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Roker Report

https://rokerreport.sbnation.com/ | 730 entries published

Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!

Latest Entries

From Heartbreak To Hope: Sunderland’s Rise To The Top

I was there. 24 years ago. January 2001. Don Hutchinson and Stan Varga, with his luscious long hair, steering us to a 2-0 away win at West Ham’s Upton Park. We sat second in the Premier League after that result. I was only 12 and had just become a fully invested Sunderland fan, thinking that […]

MLS

4 months ago | 2 reads

What Kind Of Message Did Sunderland Send By Beating Chelsea?

John Wilson says… I’m sure the players’ morale and confidence in their own ability has been high all season. As Wilson Isidor said, “Nobody believes in us, so let’s show them!” Of course, winning away at the Club World Cup champions is going to give a boost to any team. As we keep hearing, consistency […]

4 months ago | 1 read

Sunderland Mean Business And Our Win Over Chelsea Proved It

It’s been one of the most popular angles of the season so far as opposition supporters have sought to dampen both Sunderland’s superb start to the 2025/2026 campaign and the optimism generated along the way by caveating almost every positive result we’ve achieved — no matter how it came about. “Yeah, but they’ve had an […]

4 months ago | 2 reads

Q&A Podcast – what questions do you want us to answer?

On Monday morning, we’ll be recording our regular Tuesday Q&A podcast, where we answer your questions about Sunderland! Have a question you’d like us to answer? Leave a comment below, or email [email protected] and we’ll answer your question tomorrow. Could be anything about tactics, team selection, up coming games, things from the past, the manager, […]

4 months ago | 6 reads

Matchday Musings: Sunderland Stun Chelsea At The Bridge!

Heading into this week’s fixture away to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, spirits and hopes were high – but it would be fair to say that expectations weren’t necessarily on the same level. A week on from a fantastic win against Wolves, where Sunderland handily took all three points despite a less-than-stellar overall performance, the trip […]

4 months ago | 2 reads

Talking Points: Let’s Get Carried Away Man!

The lads put in an almost perfect away performance at Stamford Bridge to defeat Chelsea away for the first time since 2014, and climbed up to second in the Premier League table. The last time a newly-promoted team achieved this feat at the end of the day’s fixtures was Nottingham Forest, 31 years ago. I […]

4 months ago | 1 read

On This Day (26 Oct 1983): Lads Make Hard Work Of Cambridge Exam…

Second-tier Cambridge United stood between Sunderland and a place in round three of the Milk Cup – and based on their performance at the Abbey Stadium in the first leg, John Docherty’s side must have fancied their chances to progress. With an hour gone in the first match the Lads had looked to be in […]

4 months ago | 2 reads

2 Up, 2 Down: Talbi Delivers The Chelsea Dagger For Sunderland!

Anthony Gair says… The Red and White Army…enough said! The fans were absolutely magnificent to a number. Chelsea’s fans must’ve thought they were away from home — properly loud and the only fans to be heard on the telly. Brian Brobbey plays his part Is there a stronger man on the planet? No. The patience […]

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4 months ago | 0 reads

Haway The Podcast | REACTION | Chelsea 1-2 SAFC | Let’s Get Carried Away!

Where do we begin with this one?! What a goal! What a performance! Is it time to get carried away?! Andrew & Chris attempt to talk about an incredible Sunderland win at Chelsea! On today’s agenda: All of this and much more – get subscribed to you don’t miss another episode of Haway The Podcast!

4 months ago | 4 reads

2 Up, 2 Down: Talbi Delivers The Chelsea Dagger For Sunderland!

Anthony Gair says… The Red and White Army…enough said! The fans were absolutely magnificent to a number. Chelsea’s fans must’ve thought they were away from home — properly loud and the only fans to be heard on the telly. Brian Brobbey plays his part Is there a stronger man on the planet? No. The patience […]

MLS

4 months ago | 2 reads

Fan Focus: Chelsea Fan Will Is Expecting Marc Guiu To Start Against Sunderland!

Chelsea have looked promising so far this season. What are the expectations for 2025/2026? It’s a similar story to last season. We don’t have the consistency to challenge for the league and we don’t have the quality and experience to win the Champions League. So really, we’re hoping to win a domestic cup and hopefully […]

4 months ago | 1 read

On This Day (25 Oct 2015): Allardyce Lauds “Huge” Derby Win!

On this day, Sam Allardyce became the fourth Sunderland manager to beat Newcastle United in their second game in charge, as we beat our fiercest rivals 3-0. Whilst Steve McClaren suggested that his team was “utterly dominant” in the first half, the game was tight and cagey for almost the entire first forty five minutes […]

4 months ago | 2 reads

Starting XI: Two Changes Predicted For Sunderland At Stamford Bridge

With Reinildo back in contention, there was an increasing chance that we might go five at the back at Stamford Bridge; however, Omar Alderete’s absence today makes that unlikely. Nordi Mukiele’s performance at right back last weekend was excellent, and with Luke O’Nien also back in contention there’s a few options available to the manager today. […]

MLS

4 months ago | 3 reads

Match Preview: Chelsea v Sunderland — Tough Test In The Capital For The Lads!

Saturday 25th October 2025 Chelsea v Sunderland – Premier League Stadium of Light 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 […]

MLS

4 months ago | 1 read

Fun Times (Or Not) In The Big Smoke

Sunderland’s last trip to Chelsea was an embarrassing end to a humiliating season. A 5-1 humping, finishing rock bottom of the league, and creating a guard of honour in the 26th minute for John Terry were just some of the dreadful memories of this day. Fast forward eight years, and Sunderland prepare to visit that […]

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4 months ago | 0 reads

Score Predictions: Is Chelsea Away a Score You Can Call?

Martin Wanless predicts… Score prediction: Chelsea 1 Sunderland 1 Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Ballard This is a really intriguing game, and something of a free hit. Chelsea are a cracking team on their day, but if it’s not their day, we could get something – and I’d bite your foot off for a draw. There are […]

4 months ago | 0 reads

On This Day (24 Oct 1998): Tommy The Star As Sunderland Top The Charts

In the days leading up to Sunderland’s league fixture against Bury at the Stadium of Light, Danish TV crews had been in town, to capture footage of the newly arrived Thomas Sorensen excelling for his new club.  Following in the footsteps of Peter Schmeichel, Denmark’s under 21 keeper Sorensen was seen as the Manchester United […]

4 months ago | 1 read

Talking Tactics: Sunderland Play It Smartly To See Off Wolves

Sunderland returned to winning ways on Founders’ Week, leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers rooted to the foot of the Premier League table after the first league meeting between the two sides since Sunderland’s final day victory of 2017/2018 — in which we denied Wolves a century of points in the process. A goal in either half confirmed […]

4 months ago | 1 read