Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
Sunderland’s last trip to Chelsea was an embarrassing end to a humiliating season. A 5-1 humping, finishing rock bottom of the league, and creating a guard of honour in the 26th minute for John Terry were just some of the dreadful memories of this day. Fast forward eight years, and Sunderland prepare to visit that […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Martin Wanless predicts… Score prediction: Chelsea 1 Sunderland 1 Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Ballard This is a really intriguing game, and something of a free hit. Chelsea are a cracking team on their day, but if it’s not their day, we could get something – and I’d bite your foot off for a draw. There are […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
In the days leading up to Sunderland’s league fixture against Bury at the Stadium of Light, Danish TV crews had been in town, to capture footage of the newly arrived Thomas Sorensen excelling for his new club. Following in the footsteps of Peter Schmeichel, Denmark’s under 21 keeper Sorensen was seen as the Manchester United […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Ahead of this weekend’s game we’ve delved into the archives to have the crack about Sunderland travelling to the capital to take on Chelsea – but our record down there isn’t great! On today’s agenda: All of this and much more – get subscribed to you don’t miss another episode of Haway The Podcast!
3 months ago | 1 read
Sunderland returned to winning ways on Founders’ Week, leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers rooted to the foot of the Premier League table after the first league meeting between the two sides since Sunderland’s final day victory of 2017/2018 — in which we denied Wolves a century of points in the process. A goal in either half confirmed […]
3 months ago | 1 read
After heavy investment in the summer, Steve Bruce had aims on improving on Sunderland’s 13th-placed finish the previous season. With a heavy reliance on Darren Bent in the 2009-10 season, it was hoped that signings such as Danny Welbeck and Asamoah Gyan would lighten the load on the England international. Despite this, the team had […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Want to have your say on all things Sunderland? Drop us a line and we’ll publish your views! [email protected] Dear Roker Report, Is it just me or does anyone else have the distinct feeling that our season — in real terms — is about to begin this Saturday? Please don’t get me wrong regarding our brilliant […]
3 months ago | 3 reads
Sunderland’s return in style from the international break with a rousing victory against strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers added weight to the noise that is surrounding the team, city, and football club at the moment — something I’m sure we’re all relishing and enjoying as we come closer towards the end of what has been a fantastic […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Already thinking of Christmas ideas for a fellow Sunderland fan?! Well we might have just the thing, because a new book is about to become available in November (available for pre-order now!), called ‘Got, Not Got Sunderland – The Little Book of Mackem Memories’, and today we speak to the author Bill Hern! On today’s […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Four wins and four clean sheets in eight Premier League games is nothing short of remarkable. Saturday’s 2-0 win over Wolves came in a match that wasn’t a “must-win” but was certainly a “don’t lose”. For most of the afternoon, losing never looked like an outcome — and this turned out to be the case. […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Whisper it quietly, but people are starting to notice us. After weeks of going under the radar, bookies classing us as underdogs and pundits underestimating us, the win over Wolves has made a lot of people sit up and take notice. I know many of us would’ve preferred to continue to sit under the radar […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Following our promotion from the Championship and subsequent comprehensive summer recruitment drive coming to a conclusion, a lot of the commentary from our own fan base was about what would become of the class of 2024-25 – the squad that had done all the hard work to get us into the Premier League. Without a […]
3 months ago | 1 read
The ‘Bank of England team’ had gone close to success in 1954/55. A thrilling run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup before a one-nil defeat to Man City at Villa Park had been accompanied by a good stab at the league title. From late September till mid-March, we had not been out of the […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Dan Cameron: 8/10 Maybe slightly suspect positioning for Gateshead’s goal, leaving a bit too much of the far post open but made some fantastic saves late on to keep the scores level. Timothee Pembele: 6/10 As you’d expect from Pembele, a little too casual defensively but then provided an attacking threat on the overlap. Twice […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Sunderland’s decision to sign midfielder Granit Xhaka from Bayer Leverkusen this summer already looks to be a masterstroke by the club. Amusingly, former Sunderland winger Chris Waddle described the move as ‘strange’ when it was first announced. Given that Waddle is not renowned for his insightful opinions on Sunderland, his comments were a surefire sign […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
It’s Tuesday, so you know what that means – it’s time for this week’s edition of the Haway The Podcast Q&A show, with questions flying in from all angles after another win for Reggie’s magic mackems at the weekend! On today’s agenda: If you’d like to send a question in for us to answer on […]
3 months ago | 1 read
His introduction during the second half of Sunderland’s victory over Wolves injected some much-needed directness into our attack, and it was his driving run and unfortunately-intercepted pass (from the visitors’ point of view, that is) that gave us a 2-0 lead and ensured Vítor Pereira’s side would be heading back down to the Midlands empty […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Sunderland had just suffered a midweek humiliation at West Ham United, but boss Denis Smith was keen to show faith in his players and so stuck with the same starting XI to go up against Bradford City next time out. The manager’s biggest hurdle to picking an unchanged side had been Gary Bennett, who was […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Alex Charlton says… Let’s face it: Wolves didn’t really offer any cutting edge in the final third. That said, I thought we defended resolutely and deserved the clean sheet. Reinildo offers a natural option on the left and that will be tempting for Régis Le Bris, but I’d like to see the same back four […]
3 months ago | 1 read
It’s 6:30pm on a Friday night, and the glare of floodlights, as it always does, is drawing me on, lifting my spirit and filling my memory with glorious snapshots of past games. Tonight, though, I am not heading into the Stadium of Light or Roker Park; it’s the Belle Vue Stadium, home to Consett AFC, […]
3 months ago | 3 reads
There’s no Chris this week, but Martin, Andrew and Kelvin are here to guide you through yet another week in the history of Sunderland AFC. Among today’s topics: • Sunderland’s first foray into shirt sponsorship • Tom Cowie – good, bad or somewhere in between? • Sunderland’s first leg ECWC tie vs Sporting Lisbon • […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
The practice of taking the knee was started in the UK in 2020 to support the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minnesota, USA. In August 2022, following consultations with players, the Premier League stopped taking the knee before every match. Instead, it was decided that the […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
As the featured game of Sunderland AFC’s always-fascinating Founders’ Week, it was vitally important that Saturday’s visit of Wolves and a chance to bank three points against a team who already look deeply in trouble was taken — and that’s what happened. The Lads emerged from a periodically scrappy and occasionally nervy affair as victors, […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Sunderland were labelled as potential whipping boys for gaining promotion by virtue of winning the play-offs this season, but back in the summer of 1990, the world expected Denis Smith’s side to fail miserably in the top flight after being promoted having lost the play-off final. Swindon Town’s “financial irregularities” meant a decision had to […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Travelling home after Saturday’s game was a mixture of elation and trepidation. After 8 games, Sunderland sit 7th in the Premier League and there is much to celebrate. There have been a couple of disappointing performances at Burnley and Manchester United but at no point has this side looked like it did not belong at […]
3 months ago | 0 reads