Roker Report
Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
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OTD: (3/10/1931) A Sunderland Debut For Charlie Thomson
There have been two players named ‘Charles Thomson’ that’ve played for this club. Both were greats in their own right. Both won a league championship medal, played in an FA Cup final and made over 260 appearances for the Black Cats, and both were Scottish half backs that represented their country. There are amazing similarities […]
Haway The Podcast | Roker Park REVEALED! | Secret Life of Sunderland’s Scoreboards
Anyone who went to Roker Park will remember the scoreboard – you know, the one that worked for a few months and then flickered intermittently for years… But then there was the manual scoreboard in the corner of the Roker End and the Clockstand too… And we’ve found images of another scoreboard from years gone […]
OTD (02/10/2021): Lee Johnson And His Fratton Park Fiasco!
Maybe I am wrong, but unless you are a southerner — or stone mad — an away day to Fratton Park is not one that stands out on the calendar. Sunderland’s experiences down there over the years have not exactly been pleasant. I recall a defeat for Ricky Sbragia near the end of the season, […]
Sunderland’s European Tour: Four Trips, Four Adventures
In the summer, Sunderland’s upcoming European tour still felt like the stuff of make-believe, somehow always on the horizon but tantalisingly out of reach. Even after the excitement of the draw, when we could finally realise our plans for Portugal, Poland, Italy and Belgium, the reality of what it meant still didn’t hit home. It […]
Black Cats Points: Is The Current System Fair On Fans?
During the week, an interesting video surfaced online looking into Sunderland’s Black Cats Points system and, quite plainly, explaining how difficult it can be for someone starting from scratch to build up enough points in a relatively short time. Whilst I’m not so sure that all of the maths in the video was completely accurate, […]
Sunderland’s International Break: Injuries, Yellow Cards & Isidor… Oh My!
The big news during the international break has been the bad news about Brian Brobbey and Dan Ballard. Coming off his brilliant hat-trick against Manchester City, Brobbey started for the Netherlands on September 24, but went off with a hamstring injury after just 35 minutes. A day later, Ballard pulled up lame in the 90th […]
Haway The Podcast | “IS REGIS THE BEST IN OUR LIFETIME?!” | We Review The Gaffer’s First 100 Games!
ANDREW & JONNY JOIN CHRIS TO CELEBRATE REGIS LE BRIS JOINING THE 100 CLUB! 🔴⚪ Is he the best in our lifetime?! What was the job he took on?! What were his most important games?! Will he take charge of another 100?! 🔔 Subscribe to Haway The Podcast so you never miss another episode of […]
OTD (1/10/2024) A New Arrival Bags First Stadium Of Light Goal!
Wilson Isidor arrived at Sunderland to a bit of fanfare. The French forward, had begun his career at Rennes – who at the time had a coach by the name of R Le Bris – and subsequently had a somewhat meandering career, joining Monaco after leaving Rennes, then heading to Russia, firstly at Lokomotiv Moscow and then […]
The Early Signs From Kevin Danso Are Promising
When Sunderland were first linked with a move for Tottenham defender Kevin Danso, I made the mistake of jumping to conclusions and assuming that given Spurs’ domestic struggles in recent seasons and their apparent willingness to allow the Austrian international and 2025 Europa League final hero to depart North London, it had a slight feeling […]
Haway The Podcast | What’s REALLY Going On Off The Pitch At Sunderland?
Plenty is happening away from the football at Sunderland — and plenty for supporters to have their say on. Gav and Ian are joined by Dave Rose, vice-chairman of the Red and White Army Supporters Trust, for a wide-ranging discussion about the issues currently affecting Sunderland fans. We get into: 🔴 Rumours surrounding the club’s […]
OTD (30/9/1944): When Sunderland Thrashed Newcastle 5-1 in a Wartime Derby
A derby victory against Newcastle United is a prized event in any Sunderland player’s career, and centre-forward Cliff Whitelum had good reason to remember this game. At the start of the First World War in 1914, the Football League was not suspended, and many fans, footballers and officials had thought this an error. In hindsight, […]
Can Sunderland Crack Open 12-Year-Old Champagne?
