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Visit Ghana? Sunderland Must Think Carefully About This Partnership
After some mild discontent in recent weeks, you’d forgive Sunderland for maybe laying low for a little while. However, it seems boxing clever isn’t on the club’s agenda – at least when it comes to recent commercial activity. With reports in Ghana suggesting “Visit Ghana” is to become Sunderland’s primary, and therefore front-of-shirt, sponsor, it […]
On This Day (5th Aug 1932): Jimmy Gillespie – The Scot Who Helped Build Sunderland’s Greatness
James Gillespie passed away in Bearsden, near Clydebank, in 1932 at the relatively young age of 64. Apart from a six-year period, he spent his life living in his home city. Those six years away from Glasgow were spent playing football in Sunderland, most of them as a key member of what became known as […]
Do Sunderland Really Need to Sign a Right Winger?
Conventional wisdom says Sunderland’s biggest need this summer is at right wing. But hear me out. What if conventional wisdom is wrong? While seven different Black Cats started at right wing last season — Chemsdine Talbi, Bertrand Traoré, Trai Hume, Chris Rigg, Eliezer Mayenda, Jocelin Ta Bi and Nilson Angulo — the squad’s best right-sided […]
Sunderland’s “Legends’ Way”: A Superb Idea Turned To Reality!
My first real flirtation with the long and storied history of Sunderland AFC came over twenty five years ago. In those somewhat carefree, pre-Internet days, the ability to spend hours reading up on all things red and white, learning about the iconic players, games and moments of years gone by was limited (I probably wouldn’t […]
Haway The Podcast | Unpopular Opinions – Pt. 1 | Linesmen, The SAFC Songbook & Parking The Bus!
We’re back with our unpopular opinions! Only this time we’re actually doing it on purpose! Andrew, Ant & Jonny join Chris to cover just a fraction of the unpopular opinions they hold to see if, well they’re actually unpopular, and a lot depends on how much the others take the p*ss or agree! On today’s […]
Editorial: After Our US ‘Holiday’, Pre-Season Begins To Get Serious
In 18 days’ time, we’ll be kicking off our Premier League season away at Ipswich. Eighteen days – we had shorter international breaks last season – and it’s going to be a big two and a half weeks for the club to ensure we’re ready to go full pelt at Portman Road. The pre-season trip […]
What Did We Learn From Sunderland’s American Tour?
Ben McKevitt says… The most obvious stand out throughout the US tour was Chris Rigg, for me. I feel like he had the biggest impact across the three games, starting each in his favoured role in central midfield. It seems like every time we see Rigg, he’s reached a new level in his development and […]
What Makes Sunderland a ‘Proper Club’?
Sunderland are a proper club. It’s a phrase football supporters hear all the time. Sheffield Wednesday are a proper club. Nottingham Forest are a proper club. Aston Villa are a proper club. The term is rolled out so frequently that it has almost become meaningless – a catch-all description for clubs that somehow feel bigger […]
Do Sunderland’s ‘Overlooked’ Wingers Have A Future On Wearside?
If Romaine Mundle’s standout moment in a Sunderland shirt came against Preston during the 2024/2025 season, salvaging a 1-1 draw with a cracking finish after the Lilywhites had parked the bus, a fleet of taxis and several horsedrawn carriages as they sought desperately to spoil the game and frustrate the life out of us, surely […]
On This Day (4th August 2017): A False Dawn as Sunderland Returned to the Championship
Sunderland’s opening Championship fixture of the 2017 – 18 season gave us some sort of promise for the campaign ahead. After 10 years in the Premier League, a home game against Derby County on the opening day had the potential to be a statement of intent. Following our relegation season of 2016 – 17, during […]
Haway The Podcast | Roker Rewind | The Nearly Men
Welcome to another edition of Roker Rewind, and Martin, Chris and Andrew are back with another delve into SAFC archives. We’ve got a bit of a different take on things today though – because, as the transfer window is (apparently) well and truly open, we’re looking at transfers. Specifically, four transfers that didn’t ever actually end […]
Talking Points: Brobbey and Diarra Shine as Sunderland End US Tour on a High
Right-Hand Side Play Interestingly, despite being our most targeted area to strengthen in the summer market, the right side of the pitch again yielded the most rewards as we built our attacks. Le Bris once again played Trai Hume in a pseudo-wing role on the right, as waves of attacks developed between Hume himself, Habib […]
Matchday Musings: Mukiele Makes The Difference For Sunderland!
