Roker Report
Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
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On This Day (15th May 2014): Sunderland Plotting Deal For Marcos Alonso!
The ‘Great Escape’ that Gus Poyet’s team managed to pull off was made possible for many reasons, but none as prominent as some of the loan signings that managed to make a huge difference to the squad, namely Fabio Borini and defender Marcos Alonso. Borini’s transfer seemed one that was going to be quite protracted […]
It’s Enzo’s World… And We’re All Just Living In It!
Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa. Form an orderly queue, lads, and then turn yourselves around, because the Frenchman is staying put. He’s the most gifted footballer ever to wear the red and white, and the rest of the league can like it or lump it. I know what you’re thinking. “Big claim”. What about Shack? Baxter? […]
A Deserved Slice Of Recognition For Régis Le Bris!
Cal Mills says… Absolutely deserved! We took him on after a dismal Championship season, he guided us back to the Premier League via the playoffs at the first time of asking, had all but secured our status for next season by March and oversaw a double over the ‘Visitors’. He’s given us an identity as […]
Andy’s Player Ratings: Sunderland u21 1 – 2 Burnley u21 – Cup Final Heartache For Black Cats
Joe Cowan: 6/10 Didn’t have a chance with either goal, both being good finishes, but was sharply off his line after the break to prevent a third. Very little to do for the rest of the game. Archie Lightfoot: 6/10 Tried to get forward but was rarely picked out, on the one occasion he got […]
Haway The Podcast | ROKER ROUNDUP | Will Noah Sadiki Leave Sunderland This Summer?
Rooooll up, roooooooll up – it’s time for this week’s Roker Roundup, where your hastily-assembled cast of Haway The Podcasters give their views on all the latest news emanating from Sunderland AFC! On today’s show… All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never miss another episode of our free daily […]
The Night the Bar Rattled – And Was Finally Raised
Like many others, I’ve been watching the Championship play-offs this week with a keen interest. Whether it’s keeping an eye on how Anthony Patterson or Ross Stewart are getting on, or trying to make sense of whatever espionage is currently happening down in Hurworth, there’s been plenty to talk about. But I’m sure I’m not […]
On This Day (14 May 1984) Brutal Ashurst Swings Axe After Season Finale
Len Ashurst was keen to get his own revolution underway – with seemingly little consideration for those around him. After returning to the club as manager to replace Alan Durban, he had successfully secured top flight football for the season ahead – although how much he had to do with the final day 2-0 win at […]
“Plenty Of Movement Inside The Box…BALLARD!”
We’ve all seen it about a million times and from hundreds of angles, but none of us are probably sick of it — even a year down the line. When Dan Ballard headed the ball in off the crossbar and over the line in the 122nd minute on 13 May 2025, it sent the Sunderland-supporting […]
“One Night In Red And White Heaven”
Prior to the visit of Coventry City just over a year ago, you’d have to travel back to 2004 for the last time a Championship playoff semi-final second leg was staged at the Stadium of Light. After falling short of automatic promotion during 2003/2004 and putting up a determined fight during the first leg at […]
Noah Sadiki: A Man In Demand?
Joseph Tulip says… I’m both understanding and very comfortable with the way we operate as a club these days. We invested a sum of money in a quality young player, knowing full well that if he was successful, his value would increase and he would attract attention from other clubs. I’m content with that approach […]
Haway The Podcast | Q&A! | Club For Sale? | Referees | Ideal Signings!
Welcome to today’s edition of Haway The Podcast, and we’ve got another Q&A episode for you today! On today’s show, Martin, Andrew and Ant discuss… Refereeing standards and VAR – how has it got so bad? Rumours are the club’s up for sale? Or is it?! We think about next season, and name some ‘realistic’ […]
What Could The Future Hold For Matty Young?
Gav says… I’ve always been pretty interested in Young’s progress as a young player from afar, but that interest was piqued recently when Salford City released a mini-documentary about him on their YouTube channel, which really spotlighted him as one of the most important players at the club during what’s been a hugely successful season. […]
On This Day (13th May 1963): Sharkey’s Sunderland Double Makes The Hatters Mad!
