Roker Report
Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
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On This Day (18 June 1993) Sunderland on the Verge of Landing Keeper – Six Years Too Late!
In the summer of 1987 Colchester keeper Alec Chamberlain was a top target for newly-appointed Sunderland manager Denis Smith. At that point, the almost-23-year-old was one of the hottest goalkeeping prospects in the country, having earned rave reviews during 200 or so games for the fourth tier Layer Road club. Smith had turned to Chamberlain […]
Remembering Eric Roy – A Key Figure in Reid’s Sunderland Revival
Roker Report is saddened to learn of the passing of former Sunderland midfielder Eric Roy following a battle with pancreatic cancer. News of Roy’s death will be met with sadness by many Sunderland supporters who remember him as part of one of the club’s most successful sides of the modern era, a team that not […]
Haway The Podcast | SEASON REVIEW Pt. 3 | We Complete Our Deep Dive Into The 2025-26 Season!
We’d aimed to get this done in two, hour-long episodes, but join us as we complete our third part in out deep dive into the 2025-26 season! Join Martin, Andrew, Gav and Chris as they pick up where they left off in part two and complete our season review! On today’s show… All this and […]
Graeme Murty’s Departure Signals a New Academy Era
There is a distinct, sometimes harsh reality to the way modern football clubs operate under elite sporting directors, and yesterday Wearside felt this reality as news broke that Under-21 Lead Coach Graeme Murty is set to depart the Academy of Light. At a glance, this appears to be a casualty of the sweeping, systemic changes […]
On This Day (17th June 2019): Ian Macfarlane – The Colourful Coach Who Crossed Sunderland’s Path
Ian Macfarlane had two spells in the employ of Sunderland AFC. In July 1969, Sunderland manager Alan Brown brought him into the club as part of a complete shake-up of the coaching team. Brown had employed him as a coach at Sheffield Wednesday when he was their manager in 1967. Macfarlane worked alongside fellow coach […]
Have We Broken The Mags?
With their longstanding Head of Recruitment heading for the Championship, rumours swirling about Lewis Hall bouncing back to Chelsea, and a Sandro Tonali exit looking a good bet, is it all going a bit Pete Tong for ‘the Visitors’ after we did the double over them, finished above them and get to use ‘their’ airport […]
Jocelin Ta Bi: An Exciting Prospect For 2026/2027?
Anth Gair says… I think all of the signs are that he has the heart to be a footballer at the highest level — he just has to keep this kind of work rate up forever. Although we haven’t seen much of him, on the international stage he’s obviously very comfortable with what his tasks […]
Kristjaan Speakman’s Role In Sunderland’s Rise Shouldn’t Be Forgotten
Like everyone else, I don’t know where Kristjaan Speakman was or exactly what he was doing on the day that Sunderland sealed Europa League qualification by virtue of our 2-1 home victory over Chelsea. The romantic in me would like to think he was standing covertly at the back of the South Stand, disguised sufficiently […]
Haway The Podcast | ROKER REWIND | THE G-FORCE – Part 2
Join Martin, Kelvin and Andrew for part 2 of our deep dive into the legendary G-Force, Eric Gates and Marco Gabbiadini! On today’s show, we discuss… All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never miss another episode of our free daily show. Want to get in touch with us? You […]
Desert Island Discs – Sunderland Style
I’m shamelessly borrowing the format of Desert Island Discs. Most people know the format. Famous castaways choose eight records, a book and a luxury item to take with them if stranded on a desert island. My version comes with a red-and-white twist. These aren’t necessarily my eight favourite songs. They’re the tracks that have become […]
The Language of Leadership – Why Le Bris Feels Different
One of the most interesting things about Régis Le Bris isn’t his tactics. It’s his vocabulary. Football managers usually inhabit a familiar world. They talk about desire, character, intensity, fine margins, sticking together and bouncing back. After a while, many interviews start to sound like they’ve come from the same script. Le Bris is different. […]
Six Free Agents That Sunderland Could Target This Summer!
