Roker Report
Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
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On This Day (13th March 2004): McCarthy’s Sunderland Beat West Ham In Fiery Encounter
In a game that was full of drama, badly timed tackles and bizarre goals, Mick McCarthy’s Sunderland were ramping up their promotion push with a 2–0 win over fellow promotion rivals West Ham United at the Stadium of Light. Goals from Kevin Kyle and Jeff Whitley in a fifteen-minute spell midway through the second half […]
Sunderland’s Pivotal Week: Bounce Back or Fade Away?
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve found it canny tough this week getting my head around what I can expect from Sunderland between now and the end of the season. Port Vale was a massive kick in the nuts. I’d genuinely convinced myself that we’d have the stones to go on a cup […]
Ballard & Alderete: Sunderland’s Best Premier League Centre-Back Pairing?
Since Sunderland first made it back to the Premier League under Peter Reid in 1997, the club has been home to some excellent centre-backs – no, Santiago Vergini, I wasn’t thinking of you. Nor you, Sotiris Kyrgiakos. Nor you, Valentin Roberge. Steve Bould, Jody Craddock, Danny Collins, Wes Brown, John O’Shea, John Mensah, Younes Kaboul […]
Lasses Match Review: Last-Gasp Frustration For Sunderland At Eppleton
There are matches that leave you buzzing; that leave you furious and that occasionally leave you somewhere in the middle, suspended between pride and irritation — and Sunderland’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at Eppleton falls firmly into that final category. It was a night defined by discipline, structure and defensive resilience but also by […]
Sunderland’s ‘Legends Way’ Is Another Exciting Development!
Gav says… Crucially, it feels great that we now have people at the football club that care about the little details. Obviously, none of this will be coming cheap but these are things that the Stadium of Light has been missing since it was created. It’s always been a fantastic venue, but there was never […]
Haway The Podcast | CHIT-CHAT | Northern Echo’s Dom Shaw Joins Us For A Sunlun Chin-Wag!
Happy Thursday, everyone! We can now, I think, try to draw a line under last weekend’s disappointment and instead look forward to (hopefully) happier times with a game against Brighton coming up, so joining us today for a chat is Dom Shaw from The Northern Echo! Coming up… All this and more! Get subscribed to […]
Lasses Spotlight: The Challenge Of Charlton At The Valley!
There are matches that feel like checkpoints in a season and there are matches that feel like crossroads — and Sunderland’s trip to The Valley to face Charlton Athletic sits somewhere between the two. It’s not a title decider and it’s not a game that’s taking place during a relegation scrap, yet it carries a […]
European Dreams Of An Eternal Optimist
European football is an exciting dream for Sunderland fans, but unless you’re of a certain age and vintage, it’s only ever been just that. It’s been 53 years since Sunderland’s last foray into the continent, when we were knocked out in the second round of the European Cup Winners’ Cup by Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon. […]
Brighton And ‘The Visitors’: How Many Points Will Sunderland Collect?
Gav says… In the podcast that I recorded with Dom Shaw, we actually talked about this and as I said there, I feel like this is a landmark moment in our season. The next two games will probably decide whether we’re going to push on for a finish in the top eight or if the […]
On This Day (12 March 1988) Controversy Stops Sunderland Again As Fists Fly At Wigan
While the daffodils may have been tentatively popping their heads above ground, there was little evidence of spring reemerging in Sunderland’s step as the club tried to successfully navigate the closing months of its first-ever Division Three campaign. After a slowish start that saw just three wins from the opening nine games, the team had […]
Fan Letters: “Sunderland Have Produced As A Team!”
Want to have your say on all things Sunderland? Drop us a line and we’ll publish your views! [email protected] Dear Roker Report, Yes, we’re upset about losing to Port Vale in the cup and to have been been ninety minutes away from a Wembley semi-final, but let’s not beat ourselves up about it. It was […]
Haway The Podcast | ON THIS WEEK | 9-15 March | Brazil At Roker Park | Mudslides At Wigan!
Hello and welcome to another episode of On This Week, where we take a look back over some of the major and not so major things to have happened in the history of Sunderland AFC over the years. Join Martin, Andrew and Kelvin as they journey back in time to look back on: All this and […]
Lasses Spotlight: “The PGA Pipeline”
International breaks often arrive like a pause in the soundtrack of a season. The rhythm of weekly fixtures fades, senior players scatter across Europe and the training ground becomes quieter, more spacious and more reflective. For some clubs, these breaks are simply interruptions; for Sunderland Women, they’ve increasingly become windows of opportunity, and the moments […]
Lasses Match Preview: Nottingham Forest Under The Lights!
