Roker Report
Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
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Haway The Podcast | A Season In Sunderland
Welcome to this morning’s edition of Haway The Podcast, and we’ve got something a bit different, as we catch up with Andy and Renata – who decided to leave life in Melbourne, Australia behind for the year to follow the lads. We talk about: All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you […]
“We Can Have A Few Decent Days And Nights!”
Looking back and remembering is something all Sunderland fans have done more than their fair share of. It’s been a central part of our identity for many years; at times, thinking back to a handful of decent days and nights is all we’ve really had to lean on. When the present day involves setting the […]
On This Day (9th June 2022): Billy Bingham – Sunderland Star and Northern Ireland Great
On this day in 2022, Billy Bingham died. He broke into the professional ranks at Glentoran in Northern Ireland in 1948, before moving to Sunderland in 1950 – where he spent eight years of his career, the longest spell at any of the five clubs he played for. He turned out for the Lads from […]
Essen & Sunderland — “Let’s Keep On Twinning!”
The Sunderland fanbase spreads far and wide, thousands of miles away from the shores of Wearside. We have supporters’ branches dotted around the globe, each full of members that, no matter their background, all share the mutual love of Sunderland AFC. Up until 2015, Germany was without a dedicated supporters’ branch, but this all changed […]
Grading Sunderland’s 25/26 Recruitment, Part Two!
Habib Diarra: B- When assessing Sunderland’s club record signing, it’s important to remember that given the frugal approach that ultimately led us back to the top flight, splashing out £30 million on a player would be the equivalent of a rival team paying twenty or thirty million more — the temptation is to believe that […]
Roker Roundup: Former Gaffer Gus Poyet Has His Say On Sunderland & Sartori
Popular former Sunderland boss Gustavo Poyet, who has just finished up a short-term role with Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Khaleej, has been chatting about Sunderland’s recent progress in the wake of the end of the Premier League season, in which the Lads recorded their best Premier League finish since 2001. Poyet, who of course worked […]
Haway The Podcast | CHIT-CHAT | We Catch Up With Ross Johnston On Catching Our Iconic Moments!
We’ve seen the pictures this season but what are the stories behind them?! We last caught up with Ross (RJX Media) a few days after the play-off final and we thought we’d get the inside story on some of the big photos from our Premier League season! On today’s show… All this and more! Get […]
The Final Reflections On 2025/2026!
Anth Gair says… Where do you even start? Back in August, I’d have taken seventeenth place and a final-day scramble, no questions asked. Instead, the Lads have given us seventh place, fifty four points, a derby double, and European football on Wearside for the first time in over fifty years. Go on, read that sentence […]
Grading Sunderland’s 25/26 Recruitment, Part One!
Robin Roefs: A If Peter Reid opted to think outside of the box when he snapped up Thomas Sorensen in 1998 and Roy Keane made a statement of intent when he brought Scottish international Craig Gordon south from Tynecastle in 2007, one wonders just what kind of witchcraft was at play when we signed the […]
Editorial: Embracing Change, A Thanks To Dennis & World Cup Anticipation!
Is change good? I’ve lived in Yorkshire for around twenty years now, and I realised very quickly that any sort of change in the region is about as welcome as a fart in a space suit. I’ll give them some credit, however, that it can sometimes be a little scary, none more so when it […]
On This Day (8 June 1987): Smith Rules Out Roker Return For Turner!
It was probably more wishful thinking than anything else, but on this day in 1987, newly-appointed Sunderland manager, Denis Smith, was required to dash fans hopes of a return to Roker for goalkeeper Chris Turner. The Sheffield-born keeper started out at his boyhood club Sheffield Wednesday and quickly established himself as one of the top […]
Haway The Podcast | CHIT-CHAT | We Catch Up With Ian Murtagh On SAFC’s Fantastic Season!
After more than three decades covering north-east football, Ian Murtagh had probably thought he’d seen it all! But he joins us today to catch up on what has happened since we last caught up with him just before the derby at St James’! On today’s show… All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The […]
On This Day (7th June 1972): Bomber’s Italian Plan Fails To Come Off
Sunderland wound up their 1971-72 season, which in league terms had been fair to middling at best, with a stab at the Anglo-Italian Cup – and after a bruising trip to the continent earlier in the month, they were now back on home soil to see out their group game obligations. The Roker Park treatment […]
Thanks, Dennis, And Good Luck For The Future!