With another crucial summer transfer window ahead, Sunderland could look to the free agent market for value, so we’ve picked out six out-of-contract Premier League players and assessed whether they’d be smart additions for the 2026/2027 campaign! Harry Wilson (Fulham) A name linked with Sunderland for months, Wilson would be a welcome addition in a […]
On This Day (16 June 1992) Hardyman Fires Warning in the Wake of Bracewell Departure
The joy and euphoria surrounding Sunderland’s charge to the FA Cup Final had quickly dissipated. Defeat against Liverpool was one thing, the fall out was another. Bob Murray had decided the cup performances had been enough to appoint caretaker manager Malcolm Crosby full time – while initial league form under the stand-in gaffer had been impressive, […]
Editorial: World Cup Woes, Fixture Fever & a Warm Welcome to New Faces
Despite really looking forward to seeing this World Cup get underway, I’ve struggled to get into it, in truth. The shite kick-off times have really dampened my enthusiasm. It’s Sunday afternoon as I write this and, at the time of typing, I’m yet to see a decent game. All the good ones have happened during […]
In Sunderland Circles, Régis Le Bris Stands Alone
As Sunderland AFC has evolved as a club, changed course and overhauled its playing squads as well as witnessing multiple ownership changes and glorious highs and crushing lows during the past three decades, the definition of what we would class as the “perfect manager” for our club has changed — often to a radical degree. […]
Shad Forsythe: The Man Behind The Sunderland Fitness Revolution
To prepare for Sunderland’s return to the Premier League, Kyril Louis-Dreyfus embarked upon a summer of sweeping changes which saw the arrival of a new director of football, fourteen new players recruited and a shakeup of the backroom staff undertaken. As part of the latter, the club announced in early July the arrival of Luciano […]
On This Day (15th June 1990): The Debate On Sunderland’s Promotion Rumbles On
The 2025-26 season has given rise to a future quiz question that might test the best of memories: which team lost in the semi-final and final of the play-offs in the same season? The answer is, of course, Middlesbrough. This will be added to a question that, for over three decades, has had Sunderland as […]
Haway The Podcast | There’s A Black Hole In Sunderland AFC’s History – And We Need To Fix It
Did you know that there’s a Sunderland AFC goalscorer who scored over 300 goals for the club? Susan Cox (nee Smith) played for SAFC’s women’s team from its formation in 1989 until 2001, and as one of the founding players from that era, she feels that the club need to recognise the true history of […]
Haway The Podcast | UNPOPULAR SAFC OPINIONS | Stokoe, Cattermole, Big Sam & Gareth Hall!
What’s your one opinion on Sunderland AFC that you’re a little bit scared to say out loud in case it gets you a clip round the lug? Well, this is a safe space where you can say anything you like… so, join Gav, James, Andrew and Kelvin as they got together for a pint at […]
Roker Report’s World Cup Diary, Part One!
Well, the football has started, and some of it has been good, right? A Mackem scored a worldie on Friday night in what was probably the best game of the competition so far — not that many of us bothered to stay up until 4:00 to watch it. Thus far, controversy off the pitch has […]
On This Day (14 June 1884): Raise A Glass As Sunderland Win On Tyneside!
Sunderland took on a Newcastle FA representative side on this day in 1884, and unlike some of the derbies that have taken place between sides from the two cities, the organisers hoped that this fixture would help unite instead of divide communities in the north east. The game was in the opening round of a […]
Scouting Report: Viery — From Grêmio To Sunderland This Summer?
In an era where managers like Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta have made left-sided defensive distribution a non-negotiable tactical requirement, defenders that can naturally open up passing angles on the left flank are worth their weight in gold, and Grêmio’s twenty-one-year-old starlet Viery has quietly put together a statistical profile in Brazil that should have […]
From Empty Seats to Wild Celebrations – The Brentford Turnaround
Cursing that I’d knocked my SoL coaster off the back of my desk, I had to scrabble around among a few other odds and ends that were “stored” there and managed to locate it, along with a match ticket that must have fallen off a shelf above. I was in the habit then of trying […]
Haway The Podcast | ROKER REWIND | The G Force — Part 1
On today’s show we look back at the origins of the G-Force – Eric Gates and Marco Gabbiadini – with the ultimate aim of answering the question, ‘was it Denis Smith’s greatest stroke of luck, greatest piece of management, or something in between? On today’s show, Martin, Andrew and Kelvin look back on Denis Smith’s […]
On This Day (13th June 2017): From Washington to Wembley – The Rise of Jordan Pickford
On this day in 2017, we sold a brilliant club protégé to Everton for the then very handsome sum of £25 million, including £5 million in add-ons. Although Jordan didn’t officially sign until two days later, the agreement had already been made. Potentially, only the recent sale of Jude Bellingham has surpassed that fee for […]
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