One final ‘Summer Series’ outing, one final pre -season run out in the States before a return to Europe and another encouraging display for Regis Le bris before attention turns to Lens and Stade Rennes in our final pre-season tests. The team news provided the first talking point of the evening, with Robin Roefs replacing […]
2 Up, 2 Down: Sunderland Wrap Up Their USA Tour With A Win
Ciaran McKenna says… Sunderland end their Stateside trip on a positive note Another good test to round up our US tour and finally one where we are on the right side of the result. We controlled the game well and looked sharper both in and out of possession, with some nice passing moves creating chances […]
Success Without Selling Your Soul? Sunderland’s Winning Formula
This week, it is fair to say that I have been slightly obsessed with Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey. Without wanting to spoil anything (not that you can really spoil the plot of a story that originates from the 8th or 7th century BC), it focuses on the protagonist, Odysseus – one of the […]
On This Day (3rd August 2002): Sunderland Linked With French International Midfielder
On this day back in 2002, Peter Reid took a quick break from Sunderland’s training camp to scout a French international midfielder, with the hope of bringing him to Wearside. Reid ended up in Amsterdam to take in the four-team tournament involving Ajax, Barcelona, United, and Parma, while keeping a particular eye on Parma’s French […]
Haway The Podcast | WREXHAM REACTION | Sunderland Round Off US Tour With A Win!
Sunderland one, Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham nil – join Gav and Kelvin as they react at full time to a canny performance from the Lads in pink over in Philadelphia! On today’s show… All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never miss another episode of our free daily show. Want to […]
Andy’s Player Ratings: Sunderland 1-0 Wrexham – USA Tour Ends in Victory
Robin Roefs: 6/10 An easy first game of preseason for Roefs, only really involved when bringing the ball out with his feet, when he was typically assured. Nordi Mukiele: 8/10 Went off shortly after half time with what looked like a knock but was so good while he was on the pitch, marauding up and […]
Fan Focus: What can Sunderland expect from Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham side?
Wrexham has been on one magnificent journey since the takeover of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. Does it almost still all feel like a dream? There’s still a bit of surrealism about it all but we’ve almost become accustomed to it now. The man who has spearheaded that journey is ex-Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson. What […]
Haway The Podcast | MATCHDAY PREVIEW | SAFC v Wrexham | The Return of Phil Parkinson
Sunderland round off their tour of the United States later today with a kickaboot with Wrexham in Philly… and speaking of Philly, a certain Mr Parkinson will be in the opposition dugout for the first time since he terrorised us in League One. Join Gav, Michael and Andrew as they look ahead to the game! […]
Oppo Analysis: Can Sunderland Get the Better of Familiar Foe Phil Parkinson?
Wrexham play with a 3-4-3 formation, a high press and quick verticality. The team relies on aggressive movement to win the ball high up the pitch and attack quickly, with active wing-backs providing width. The Red Dragons apply an intense high press to disrupt opponents in their own half and focus on verticality, pushing the […]
On This Day (2 August 1972): Sunderland Aim To Raise A Glass!
A pre-kick off pint on Stadium of Light concourses is a match day ritual for many Sunderland supporters, whilst the possibility of fans being allowed to drink alcohol in the actual stands was recently brought up again by Andy Burnham in the days before he was confirmed as the new Prime Minister of the United […]
What Can Sunderland Learn From Recent Europa League History?
Sunderland did what can only be described as “a Sunderland” last season, surpassing all expectations by delivering a seventh-placed finish, and with it, European football for the first time in over fifty years. We all know the challenges that Europa League football will bring, and having a deeper squad is a necessity. While things have […]
Match Preview: Sunderland v Wrexham — We Face Hollywood In The Final Stop On Our US Tour!
Sunday 2nd August 2026 Sunderland v Wrexham – Friendly Subaru Park, Chester, Pennsylvania Kick-Off: 18:00 (BST) Tickets & Match Coverage TV/Stream: Full live match coverage is available via safc.com. Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on the Roker Report Twitter feed (@RokerReport) and check out the player ratings after the full-time […]
Haway The Podcast | HAWAY THE Q&A | Mags Imploding, Window Worries & Cheesesteaks!
It’s been a few weeks since we did a Q&A so once we realised we put the call out and you lovely people responded once again with some belting questions! It’s everything from the mags, the window, Europa League rules and what bait you prefer! On today’s show: All this and more! Get subscribed to […]
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