Roker Report
Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
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Sunderland Are Keeping Their Head While Everyone Else Loses Theirs
It would appear that change is the constant of this summer in the Premier League. They are all at it. City. Chelsea. Liverpool. Spurs. Villa. Palace. Bournemouth. Fulham. Forest. The Mags. Everywhere you look, clubs are ripping things up: new head coaches, major outgoings, and overpriced, expensive gambles being brought in. And then there’s us. […]
Why Sunderland’s Biggest Questions Are Better Than Last Summer’s
Last summer felt surreal. After years spent clawing our way back through the divisions, Sunderland supporters found themselves preparing for a Premier League season again. There was excitement, certainly, but also uncertainty. Nobody quite knew what to expect. Every new signing was scrutinised through the same lens. Could they cope? Could the club cope? More […]
A Strong Core Will Be Key For Sunderland This Season
As we approach the final two weeks of the summer transfer window amid what seems to be a consensus that Sunderland do still need to be active in order to retrofit their playing squad to meet the demands of the 2026/2027 campaign, I’m intrigued on two fronts. First of all, I’ll be keeping a keen […]
On This Day (20 August 1991) Owers Targets Goals As Sunderland Make Oakwell Trip
Gary Owers had impressed pretty much everyone who’d watched him come through the ranks at Sunderland over the past four years. The youth team product had been thrown into the first team when Denis Smith arrived at the club in 1987, and had established himself as a regular as the lads made the journey from […]
Andy’s Player Ratings: Sunderland u21 1-1 Jong PSV – Scott On Target As Points Shared
Joe Cowan: 9/10 Made some fantastic saves throughout, with quick reflex but his positioning for those saves were very impressive. Made some great throws to start counter attacks too. Jenson Jones: 6/10 A solid display at right back, didn’t exactly shut his side of the pitch down but competed well and made a good clearance […]
Phil Bardsley Backs Sunderland Survival and European Progress
This article is brought to you in association with betTOM. Former Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley has backed the Black Cats to survive their return to the Premier League – but believes the combination of top-flight and European football could make for a gruelling 2026/27 campaign. There is plenty of optimism around Wearside ahead of Sunderland’s […]
Haway The Podcast | 2026-27 SEASON PREVIEW | The Lads Dust Off Their Crystal Balls!
It’s that time of the year where everyone tries to second guess how it might all play out, and we’re not daft enough to predict the one to twenty in the Premier League, but Gav & Martin join Chris to put their neck on the line! On today’s show… All this and more! Get subscribed […]
On This Day (18th Aug 1953): Ray Daniel — From Difficult Debut to Roker Park Favourite
It was not a great start for the most expensive defender in British transfer history. But things definitely improved for Ray ‘Bebe’ Daniel, who played his way into the affections of the Roker Park faithful. Ray Daniel made his debut for Sunderland against Charlton Athletic at The Valley in the opening fixture of the 1953/54 […]
Can Sunderland Do It Again? A Seven-Game Plan for a Top-Ten Finish
Before last season started, I broke down the season into seven sets of five games. As a newly promoted team with fourteen new players, my expectations were low. I speculated that we needed five points from each set of five games and, to achieve that, we needed to win at least one game in each […]
Stability Over Revolution: Why Sunderland Are Ready for Another Leap
The last manager to lead Sunderland into three successive seasons was Steve Bruce, who left Wigan to join the Mackems in 2009. His team, captained for that single season by the ferocious Lorik Cana, finished 13th with a total of 44 points. The following year, Bruce led the Lads to a 10th-place finish, despite the […]
Rigg, Angulo or Hume: Who Gets The Nod For Sunderland At Ipswich?
Andy Thompson says… It’s a really good question. They all have a case to start on the weekend but I think ultimately Régis Le Bris will opt for Trai Hume. He’s trusted with his work rate and has played there during pre-season which indicates this has been in his thinking for some time. Chris Rigg […]
Sunderland’s New Season: Europe, Ambition & a Whole Lot of Unknowns
So here we go, then. Another pre-season is done and we’re all set for one of the most exciting seasons for a generation of Sunderland supporters. With potentially up to fifty games, a chance of three cup runs, European nights under the lights and some of the world’s best coming to the Stadium of Light, […]
Haway The Podcast | HAWAY THE Q&A | What Do Sunderland Need NEXT?