The long-running investigation into Manchester City’s finances is far from breaking news, but before the weekend it was reported that it is likely that the Etihad outfit will be found guilty of most of the 115 charges levied against them. The news had been leaked and then last night confirmed, but as yet there is […]
Kevin Danso and Sunderland: Why Pragmatism Can Be Progressive
Terminology in football always tends to change. Closing-down became pressing, direct play evolved to vertical football, and having to defend is now referred to as suffering. When the elements of the game we all know are constantly redefined, you could be forgiven for forgetting that a knock-down from a long throw-in counts the same as […]
Sunderland In The Europa League: A Chance To Make More History?
John Wilson says… I have a feeling that we’ll do very well in the Europa League this season. Whilst we never really know what players and staff are thinking or preparing for, sometimes it’s true that when the fans are up for a game, you can bet this feeds into the attitude and passion of […]
Haway The Podcast | “A MESSAGE TO EUROPE!” | We Catch Up With Mark Douglas!
CHRIS CATCHES UP WITH MARK DOUGLAS FROM THE i PAPER! 🔴⚪ How pointless is the international break?! We go back through the return of the derbies last year! Did the summer go as planned?! How was chatting Tom Burwell?! How did Sunderland work with TNT Sports?! 🔔 Subscribe to Haway The Podcast so you never […]
Editorial: Communication Problems – Sunderland Need To Sort It Out
While there has been a lot to like about Sunderland’s on-field performances so far this season, off the field it’s been a different story. Over the past decade, we’d become quite accustomed to the club being a mess off the field. However, over the last two or three years, things had improved dramatically. Communication had […]
Remembering Mowbray’s Sunderland: The Joy, Chaos and ‘Moggaball’
To this day, if I focus strongly enough and cast my mind back to that infamous Saturday morning in August 2022, I can recall the hot surge of anger that coursed through me when it became obvious that Alex Neil’s future would not lie on Wearside and that our first Championship campaign in four years […]
OTD (29/9/1998): Honours Even As Sunderland Meet Norwich
On this day in 1998, Peter Reid took a Sunderland side full of confidence to Carrow Road for a midweek game — the tenth of an unbeaten start to the season that would staggeringly last until late November — and an entertaining 2-2 draw unfolded with Niall Quinn and an Andy Marshall own goal preserving […]
Wilson Isidor: Sunderland’s Mercurial Haitian Hero
Eighty-nine appearances and twenty goals in a Sunderland shirt, a promotion winner and now a Europa League player. On 23 August 2024, Wilson Isidor was signed on loan from Zenit St. Petersburg — a move which would be made permanent on 1 February 2025 — and since then, he’s lit it up at the Stadium […]
Haway The Podcast | WHAT GETS ON YOUR NERVES?! | Join Us For An Episode Of Room 101!
WHAT WOULD YOU PUT INTO ROOM 101?! 🔴⚪ How much does the handball rule get you down?! Do you think Sunderland are unfairly treated in the local and national media?! How are you with your highway code?! We find out Andrew’s secret and decide if it should go into Room 101! Join Chris, Ian & […]
Sponsorship: Is Anybody Going To Front Up?
The first international break of a new season is often a good time to sit back and take stock of how things are shaping up. At Sunderland things are shaping up pretty well – the new players appear to be settling in and performances have been encouraging, yet there is something out there on the […]
‘The Régis Revolution’: Assessing Le Bris’ Impact At Sunderland
As we’re currently in the midst of a very long and quite frankly pointless international break, now is a good time to reflect on the achievements of Régis Le Bris. After taking charge of his one hundredth game as Sunderland manager in the defeat to Manchester City, just how good has he been for Sunderland […]
OTD (28/09/1989): Smith Takes Financial Gamble To Bring Star To Roker
It probably goes without saying, but Sunderland AFC weren’t in a good place when we dropped to the third tier of English football in 1987. There was real potential of Sunderland staying down in the lower leagues for the long term. Young chairman Bob Murray had only recently taken over from Tom Cowie and had […]
Haway The Podcast | NEWS ROUNDUP | Brobbey and Ballard Hamstrung
Chris, Martin and Gav got together on Sunday morning to have the crack about: All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never miss another episode of our free daily Sunderland show. Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? Try Claude Cowork today — Claude.ai/HAWAY Want to get […]
OTD (27/09/1985): One Fan Returns To Roker As Another One Moves Over
The Lads were due to play Huddersfield Town at the end of September 1985 and that meant a sentimental return to Roker Park for the Terriers’ boss Mick Buxton, who had been Sunderland mad as a youngster and a regular attendee at the ground. The Journal previewed the game the day before and featured an […]
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