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Ben McKevitt says… Arsenal’s home defeat to Manchester United has left us as the only team left unbeaten at home and we’re all hoping for a huge response to ensure the streak continues as we welcome Burnley to the Stadium of Light. In my opinion, the setup against West Ham was all wrong in terms […]
As Sunderland embarked on a heavyweight and dizzying pre-Premier League squad overhaul during the summer of 2025, is it fair to say that the addition of the experienced Bertrand Traoré for a fee that, comparatively speaking, felt like an absolute drop in the ocean alongside the sums of money we spent elsewhere perhaps didn’t feel […]
Not everyone who writes for Roker Report knows each other; in fact, many of us aren’t even in the North East. A couple of years ago, two of our “silver foxes” (Lars and Kelvin) met up on the beautiful island of Lindisfarne, as it had become clear that it was a place that was close […]
There’s a particular kind of anticipation that surrounds a young footballer on the brink of breaking through. It’s not the kind of loud explosive hype that accompanies a marquee signing, but something quieter, steadier and often more meaningful — the feeling that a club’s identity is renewing itself from within. Sunderland Women have long been […]
Welcome to another episode of On This Week, where we delve through the archives to explore the history of Sunderland AFC. Join Martin, Andrew and Kelvin today as they nerd out on: Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never miss another episode of our free daily SAFC show!
There’s no denying that Saturday afternoon was probably as bad as it has gotten for us so far this season. We were, to be pretty blunt, crap. We’re allowed to be crap occasionally, though, aren’t we? No team is perfect. We were expected to spectacularly struggle this season, and yet here we are, sitting as […]
Mark Twain, the author of Huckleberry Finn, coined the phrase “lies, damned lies and statistics” — or as we used to say in my day job, why let the truth get in the way of a good story. We’ve had a sobering weekend, being put to the sword by a very beatable West Ham side. […]
As a football fan — and certainly as a Sunderland supporter — you often get a sense of how a game might pan out well ahead of kick off; a vibe that either breeds optimism or pessimism, and on Saturday morning, I have to admit that ahead of our trip to West Ham, I didn’t […]
Alan Brown is a strange figure in Sunderland’s history on paper. If you purely look at the fact that he was in charge during Sunderland’s first two relegations in the club’s history, you might be forgiven for looking at his legacy in a certain way. Brown’s arrival in 1957, however, came at a time when […]
Sunderland’s 1–0 win over Southampton was not a match defined by flowing football, slick passing sequences or attacking flair. It was defined by grit. By resilience. By a patched‑together squad digging deeper than they have all season. By a team that refused to be beaten despite missing key players, relying on a youthful bench, and […]
Sunderland’s 1–0 win over Southampton was not a match defined by flowing football, slick passing sequences or attacking flair. It was defined by grit. By resilience. By a patched‑together squad digging deeper than they have all season. By a team that refused to be beaten despite missing key players, relying on a youthful bench, and […]
Join Chris, Martin and Ian Murtagh as they rake through the bones of one of our poorest afternoons of the season, as the lads went down 3-1 at West Ham. On the agenda today: Don’t forget to subscribe to Haway The Podcast on your favourite pod platform, and never miss another episode!
When Sunderland beat Manchester United in a dramatic November 1984 Division One fixture few supporters leaving the ground at full time would have tipped the Lads to be relegated come the end of the season. The 3-2 success at Roker Park had been achieved on the back of notable team spirit and seemed to underline […]
Xhaka’s Enormous Influence The one thing that every Sunderland fan feared came true on Friday evening, as rumours swirled throughout the Sun’lun social media echochamber that Granit Xhaka would miss the game. That was confirmed when the lineup was announced – and in spite of travelling down with the team, the captain was missing from […]
How Much Did We Miss Granit? The loss of Captain Xhaka for this game was a contributing factor to the disappointing result, but it was not the be-all and end-all in my view. The midfield in the first half just wasn’t quite at it, apart from the first five to ten mins. If Sadiki’s shot […]
Ciaran McKenna says… Brian Brobbey’s goal Another brilliant finish from Brobbey — although it did turn out to be something of a consolation goal. The build-up play to find Nordi Mukiele was terrific and so was the ball into the box. It was a class header from the Dutchman, but just a shame that was […]
Today, Sunderland welcome Southampton to Eppleton for a fixture that feels far more significant than the table alone suggests. On the surface, it’s eighth versus sixth in a mid‑season meeting between two sides who’vw shared enough history in recent years to make the fixture familiar, if not outright fierce. But beneath that surface lies a […]
I don’t think any Sunderland fan who watched that performance today will claim to be happy about it, but there’s certainly one or two ways you can choose to go with your reaction to it all. I’m choosing to be a little bit more reflective than reactive, I’d say, given that it’s not too often […]
Unfortunately, Sunderland didn’t turn up and West Ham did, with the Premier League strugglers scoring three first half goals to earn a deserved victory, despite a consolation header from Brian Brobbey. Join Gav, Andrew and Jonny as they react to a dramatic afternoon at the London Stadium. On today’s show: All of this and more […]
Robin Roefs: 6/10 Didn’t do anything wrong today, had a good attempt to save all three goals and generally did well. Nordi Mukiele: 6/10 Had a difficult time in the first half against Summerville and got beaten in the air for the opening goal, thought he battled well though and came back into it. Ended […]
Social media may have upsides and disadvantages but Facebook Memories has a way of bringing back moments that may have been forgotten or intentionally consigned to the deeper reaches of your mind. One of the latter cropped up in my feed a few days ago, from January 2019 when my boys and I travelled the […]
It’s the reverse fixture of our fantastic opening day of the season as the Lads travel to the London Stadium to take on Premier League struggler West Ham United in today’s early kick-off – so Gav, Bomber & Chris got together to talk all about that and everything else! All of this and more – […]
With Habib Diarra and Chemsdine Talbi back from AFCON, Sunderland have a full strength squad to choose from… or is that HAD a full strength squad to choose from? Last night, rumours were swirling around on social media that Granit Xhaka had an injury that would keep him out for a couple of months – although […]
Though this draw against Doncaster Rovers made it eight games without a defeat, the away side’s impressive rearguard performance ensured that we did not get the much-sought-after three points. After a miserable run up until the Christmas fixture list which left Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson under immense pressure, they appeared to be now finding their […]
Martin Wanless predicts… Score prediction: West Ham 0 Sunderland 2 Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Brobbey There’s a lot of stuff going on around this game – West Ham’s win at Spurs last week sets them up nicely, but a planned fan protest could set the scene for a strange opening 15 that we should take advantage […]