finally decided enough was enough.

Despite riding so high just two years earlier, Reid's legacy was a team destined to become the worst in Premiership history and a club saddled with a crippling £36m debt.

The fall-out from his reign is still being felt today, with current boss Mick McCarthy severely restricted in the transfer market as he attempts to guide the Black Cats back into the Premiership.

Reid has not severed all of his ties as he still owns a five per cent stake in the club.

"He's worse off than he thought he was then," joked McCarthy earlier this week. Thanks to his final two years at the helm, Sunderland are a lot worse off too.