Sunderland Women step into tonight’s clash with Nottingham Forest knowing that the shape of their season could hinge on what unfolds over the next ninety minutes. It’s a fixture that arrives at a pivotal moment in the WSL2 campaign, a stage where momentum becomes as valuable as points and where every performance has the potential […]
Sunderland Need To Use Their Cup Exit As A Source Of Motivation
Régis Le Bris arrived on Wearside two years, three permanent head coaches and a whole host of players after Sunderland had finally escaped League One, so it’s probably a fair bet that he doesn’t know about and therefore perhaps isn’t burdened by the trauma that four years in the third tier inflicted on our supporters. […]
On This Day (11th March 1972): Harvey Scores, But Injury Strikes
As a starry-eyed lad, Charlie Hurley and Jim Baxter were my first idols at Roker Park. The more I watched and matured, this changed. Young players like Todd, Suggett, Kerr, Hughes, Park and Tueart caught my attention. One player who was playing in the very first game I saw and played alongside these brilliant youngsters […]
Lasses Loan Watch: Cassap Gets Her First Goal For Middlesbrough!
Middlesbrough Women returned to winning ways with a performance that blended control, confidence and a renewed sense of purpose, and at the heart of it all was a young midfielder who looked as though she’d been part of the team for years. Sunderland loanee Emily Cassap delivered the kind of display that can shape a […]
Haway The Podcast | HAWAY THE Q&A | Le Bris’ Future, & Sunderland’s Port Vale Problems
It’s that time of the week again as we answer questions from our listeners on a whole host of topics – so join Chris, Gav and Andrew as they put the world to rights and chat about another crazy few days for Sunderland AFC! All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so […]
On This Day (10th March 2003): Sunderland Sack Howard Wilkinson!
In October 2002, a decision that nobody saw coming occurred when Bob Murray appointed Howard Wilkinson as the new Sunderland manager, with a curveball for good measure in the form of appointing the then Stoke City manager Steve Cotterill as his assistant manager. The decision to appoint Wilkinson sparked shock and surprise amongst fans as […]
What’s The Crack With Gerry?
As a Sunderland fan, I have always tried to avoid being overly critical of our players, or writing them off. There are some obvious exceptions, players who never even tried to look like they understood what it meant to wear the badge or play for this club – yes, Jack Rodwell and Will Grigg, I’m […]
Fan Letters: A Bad Day In The Potteries For Sunderland
Want to have your say on all things Sunderland? Drop us a line and we’ll publish your views! [email protected] Dear Roker Report, Like thousands of others, I genuinely believed the days of us ‘doing a Sunderland’ were well behind us. The beating by Port Vale was inexcusable. I was quite dismayed when I heard Luke […]
View From The Away End: A Bitter FA Cup Exit For Sunderland
One of the (admittedly very minor) drawbacks of Sunderland securing our place back in the top flight has been the lack of new EFL stadia to visit. For any travelling fan, there’s always a sense of satisfaction that comes from ticking another ground off the list, edging ever closer to the fabled 92/92. Thankfully in […]
Talking Tactics: Analysing The ‘Régis Le Bris Paradox’
Famously labelled the ‘David Moyes Paradox’, West Ham have spent the last half decade perpetually firing and re-hiring Moyes after fans grew tired of his conservative approach to games — only to hire a more expansive manager and it have blow up in their face, requiring them to bring back the more pragmatic Moyes to […]
Andy’s Player Ratings: Sunderland u21 5 – 2 Leeds United u21 – Black Cats Make It Seven Wins In A Row
Joe Cowan: 6/10 Had a couple of shots straight at him in the first half and was beaten twice after the break, no chance with the second and almost kept the back post header out that made it 3-2. Jenson Jones: 9/10 Had a really good game at right back and showed why he has […]
Haway The Podcast | MONDAY SUPPLEMENT | Sky Sports’ Tom White On Sunderland’s FA Cup Exit
Sunderland became the latest side to be dumped out of the FA Cup by lower league opposition on Sunday, and it wasn’t fun. Still, there’s plenty to pore over, so joining us today for a chat and to offer his perspective on things is our old marra Tom White – Sky Sports presenter, and massive […]
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