Roker Report
Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
Total reads
4,532
This week
3
Rank
#31 of 393
Published
1,538 posts
Most read posts
Featured on Sportsblogs
Run this blog? Add the badge to your site to show readers you're featured — it links back to this page.
Latest Entries
On This Day (20th Nov 2021): Late Goals End Sunderland’s Poor Run!
Three heavy defeats in a row saw pressure suddenly rise on Lee Johnson and his Sunderland team as the winter period of heavy fixtures was about to set in. Sunderland had lost at home to Charlton Athletic and had followed it up with two very heavy defeats to Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday respectively. These defeats […]
Can Romaine Mundle Step Up To The Premier League?
Since signing Mundle, it’s become clear that he’s a very talented young man. He has all the skills you would want from a winger: pace, directness, dynamism, power, with the dribbling and finishing ability to top it off. Goals against Preston, Luton and Burnley highlighted his explosive and impressive wing play, but that said, he’s […]
After Years Of Neglect – The SoL Makeover Continues
We’ll see further enhancements to the Stadium of Light when fans take their seats for the home match against Bournemouth on November 29. Speculation online during the international break suggests we’ll see updated screens at either end of the ground, with images from the U21 game against Athletic Club showing the old North Stand screen […]
Arthur Masuaku — Should Sunderland Stick, Or Twist?
With reports emanating from Turkey that Arthur Masuaku may be open to a return to his former side, Beşiktaş, in January, would it be in Sunderland’s best interests to allow the former West Ham player to move on? The slew of new recruits that arrived at the Academy of Light during the summer added much-needed […]
Starting Today, Comments & Feed Posts On Roker Report Will Have Activity Notifications
When you post on SB Nation, we don’t want you to miss all the conversations and responses that follow. So starting today, whenever a user replies to your comment or to your post on the Feed, you’ll see a notification at the top right corner of the page. And of course, this means that when […]
Haway The Podcast | CHIT-CHAT | Catching Up With Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen’s Andrea Bell!
The weather is changing, and for those who are homeless and struggling, services like Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen are critical. With that in mind, we caught up with Andrea Bell, the wonderful woman behind the most amazing charitable organisation, to hear about what is going on in our city, where things are at this year, […]
Fantasy Premier League: I Should’ve Backed Sunderland From The Start
How could we possibly have predicted this? If you had told me this time last year that Sunderland players would be making up 7% of the top 100 Fantasy Premier League performers, I simply wouldn’t have believed you. It’s easy to look at the table and see how well we’re doing as a team this […]
Dream Big, Dream Bold
Without sounding like a broken record, it’s a hell of a time to be a Sunderland fan. A third international break of the season is annoying as it stops us from being able to watch the red and white wizards in action, which, considering we’re unbeaten in four and have just one loss in nine […]
What Are Sunderland’s Top Two Priorities For January?
Malc Dugdale says… The first priority has to be thinning out what may insensitively be termed “deadwood” across the squad for me. We have a lot of players who we know won’t make the grade for a team pushing for the UEFA Champions League slots (I can’t believe I’m writing that about us, and it’s […]
On This Day (19th Nov 1966): Great Comeback As Bullet Bags A Brace
This campaign had not got off to the best of starts as the World Cup feel-good factor evaporated quickly for Sunderland fans. With just two wins and seven defeats in the first twelve games, we found ourselves in twentieth position in the top tier; it was looking like it was going to be another hard […]
Haway The Podcast | NEWS ROUNDUP | Will Sunderland Sign Xhaka’s Ex-Teammate In January?
January is right around the corner, so you know what that means – the transfer rumour mill has kicked back into gear! With that in mind, Gav, Andrew and Jonny got together to chat about the players we’ve been linked with in recent days, to look at how the international break has gone for our […]
On This Day (18th Nov 1905): Bell Rings As Everton Are Taught A Lesson!