Alex Charlton says… What a journey it’s been — from League One to the Premier League. In your early days on Wearside, you were plagued by injury and I always feared whether you’d get the chance to fulfil your potential, but you’ve played an integral part in the club’s development and progress up the divisions. […]
Haway The Podcast | SEASON REVIEW Pt. 2 | We Continue Our Deep Dive Into The 2025-26 Season!
Well… the first part to this review took twice as long to cover half the amount of games as we’d planned! So how long will part two be and will we need a third?! Join Martin, Andrew, Gav and Chris as they pick up from Stamford Bridge to cover our season review! On today’s show… […]
Sunderland’s Stars On The World Stage…Who’ll Go The Furthest?
Just for a bit of fun, which Sunderland player will go furthest in the World Cup? We have Granit Xhaka (Switzerland), Brian Brobbey and Robin Roefs (Holland), Noah Sadiki and former Sunderland defender Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo), Wilson Isidor (Haiti), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Omar Alderete (Paraguay), Nilson Angulo (Ecuador) and Simon Adingra […]
How(e) To Get It Wrong!
The horrific images that have accompanied the launch of ‘the Visitors’ new Adidas home shirt serve as a salutary reminder of just how much Sunderland AFC are getting right in so many areas of the club. On the pitch, things could not have gone any better – a talented and committed squad (many of whom […]
On This Day (6th June 1957): Gary Rowell – The Local Lad Who Became a Sunderland Legend
Lord Rowell of Seaham was born on this day in 1957. He joined Sunderland AFC as an apprentice in 1972 before turning professional in July 1974. He made his league debut for the Lads in the 1975/76 season, helping us to promotion from the old Second Division into the top flight. He scored 102 goals […]
Who Was Sunderland’s Best Find — And Which 25/26 Away Day Stood Out?
Alex Charlton says… Sunderland’s surprise package: Robin Roefs According to reports, we’d missed out on several goalkeeping targets and given how little I knew about him, the division he was playing in and his price tag, I had my reservations about his ability. To be honest, I was also slightly disappointed that Anthony Patterson was […]
Haway The Podcast | TOP 10 | 1-5 | We Complete The Best Moments Of SAFC’s 2025-26 Season
We can’t get enough of Sunderland’s 2025-26 season so we go on a little deep dive to go through it We created a shortlist of ten and we’ve covered the first half, but today we go through our top five! Join Andrew, Jonny, Gav & Chris to go back through the top moments from last […]
Jack Ross at Sunderland – Success, Failure or Something Between?
Today marks the birthday of our former manager Jack Ross, a figure whose time on Wearside continues to divide opinion among supporters as to whether it was a successful tenure or not. While his reign ultimately ended in disappointment, Ross also played an important role in stabilising the club during one of the most turbulent […]
Roly Gregoire, Roker Park, and a Day I Cannot Forget
I have found myself in the last week or so comparing and contrasting the best of my sixty years of supporting the Lads. It has been a great way to idle away sunny afternoons in my retirement. I am a Sunderland supporter of unquestionable allegiance. Through thick and thin, win or lose, this club has […]
Sunderland’s Evolution Is Continuing Apace
The winds of change are blowing at Sunderland once again. Another end-of-season detox, more reflections on the campaign that’s just finished and on Tuesday evening, an emotional farewell statement from Dennis Cirkin, confirming his Wearside exit. The long-serving left back’s final bow hardly came as a surprise following a 2025/2026 season during which he found […]
Sunderland Must Seize The Chance They’ve Been Given!
After two of the most amazing seasons in our recent history, most of us can scarcely believe how far we’ve come from the not-so-long ago days of League One. Going back over sixty years or more Sunderland have typically followed up a season of promotion from the second tier with an objective no greater than […]
Was Sunderland’s 2025/2026 Campaign Underrated Or Unappreciated?
The winner of the Premier League ‘Manager of the Season’ award is pretty inevitable these days, with eleven of the past twelve winners being in charge of the team that won the title, yet when there’s this much predictability, it does raise the question of whether there’s much meaning in this award. Mikel Arteta picked […]
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