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Roker Report

https://rokerreport.sbnation.com/ | 334 entries published

Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!

Latest Entries

Wear-Tyne Derby: Sunderland’s Moment of Truth

How Sunderland fans thought they might feel ahead of the first Wear-Tyne derby for nine years when languishing in the depths of League One is difficult to recall. Being stuck in the maelstrom of Fleetwood, Rochdale, and Accrington away while up the road Newcastle United were becoming the “Richest Clerrrb in the Werrld” [TM] was […]

about 4 hours ago | 0 reads

Derby Nerves? Not This Time – Sunderland’s Bigger Picture

I’m really looking forward to this first derby in almost ten years, but unlike a lot of my RR brethren, I am quite surprised that I haven’t been nervous really. I’ve had hardly any butterflies at all. On match day itself I will generally get twitchy pre-match, and in the game the tense and nervous […]

about 4 hours ago | 0 reads

Haway The Podcast | PAST MEETINGS | Our Favourite SAFC Wins v NUFC On Wearside

It’s the day before the big game so the lads gather to go through two epic Sunderland victories over Newcastle in detail to build-up to the big game! On today’s agenda: All of this and more – get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never miss another episode of the show! This episode of […]

about 11 hours ago | 0 reads

The Wear-Tyne Derby: Bring It On!

Sunderland vs Newcastle is a game we all fear and dread in equal measure. Games against that lot from up the road are rarely dull, and the last nine years saw us drop to our lowest point. We’ve gone from losing at Bolton and Cheltenham to tussling with the best in the country every week. […]

about 12 hours ago | 0 reads

On This Day (13th Dec 2014): Poyet’s Sunderland Stutter To Draw With West Ham

Whilst four defeats in sixteen games doesn’t sound so bad, the fact that Gus Poyet’s side had drawn ten and only won two games at this point of the season was beginning to become a worrying trend. After Poyet’s heroics of last season, where the team sensationally stayed up after being cut adrift for so […]

about 12 hours ago | 0 reads

This Derby Is Ours: Sunderland Reborn And Ready

A lot has changed in the last 10 years – Brexit, a global pandemic, and Donald Trump being elected… twice. But the more things change, the more they stay the same, and after nearly a decade apart Sunderland are finally ready to meet Newcastle in the league once again. This then is no normal derby. […]

about 12 hours ago | 0 reads

Derby Eve: A Lifetime of Red-and-White Passion

It’s derby eve, and a quiet sense of purpose and intensity has settled on me, as it has done many times before this game. I was brought up in Morpeth, in a house that was split between the Toon and Sunderland. I had good friends growing up who were every bit as daft on the […]

NFL

about 12 hours ago | 0 reads

The Battle Of New Year’s Day

As I was growing up, a lot of songs and chants which were commonplace around Roker have since disappeared. “We hate Nottingham Forest, we hate Liverpool too (and Leicester)We hate Man United, but Sunderland we love you” To the tune of “Land of Hope and Glory”, fans could obviously insert different teams to suit. One […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

On This Day (12 Dec 1995): ‘Newcastle United Have Got Their Sums Wrong’ Says Murray

Throughout his tenure as Sunderland chairman, Bob Murray always seemed to be driven – almost in equal measure – by a desire for Sunderland to do well, combined with a deep-rooted dislike of ‘them up the road’. To be fair, that’s not too different from many Sunderland supporters, particularly those raised in halfy-half places like […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

Sunderland Fans – How Are The Pre-Derby Nerves?

Cal Mills says… I feel just how I felt about the play-off final… calm, confident, and assured. As we’ve seen already this season, the quality of football we play with the caliber of players we possess has given the league’s top teams the runaround already. Everyone related to Sunderland AFC knows how much this game […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

Cheer The Lasses On This Christmas!

As the league’s winter break draws near, Sunderland Women will be looking to close out their 2025 with 3 points against bottom-of-the-table Ipswich Town Women on Sunday 21 December at Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground. The Lasses, who started the season in good form but now find themselves 11th in a tightly-contested WSL2 table, are desperate to […]

2 days ago | 1 read

Sing Your Hearts Out For The Lads!

During the last couple of days, most of my time has been spent thinking about Sunday’s derby. I’ve been feeling nervous and anxious, hoping that we get something out of the game, but then my perspective changed as I realised something — it should be Newcastle who are hoping to get a result out of […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

On This Day (11th December 1926): A Day To Remember for Dave Halliday

Any day you win, score six goals, and beat Manchester United has to be seen as a good day out for a Sunderland AFC team, and this is exactly what they did on this day in 1926. In the fantastic book The Absolute Record written by Rob Mason, Mike Gibson, and Barry Jackson, the season […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Poyet’s Sunderland v NUFC Derby Victories: Which Was Your Favourite?

Jonny Hawley: SAFC 2-1 NUFC, 2013 In a crowded field, Poyet’s first derby is right up near the top of my personal list – it’s no Richardson free kick, obviously, but I absolutely loved that game. I’d have just turned 15 not long before the match, so I was in that sweet spot in life […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Fan Letters: The Importance Of Realistic Expectations

Want to have your say on all things Sunderland? Drop us a line and we’ll publish your views! [email protected] Dear Roker Report, As our season unfolds, I think we maybe need to take an actual reality check in what our expectations actually were before the season got underway, and now what seems to be a […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Luke O’Nien: From League One Losses To His Premier League Debut

Look, even though he got stupidly sent off at the weekend, Luke O’Nien has fully cemented his legacy as one of the greatest Sunderland players. I’d even argue that he could receive straight red cards for the rest of his career and still not lose the love of so many supporters. Luke O’Nien’s Sunderland journey […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Simon Adingra: The Ivory Coast’s Loss But Sunderland’s Gain?

Anthony Gair says… Although surprising, it’s not the end of the world for Adingra.  The Ivorian can utilise this time as a massive opportunity to cover for any of the missing wingers; to get himself some proper Premier League football under his belt and be a real positive force for our push for the title! […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Who Could Be Sunderland’s Difference-Makers Against Newcastle?

Anthony Gair says… Well, just to start off, I’m absolutely bricking it. I always do, and I always will before the derby. Our main threat against Newcastle will be down the wings, I expect. Hopefully they field Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier as I feel Romaine Mundle, Bertrand Traoré, Wilson Isidor, Brian Brobbey, Chemsdine Talbi, […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

On This Day (10th Dec 2004): Darren Williams — From A Black Cat To A Bluebird

Darren Williams eventually arrived at Peter Reid’s Sunderland in October 1996. He had been recommended by future Sunderland coach and manager Ricky Sbragia, who was at that time York City youth-team coach. Williams had a pre-season trial for Sunderland reserves, but with his contract finishing, a fee could not initially be agreed. Reid eventually got […]

4 days ago | 0 reads