1905/1906 was Bob Kyle’s first season as Sunderland secretary — although the directors still called most of the shots and were in charge of picking the side that took on Everton 120 years ago today. The selection process was drawn out as long as possible to see if Harold Buckle and Jimmy Watson could overcome […]
Régis Le Bris Is Very Much A Sunderland Boss Of The Times
In the modern, money-driven, high stakes, glitz-and-glamour world of the Premier League, it’s seldom enough for a head coach or a manager to just be a head coach or a manager, and as the nature of the game that we all love has evolved, so too have the demands placed those who are fortunate enough […]
Fan Letters: Diversity Is A Real Strength 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, Having followed Sunderland since the 1950s, it’s the first time in my memory that the whole management team have been so experienced in football club management. Look at the background of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus […]
Sunderland’s Defensive Masterclass Was No Accident
Much of the praise for Sunderland’s dream start back to life in the Premier League has been rightfully directed towards defensive performance. From Robin Roefs’ impressive command of his area in just his second professional season, to Dan Ballard’s willingness to launch himself through a brick wall for a header, to the class that the […]
Haway The Podcast | ON THIS WEEK | Brady Debuts, False Hope, & Christmas Lights!
Good morning and welcome to the start of another week at Sunderland AFC – and we’re kicking off as usual with another episode of On This Week, where we take a look at some of the things that have happened On This Week in the history of Sunderland AFC! There’s no Kelvin this week – he […]
Don’t Be Deceived — Sunderland Are Currently Fourth On Merit
Have you heard the joke about the so-called “Deserved Premier League Table” and how the team currently sitting proudly in fourth place should apparently be in the lower reaches of the league on the basis that we’re allegedly outperforming various metrics by a considerable distance? Well, pass me a needle and thread so I can […]
On This Day (17th Nov 1991): Sunderland draw in Smith’s last derby!
The fortunes of Sunderland and Newcastle United in the late-1980’s/early-1990’s were like a double-helix that constantly crossed paths. While Lawrie McMenemy did his thing and saw us slide into the third tier we had left our nearest and dearest in the top flight, but as we climbed out and consolidated our position, they came down […]
Is This The Best Sunderland Team You’ve Seen?
Something I’ve found myself repeating almost every time I speak about Sunderland at the minute is something that many of you reading this will probably smirk and laugh at, as I know I’m often accused of getting carried away too easily, but I genuinely believe it when I say it: I think this is probably […]
Haway The Podcast | ROOM 101 | It’s Part Two Of Our Room 101!
We hope you enjoyed part one – which was a little bit serious after we moved past pink custard – and here is part two with a few less serious pet hates that Andrew & Jonny would like to see banished to Room 101! All of this and much more – get subscribed to you […]
Dan Ballard: Sunderland’s Defensive Destroyer!
Daniel George Ballard signed for Sunderland ahead of our return to the Championship back in the summer of 2022. Coming from Arsenal for a couple of million pounds, he immediately looked like a proper centre back despite missing around half of the 2022/2023 season with injury. Last season, there were times when he couldn’t get […]
Sunderland And Granit Xhaka Could Be A Potent Combination!
When we signed Granit Xhaka in the summer, it’s fair to say a few eyebrows were raised and that many neutrals nodded subtly — as well as acknowledging that for a club just coming up via the playoffs, it was a bold but potentially strong and ambitious move. There was an undeniable “feelgood factor” from that […]
On This Day (16th Nov 1963): O’Hare Sits Out Big Win Over Orient
Sunderland’s pursuit of a first ever promotion entered the final straight in 1963/1964 and on this day, they returned to top spot in Division Two courtesy of a comprehensive victory over Leyton Orient. The Lads had won five of their last seven and had already been at the summit for a brief period at the […]
Sunderland In The Media Spotlight
Dan Harrison says… Whilst it’s always a bonus to finally be in the limelight, I’m at a bit of a crossroads regarding the coverage we’ve received since our return to the Premier League. On one hand, I feel that despite the praise, it feels like a surface-level analysis and a lazy attempt to label our […]
Haway The Podcast | ROOM 101 | Here’s Part 1 Of Trying To Banish Our Football Pet Hates To Room 101!
For those who remember the radio or TV series from back in the day, we have our very own Football Room 101 as we try and we try and help our beloved game by banishing our pet hates – and this is part 1! All of this and much more – get subscribed to you […]