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Roker Report

Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!

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Lasses Spotlight: Chloe Paxton — Another Promising Local Talent!

There’s a particular kind of anticipation that surrounds a young footballer on the brink of breaking through. It’s not the kind of loud explosive hype that accompanies a marquee signing, but something quieter, steadier and often more meaningful — the feeling that a club’s identity is renewing itself from within. Sunderland Women have long been […]

Editorial: Another Important Week For Sunderland

There’s no denying that Saturday afternoon was probably as bad as it has gotten for us so far this season. We were, to be pretty blunt, crap. We’re allowed to be crap occasionally, though, aren’t we? No team is perfect. We were expected to spectacularly struggle this season, and yet here we are, sitting as […]

Sunderland’s Unbeaten Home Fortress – Stats That Matter

Mark Twain, the author of Huckleberry Finn, coined the phrase “lies, damned lies and statistics” — or as we used to say in my day job, why let the truth get in the way of a good story. We’ve had a sobering weekend, being put to the sword by a very beatable West Ham side. […]

On This Day (26th Jan 1966): Brown Piles On The Misery At Roker!

Alan Brown is a strange figure in Sunderland’s history on paper. If you purely look at the fact that he was in charge during Sunderland’s first two relegations in the club’s history, you might be forgiven for looking at his legacy in a certain way. Brown’s arrival in 1957, however, came at a time when […]

Sunderland Women 1-0 Southampton: A Much-Needed, Gritty Victory!

Sunderland’s 1–0 win over Southampton was not a match defined by flowing football, slick passing sequences or attacking flair. It was defined by grit. By resilience. By a patched‑together squad digging deeper than they have all season. By a team that refused to be beaten despite missing key players, relying on a youthful bench, and […]

SAFC Women 1-0 Southampton: A Gritty, Hard‑Earned Victory!

Sunderland’s 1–0 win over Southampton was not a match defined by flowing football, slick passing sequences or attacking flair. It was defined by grit. By resilience. By a patched‑together squad digging deeper than they have all season. By a team that refused to be beaten despite missing key players, relying on a youthful bench, and […]

Haway The Podcast | SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT | Post West Ham With Ian Murtagh

Join Chris, Martin and Ian Murtagh as they rake through the bones of one of our poorest afternoons of the season, as the lads went down 3-1 at West Ham. On the agenda today: Don’t forget to subscribe to Haway The Podcast on your favourite pod platform, and never miss another episode!

MLS

On This Day (25th Jan 1986): Roker Revival Enjoys A Quick Jolt!   

When Sunderland beat Manchester United in a dramatic November 1984 Division One fixture few supporters leaving the ground at full time would have tipped the Lads to be relegated come the end of the season. The 3-2 success at Roker Park had been achieved on the back of notable team spirit and seemed to underline […]

Talking Points: Poor First-Half Undoes Sunderland In London

Xhaka’s Enormous Influence The one thing that every Sunderland fan feared came true on Friday evening, as rumours swirled throughout the Sun’lun social media echochamber that Granit Xhaka would miss the game. That was confirmed when the lineup was announced – and in spite of travelling down with the team, the captain was missing from […]

Matchday Musings: Thoughts After The Lads Are Dealt A Hammer Blow

How Much Did We Miss Granit? The loss of Captain Xhaka for this game was a contributing factor to the disappointing result, but it was not the be-all and end-all in my view. The midfield in the first half just wasn’t quite at it, apart from the first five to ten mins. If Sadiki’s shot […]

2 Up, 2 Down: Sunderland Stumble To Defeat Against West Ham

Ciaran McKenna says… Brian Brobbey’s goal Another brilliant finish from Brobbey — although it did turn out to be something of a consolation goal. The build-up play to find Nordi Mukiele was terrific and so was the ball into the box. It was a class header from the Dutchman, but just a shame that was […]

Lasses Preview: Can Sunderland Make Life Tough For The Saints?

Today, Sunderland welcome Southampton to Eppleton for a fixture that feels far more significant than the table alone suggests. On the surface, it’s eighth versus sixth in a mid‑season meeting between two sides who’vw shared enough history in recent years to make the fixture familiar, if not outright fierce. But beneath that surface lies a […]

Quick Thoughts: Sunderland Have A Sh*tter On The Road At West Ham

I don’t think any Sunderland fan who watched that performance today will claim to be happy about it, but there’s certainly one or two ways you can choose to go with your reaction to it all. I’m choosing to be a little bit more reflective than reactive, I’d say, given that it’s not too often […]

Haway The Podcast | REACTION | West Ham 3-1 SAFC | Did We Lose Our Heads?

Unfortunately, Sunderland didn’t turn up and West Ham did, with the Premier League strugglers scoring three first half goals to earn a deserved victory, despite a consolation header from Brian Brobbey. Join Gav, Andrew and Jonny as they react to a dramatic afternoon at the London Stadium. On today’s show: All of this and more […]

Andy’s Player Ratings: West Ham 3-1 Sunderland – Hammered By The Hammers

Robin Roefs: 6/10 Didn’t do anything wrong today, had a good attempt to save all three goals and generally did well. Nordi Mukiele: 6/10 Had a difficult time in the first half against Summerville and got beaten in the air for the opening goal, thought he battled well though and came back into it. Ended […]

Half A World Away

Social media may have upsides and disadvantages but Facebook Memories has a way of bringing back moments that may have been forgotten or intentionally consigned to the deeper reaches of your mind. One of the latter cropped up in my feed a few days ago, from January 2019 when my boys and I travelled the […]

Haway The Podcast |MATCHDAY PREVIEW | WHU v SAFC | We Preview Today’s Big Game!

It’s the reverse fixture of our fantastic opening day of the season as the Lads travel to the London Stadium to take on Premier League struggler West Ham United in today’s early kick-off – so Gav, Bomber & Chris got together to talk all about that and everything else! All of this and more – […]

On This Day (24th Jan 2020): Doncaster Draw — Parkinson Sees Progress Amid Frustration

Though this draw against Doncaster Rovers made it eight games without a defeat, the away side’s impressive rearguard performance ensured that we did not get the much-sought-after three points. After a miserable run up until the Christmas fixture list which left Sunderland manager Phil Parkinson under immense pressure, they appeared to be now finding their […]

Score Predictions: West Ham Away – How Do You See This Going?

Martin Wanless predicts… Score prediction: West Ham 0 Sunderland 2 Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Brobbey There’s a lot of stuff going on around this game – West Ham’s win at Spurs last week sets them up nicely, but a planned fan protest could set the scene for a strange opening 15 that we should take advantage […]

Fan Focus: What Can Sunderland Expect From West Ham Today?

Back in August Sunderland beat Graham Potter’s West Ham 3-0. What were the key factors that led to him losing his job just a month later? An amalgamation of factors. I don’t think he was helped with the squad he inherited, weak in different areas all over the pitch and the summer window compounded that. […]

Match Preview: West Ham United v Sunderland — The Lads Head To The London Stadium!

Saturday 24th January 2026 West Ham United v Sunderland – Premier League London Stadium Kick-Off: 12:30 Tickets & Match Coverage Tickets: Tickets are sold out. TV/Stream: Full live match coverage is available on 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 […]