For Sunderland, Alan Brown kept faith with Nic Sharkey up front, despite calling expensive mid-season signing Andy Kerr (along with Cec Irwin) down from Sunderland to link up with the team that played so well at Swansea two days earlier. Colin Nelson continued at right-back despite Irwin’s presence in the squad. The team retained a […]
Haway The Podcast | Q&A | Geertruida’s Future, Black Dogs And Two Up Front!
Welcome to today’s edition of Haway The Podcast, as you join Martin, Andrew and Ant as they tackle all of the questions you lovely people have sent our way this week! On today’s agenda: • Geertruida’s performance on Saturday has had people talking. Last week he looked like he was definitely off – this week…? […]
On This Day (12th May 1980): Sunderland’s Promotion Secured in Style Against the Hammers
Sunderland went into this game in fourth position in the Second Division on fifty-two points. The teams above us had played all their games and could do no more but wait on us playing our final game at Roker Park against the West Ham. With two points for a win (three points would be introduced […]
Fan Letters: Is Trai Hume Best Suited To A Role At Full Back?
Want to have your say on all things Sunderland? Drop us a line and we’ll publish your views! [email protected] Dear Roker Report, I believe Trai Hume is a very good full back but I don’t think he’s good enough to play in midfield. Hume has started thirty two league games — nineteen at full back […]
Trai Hume Is Sunderland’s Selfless Warrior
Amid the ongoing chatter about his supposed Premier League quality and whether his ‘natural’ position is one in which we may need to upgrade in the future, two things are true of Trai Hume. The first is that he is not, never has been and never will be ideally suited to the kind of peculiar […]
Haway The Podcast | ROKER REWIND | How Close Was Don Revie To Being Named Sunderland Boss?
In the second and final part of our look at Don Revie’s relationship with Sunderland, Martin, Kelvin and Chris delve into the summer and autumn of 1964, and discover just how close – or not – Revie was to leaving Leeds and joining Sunderland as manager. In today’s show, we look at: All this and more! […]
Dave Watson: A Battle Bigger Than Football
Dan Ballard’s sending off against Wolves dominated discussions around Sunderland last week, with the club deciding to appeal against his VAR red card for the now much-talked about hair pull. However, while the club waited for the FA to predictably reject their appeal, elsewhere, a far more significant – but much less publicised – decision regarding […]
Editorial: A Great Performance, Club Sale Rumours, National Headlines & The Puzzle Of Geertruida
A Great Performance… There are a few bits, so best to break this up, and I’m going to start with Saturday’s performance – because the Lads deserve a lot of credit. They came out of the blocks after kick-off with an intensity that we maybe haven’t seen for a while – potentially when we completed […]
Passing On Lutsharel Geertruida Could Be A Misstep By Sunderland
On Match of the Day’s coverage of Sunderland’s iconic victory over Newcastle United at St James’ Park, it was arguably down to sheer dumb luck (or possibly just a superb piece of TV direction), that as the Lads celebrated Brian Brobbey’s late winner with emotions running highly in front of the Leazes End, a pitchside […]
On This Day (11th May 1997): An Agonising End To The Final Season At Roker!
I started last week’s OTD in a similar theme, because as a group we’ve been doing this for five or six years now, and we usually check to see what others in the group have written about before us before we pick one and get going. At this time of the season, however, you realise […]
Haway The Podcast | SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT | Nick Barnes Joins Us To Review The Lads Draw Against United!
It’s always big when Manchester United are in town and we’ve got podcaster, author and United It was the most entertaining goalless draw we’ve seen for some time, but if you luck at the national headlines you would think Sunderland were lucky to scrape a draw! Luckily for us, Nick Barnes joins Jonny and Chris […]
Talking Points: Sunderland “Quick On The Draw” As United Are Held
Sunderland’s recent progress is highlighted once again It’s often the football club that draws the most attention to the city of Sunderland, and even when the headlines are focused on other aspects, the Lads can still be an example of what’s needed for things to be at their best: folks from different backgrounds coming together […]
2 Up, 2 Down: Gritty Sunderland Give Manchester United A Scare
Ciaran McKenna says… A much improved performance from the Lads We moved the ball quickly and were a threat on the attack. After the last few poorer performances, it was nice to see us being positive with the ball and giving the fans something to get behind. We didn’t give them a look in for […]
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