We’re right into the swing of things now that pre-season is over and we are looking ahead to the start of the Premier League, so join Chris, Gav and Andrew as they answer YOUR questions from the mailbag this week! On today’s show… All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you […]
On This Day (18th Aug 2001): Sunderland Start in Style vs Ipswich – But It Was a False Dawn
August 18, 2001, saw Sunderland kick off their Premier League campaign in style with a 1-0 victory at home to Ipswich Town. Peter Reid’s side were fresh from a seventh-place finish in the previous campaign, narrowly missing out on a UEFA Cup spot, and there was genuine optimism that they could push on again. Over […]
Sunderland Are Ready for the Premier League – So What Comes Next?
The anticipation of next week’s Premier League kick-off at Ipswich is more than palpable – it’s downright frothing at the bit. It’s been a pretty good summer. The World Cup was a decent watch, despite the utterly predictable nature of England’s exit. Sunderland had 12 players representing their respective countries in the USA, Canada & […]
On This Day (18 Aug 1951): Sunderland And Derby Play Out A High-Scoring Thriller
With both clubs finishing the previous season in mid-table and level on the same number of points, Derby County and Sunderland’s 1951/1952 opener seemed like it could be an intriguing affair between two evenly matched sides. It was the second season running that the Lads were facing the Rams in their first fixture and they […]
26/27 Pre-Season Predictions: Potential League Positions And Away Day Excitement
Anth Gair says… Hark back to the era where teams ‘gelling’ was a thing. This can only be good news for us as a side, as this will be their first pre-season together. I know, it’s not always as straightforward as that, but I’m holding out hope that some of the young lads will kick […]
Fan Letters: Who Is Next On Ghisolfi’s Transfer Wishlist?
Got something to say? Drop us an email with your thoughts to [email protected] and we’ll publish them here on the website in our next edition of Fan Letters! Dear Roker Report, I wanted to share two transfer suggestions that, in my opinion, could completely change Sunderland’s attacking options this season. The first priority has to […]
Haway The Podcast | MONDAY SUPPLEMENT | Phil Smith on SAFC 2-1 Rennes, Transfers & More
We’re now only a matter of days away from the proper stuff starting in the Premier League, so we thought we’d grab a chat with our marra from the Sunderland Echo, Phil Smith! On today’s show: All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never miss another episode of our free […]
Why Sunderland Can Go One Better Again This Season
Twelve months ago, we were all doing the same thing. Scrolling the fixture list, counting up the winnable ones, quietly telling ourselves that seventeenth would do very nicely, thank you, and we’d sign for it right now if someone offered. We finished seventh. Fifty-four points. European football for the first time since 1973/1974, when the […]
Editorial: Sunderland’s Patience Pays Off as Methalie Deal Finally Gets Done
After several months of talks and back-and-forth meetings, it appears Sunderland have finally managed to thrash out a deal with Toulouse for their star left-back Dayann Methalie that works for all parties. The fee – believed to be worth around £25.7m including add-ons – seems pretty reasonable considering stories last week in the French media […]
On This Day (17th Aug 1976): Beard-Gate — When Roy Greenwood Fell Foul of Bob Stokoe
It’s fair to say Bob Stokoe had an immediate impact when he arrived on Wearside in December 1972. Within nine months, the former Newcastle United player had claimed the FA Cup for Sunderland and navigated our first-ever game in a European competition – not a bad start. But we’d been out of the top flight […]
What Next For Abdoullah Ba, The Last Of Sunderland’s ‘Teens In Jeans’?
It was August 19, 2022, a sultry summer’s evening on the banks of the Wear, and there was an air of intrigue as we trooped to the Stadium of Light to witness what we all hoped would be a comfortable home victory over perennial Championship strugglers Rotherham United. Despite a good start to the season […]
Haway The Podcast | Opening Day Sunderland Memories!
Join Martin, Andrew and Kelvin as we begin the build up to the new season by looking back on some memorable opening day encounters. On today’s show, we delve into the past to revisit: All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never miss another episode of our free daily show. […]
Matchday Musings: The Lads End Pre-Season With A Win
The Lads ended pre-season in style, once again facing French opposition that has likewise qualified for European competition in the upcoming season, and, in truth, probably could and should have scored at least three or four more. It was good being back in the SoL. Due to the absolutely nonsensical way the club still refuses […]
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