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Roker Report

Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!

Latest Entries

Haway The Podcast | OPPO PREVIEW | Leeds YouTuber Conor McGilligan On LUFC v SAFC

Elland Road under the lights – this is all set up to be another tasty affair between Leeds United and Sunderland, so we’re joined once again by our old mate Conor McGilligan from the OneLeeds YouTube channel and Podcast so he can fill in the blanks and tell us all about our next opponents! On […]

View From The Away End: Sunderland Halt The Slide

After what has felt like a long, blissful period of Sunderland AFC being reasonably competent and not inflicting extended misery on its supporters – stretching all the way back to the play-off first leg – it was important that we put a halt to this recent slump before it develops into a more concerning downturn […]

Editorial: Xhaka’s Sunderland Return Sparks Hope At Leeds

As much as I’d like to sit and vent my spleen about Jarred Gillett and VAR, I think that’s been done enough times already since Saturday’s game. If you want to hear what I had to say about all that nonsense, you can listen to me on Sunday’s podcast where I was joined by Martin […]

Our Writers React To Dan Ballard’s Sunderland Contract Extension!

Gav says… I think this is a huge sign of how the club’s ambitions are viewed internally. If he’d wanted to leave us in the summer (and to be fair, he still could, but signing a new deal is a pretty good sign that he’s happy), he’d have been able to pick his next destination […]

Fan Letters: “Sunderland Were Robbed By Inept Officials”

Want to have your say on all things Sunderland? Drop us a line and we’ll publish your views! [email protected] Dear Roker Report, Jarred Gillett: what a farcical performance yet again from a sub-standard referee and the bollocks you call VAR. Yet again, Sunderland have been robbed by inept officials and VAR. Hang your heads in […]

An Abrasive Sunderland Team Can Be A Successful One

If Sunderland’s players walked off the Vitality Stadium pitch with a sense of righteous indignation bordering on fury after Saturday’s contentious draw with Bournemouth, they would’ve been well within their rights. Excellent value for at least a draw and perhaps even a victory against Andoni Iraola’s men, it took a ludicrous refereeing display from our […]

On This Day (2nd March 1991): A Whole Season Summed Up In One Game!

It might have been bloody infuriating at times, but we couldn’t help being bloody proud of the Lads in our relegation scrap during 1990-91. It may have been down to how we were promoted, or the fact that two years earlier we’d just got ourselves out of the Third Division for the first time, or […]

On This Day (1st March 1957): A County Durham Professional Is Born

Graeme Hedley is best known as a long-term servant at Middlesbrough, but the Black Hall lad did once get a brief outing for Sunderland too – and on his 69th birthday Roker Report looks back on a varied employment career that did then bring him back to the city. Starting at Ayresome Park in 1975, […]

Talking Points: Sunderland And Bournemouth Share The Spoils At The Vitality

Sunderland stifled by bizarre officiating Anywhere else on the pitch, shoving your opponent in the back results in a foul — so how was it possible for a Bournemouth defender to shove Enzo Le Fée in the back inside the penalty area and get away with it in the first five minutes? It’s particularly frustrating, […]

2 Up, 2 Down: Sunderland Eke Out A Point Amid A Refereeing Disasterclass

Ciaran McKenna says… A good away point I would’ve taken a point before the game, given our form and heavy injury list, and coming up against a Bournemouth team that was unbeaten in seven. I thought we played really well in periods of the game and defended terrifically throughout. We definitely earned the point and […]

Matchday Musings: Honours Even As Gillett Shafts Sunderland Again

When trying to sum a game of this nature up — an affair during which an injury-wracked Sunderland performed with the kind of purpose, attacking intent and wholehearted approach that harked back to our displays in gritty encounters during AFCON — it’s tempting to use words such as “pride”, “passion” and “togetherness” as the Lads […]

Lasses Spotlight — Brianna Westrup: Sunderland’s Defensive Kingpin

There’s a particular sense of calm that settles over a team when the right defender steps back into the heart of the backline. It’s not dramatic and it’s not loud, but it’s something steadier, something that spreads quietly through the pitch until everyone around her begins to breathe differently. That’s what’s happened at Sunderland since […]

Refereeing Farce: Gillett & VAR Let Sunderland Down

I’ve never really commented on refereeing standards as well as VAR. I’ve never felt the need to. In the space of 65 minutes at the Vitality Stadium that stance has changed. We know that every club will find themselves on the wrong end of decisions, particularly the ones which are up for debate. When things […]

Starting XI: Four Changes Predicted For Sunderland’s Game At Bournemouth

Well, as far as bad days at the office go, Sunday was right up there, and the repercussions will be felt again at 11.15am this morning when the team news is announced. Jocelin Ta Bi, Norid Mukiele, Romaine Mundle and Brian Brobbey all suffered injuries that will keep them out today, alongside Reinildo and Dennis […]

Score Predictions: Away On The South Coast – Points on Offer?

Martin Wanless predicts… Score prediction: Bournemouth 2 Sunderland 0 Sunderland’s first goalscorer: N/A After predicting positive results over recent weeks and getting nowhere, I’m trying reverse psychology on the world this weekend by predicting a defeat, and no goals. We were poor against Fulham last weekend, so we need to bounce back with a display […]

MLS

Fan Focus: What can we expect from Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth side today?

After a run of 11 league games without a win, Bournemouth are unbeaten in 7 – what the key factors behind your upturn in form? I’d say it’s actually quite difficult to pinpoint what has happened specifically, the make-up of the team hasn’t changed too much and if anything we lost some key players to […]

What Could Sunderland’s Post-2025/2026 Plan Look Like?

Despite what happened against Fulham, I still believe we’ll avoid relegation this season, so maybe it’s time to turn to what comes next — and what happens to the “model” that’s taken us this far. ​We know the current model has two major parts: invest heavily in the club’s infrastructure and buy young (and often […]

On This Day (28 Feb 2018): Survival Is “Doable” Insists Coleman!

It took a quick glance at the results from the 2017/2018 season to remind myself why I completely erased this season from my memory. It was a nightmare from start to finish; so bad, in fact, that I would rather watch a film directed by Edward D. Wood Jr (once rated the world’s worst film […]

Match Preview: Bournemouth v Sunderland — Can The Lads Get Back On Track On The South Coast?

Saturday 28th February 2026 Bournemouth v Sunderland – Premier League Vitality Stadium – Kick-Off: 12:30 Tickets & Match Coverage Tickets: Tickets are sold out. TV/Stream: Full live match coverage is available via TNT Sports. Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online) Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the […]

Lasses News: Sunderland Women In Talks Over Majority Sale

I have spent the past year watching Sunderland Women navigate something that feels significant yet strangely quiet; a process that’s unfolded mostly behind closed doors but has the potential to reshape the future of the club in a way we’ve not seen before. It’s been a year of conversations, negotiations, pauses, restarts and the kind […]

Haway The Podcast | OPPO PREVIEW | What’s Gannin’ On Down At Bournemouth?!

It’s been a season of three halves so far for Bournemouth… or something like that anyway! First they were great, then they were crap, and now they are great again, so thankfully Alexander Smith from the Bournemouth Daily Echo caught up with us to tell us more! On today’s show… All of this and more […]

Can Sunderland Cope With Their Latest Raft Of Injuries?

Ciaran McKenna says… This isn’t really the news you want to see when going through a slightly rough patch, but there are definitely silver linings. Nordi Mukiele being sidelined is a real shame. His excellent defensive qualities will be a big miss but his attacking output is something that’s seemingly gone under the radar and […]