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Want to have your say on all things Sunderland? Drop us a line and we’ll publish your views! [email protected] Dear Roker Report, As 2025 draws to a close, what a year it’s been! Memorable moments and great atmospheres in the Sunderland family — who can forget Dan Ballard against Coventry, Tommy Watson at Wembley and […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
Good morning and welcome to another episode of On This Week, where we take a look back through some of the highs and not quite so highs in the history of Sunderland AFC. Join Martin, Kelvin and Andrew as we meander through events that happened on this week, including: Plug Haway the Podcast into your […]
2 months ago | 1 read
Sunderland moved onto twenty three points from fourteen games with our much-deserved draw away at Liverpool in midweek. It was a match that once again left us feeling proud of this team — and a small sense of ‘What could’ve been”, as we had some good chances to win it. Writing about a 1-1 draw […]
2 months ago | 1 read
So, the countdown to the first league derby for too long has begun. Football is nothing without rivalry, near-tribalism and passion, but that said, I’m not a great fan. My blood pressure is already going up writing this with a week still to go — and I’m sure my doctor won’t be too pleased about […]
2 months ago | 1 read
It wasn’t the biggest shock of our 2025/2026 season so far. Perhaps it was always asking a lot for Sunderland to end what had been an objectively impressive week of results by depriving Pep Guardiola’s Big Blue Machine of valuable points in the Premier League title race, but after Arsenal’s Saturday afternoon slip combined with […]
2 months ago | 1 read
It was the second season of the magic carpet ride, and the relative success of eras like this one is always viewed at the time through the lens of where we had come from. Just over twelve months earlier, Sunderland had sat bottom of the Championship, and the Niall Quinn chairmanship was waiting to get […]
2 months ago | 1 read
Chris and Martin are joined by BBC Radio Newcastle’s Nick Barnes to discuss yesterday’s game at the Etihad, and the implications ahead of this weekend’s derby. The lads covered: • Reinildo’s injury and the team that started against City • Is a lack of depth in midfield a concern heading into AFCON? • Was our […]
2 months ago | 1 read
We’re recording a Q&A Podcast tomorrow morning, and we want your questions on all things SAFC related – from this last run of games to what lies ahead! Drop your questions in the comments section below or email [email protected] and we’ll do our best to answer them!
2 months ago | 2 reads
Ballard vs Haaland Facing up against the toughest individual opponent in the league in the form of Erling Haaland, I think that Ballard in particular could leave the pitch with his head held high yesterday. Haaland barely had a sniff at goal throughout the match, with one illuminating stat showing that the Nordic giant had […]
2 months ago | 1 read
As someone who generally tries to find the positives in everything, my attitude leading into the game was that Sunderland could – largely due to the brilliant results against Bournemouth and Liverpool – go into the Manchester City game free of pressure, knowing that the result would be relatively inconsequential. I have to admit, though, […]
2 months ago | 1 read
Gav says… Positive play at points I thought we were excellent until the sucker punch that came from the first Manchester City goal. Yes, we didn’t dominate the ball at all, but our game plan was solid and for a good half an hour there, I thought we stood a chance of getting a positive […]
2 months ago | 1 read
1992 may have been deemed Queen Elizabeth II’s infamous annus horribilis, but for Sunderland’s own head of state it was the year before that looked like it would take its toll. Bob Murray, later to become CBE in the 2003 New Year Honours and a Sir in the Queen’s own 2010 Birthday Honours, endured a […]
2 months ago | 1 read
Sunderland’s recruitment across the summer was hugely impressive, as the scouting network spread its reach across European leagues to bring in a mix of young, promising, sought-after talent and much-needed top-level experience. But recruiting players from abroad brings its own complications. Premier League squad rules dictate that each team can only have a maximum of […]
2 months ago | 1 read
Well, I think we all kinda expected Sunderland to have a little less oomph given the risk of going thundering around the pitch, so we aren’t quite as deflated as you might think after a 3-0 loss… join Gav, Jonny and Bomber as they react to a defeat away at Manchester City! On the agenda: […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
Robin Roefs: 7/10 Couldn’t do anything about any of the goals but made a couple of good saves and used the ball well when we were in possession. Trai Hume: 5/10 Had to start on the left today due to Reinildo’s absence and struggled, got done multiple times by a bit of skill or selling […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
Ben Metcalf: 7/10 Didn’t have chance with either goal, with City having free efforts on goal but made a couple of good saves, with one really good one after a counter attack in the first half, and was tidy with his feet. Jenson Jones: 6/10 Had a difficult game against a tricky winger, with the […]
2 months ago | 1 read
We’ve lost the last seven against City and haven’t beaten them on the road in any competition since 1998 – but that didn’t stop Jonny, Andrew & Chris from getting together to talk about how much we have a chance of taking something in today’s game! On today’s agenda: All of this and more – […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
Martin Wanless predicts… Score prediction: Man City 2 Sunderland 2 Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Le Fee After Wednesday’s trip to Anfield, it’s another excellent game for us to tackle. I wonder whether we’ll rotate the squad a little – the obvious suspension threat to Sadiki and Xhaka is something that will surely come into the manager’s […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
It had been a whirlwind few days for everyone associated with Sunderland AFC. Whilst still a big deal, a managerial departure is not exactly unusual, but when the manager that leaves is one of the most charismatic and divisive figures in the game, it sends all media outlets into a frenzy. Roy Keane’s departure from […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
After an excellent performance at Anfield, Sunderland’s attention now turns to a challenge which, on paper at least, is similar to that which we faced on Wednesday at Liverpool. Regis Le Bris changed things up in midweek with Trai Hume playing a wide midfield role to good effect and Brian Brobbey leading the line well […]
2 months ago | 4 reads
Saturday 6th December 2025 Manchester City v Sunderland – Premier League Etihad Stadium Kick-Off: 15:00 Tickets & Match Coverage Tickets: Tickets are sold out. TV/Stream: Full live match coverage is unavailable in the UK. Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online) Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
Man City currently sit second in the Premier League – how would you summarise your season so far? I think it’s been fairly mixed. We started the season with two losses in our first three games before the first international break, but after we returned we started to get back to our best. We’ve had […]
2 months ago | 1 read
What a special team we have right now. In years gone by, a Sunderland side falling two goals behind at home to two eminently avoidable goals – on the back of a poor defeat away from home – would slump to another disappointing loss or worse crumble entirely to humiliation. Not so with the current […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
Joining us to chat about last night’s performance from Sunderland at Anfield against Liverpool is It’s the Onuoha derby! After Sunderland’s draw at Anfield we have the simple task of heading to the Etihad to take on a City side who are chasing down Arsenal – so we speak to former City & Sunderland defender […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
At the start of every game this season so far, I’ve thought, “this will tell us something about where we are, and how we can handle this division.” In the beginning, that was an obvious thing to think. How will we do against established Premier League opposition like West Ham? Can we respond to the […]
2 months ago | 3 reads