Roker Report
Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
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Andy’s Player Ratings: Sunderland u21 4-2 Ipswich u21 – Four First Half Goals Seal Win
Joe Cowan: 6/10 Made a really good save down to his left at the death but didn’t have too many other saves to make, with both Ipswich goals coming from good finishes. Jenson Jones: 7/10 Got forward well really early on, when he drove into the 18-yard box but fired an effort over. Did well […]
Enzo Le Fée Deserves His France Call-Up – And Then Some
Rumours emerged from France on Friday afternoon that Zinedine Zidane plans to call up Enzo Le Fée to his first France squad ahead of the upcoming international break. For anyone who has watched him in a Sunderland shirt over the last two years, it will come as no surprise to anyone in red and white. […]
Haway The Podcast | Can Sunderland SHOCK Arsenal? | John Cross on Saturday’s HUGE Clash
𝗖𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗖𝗞 𝗔𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗟? 👀 The Champions are coming to the Stadium of Light. Under the lights. 8pm kick-off. A packed Stadium of Light. And an Arsenal side who have won their opening three Premier League games and arrive on Wearside unbeaten. It has all the ingredients of a special night — but what exactly […]
OTD (11/9/2004): When Sunderland Found Their Rhythm at Gillingham
Upon reflection, Sunderland’s away win at Gillingham was more important than we probably realised at the time. After a sluggish start to the season in which the team had tasted victory just once in their opening six games, Mick McCarthy’s side were beginning to encounter obstacles in their mission to secure promotion. Whilst the emergency […]
The Sunderland Supporter Who Made Me One
People often ask me where my Sunderland obsession comes from. The honest answer is that I do not remember a time when it was not there. What I do remember is where it came from. It came from my cousin Dylan (you can see him above, front row in black). Long before I had a […]
Sunderland’s Biggest Week in Years Is Finally Here
The week that Sunderland have in store from next week is one that, for far too long, we’ve only been able to dream about. Arsenal at home and Man City away are either side of AZ Alkmaar for our first European match in 53 years. The defending champions, a club that has won everything there […]
Sunderland’s Hull Win Shows There’s Plenty to Be Excited About
Tuesday night’s cup win over Hull City was a surprisingly enjoyable affair – and by this I mean that it’s been much too long since I actually saw Sunderland win a League Cup game. Having lost the last five League Cup ties we’d played, Sunderland fans would be forgiven for expecting little more than a […]
Crown Jules: A Stellar Sunderland Debut For Ahoka
Three of Sunderland’s new boys made their full debuts against Hull City in the League Cup on Tuesday night, and although all three impressed me a considerable amount, there was one player who really stood out, and that man was Jules Ahoka. The twenty-year-old had made just four senior appearances for Royal Antwerp before transferring […]
Fan Letters: Sunderland Fan Frustrated by Black Cat Membership ‘Mess’
Got something to get off your chest? Email us and we’ll include your thoughts in the next edition of Fan Letters! 📧 [email protected] Dear Roker Report, A follow-up to my readers’ letter of last week, where I was a bit lost as to how I could access Barnes and Benno via the SAFC site. My […]
Outcome Bias: Why Sunderland Fans Need to Embrace Risk
This was the moment. The culmination of an incredible season of comebacks. The instant that would launch Sunderland into Europe. The triumphant end to the wildest six minutes of the year and recent club history. But then Emiliano Martínez popped a hand up and stopped Habib Diarra’s cheeky chip, and Aston Villa stormed downfield to […]
Sunderland’s Black Cats Membership Scheme…Is It Worth It?
When Sunderland announced the ‘Black Cats Membership’ scheme in the summer, my first reaction was that it would make it much more difficult to get tickets for home matches. This was based on the expectation that most non-season card holders who go to more than one or two games a season — like me — […]
Sunderland Are Back! The Story of the Lads’ Rise from League One to Europe
I’ll start out by saying that, as someone who has lived through the ups and downs of the period in Sunderland AFC’s history covered by this book, I was looking forward to reading it but not really expecting to learn a great deal. I was wrong. Connor has, from the opening chapter and throughout the […]
OTD (10/09/66): Hurley Blow As Toddo Makes His Professional Debut
Heading into this early-season away fixture at Stamford Bridge, Sunderland knew the odds were very much against them. The club hadn’t won away from home for 20 games, with their last victory on the road coming almost a year prior, on 18 September 1965 at Blackpool. Ian McColl was now in charge – he’d been […]
Haway The Podcast | Haway The Q&A! | Jules Ahoka, Wingers, and Cup Runs
Welcome to Haway the Podcast and we’ve got a Q&A episode for you today – plenty of questions have come in from you lovely people, and Martin, Kelvin, Andrew and Chris are going to try and tackle them! On today’s show All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never miss […]
Matchday Musings: Sunderland Progress in the Carabao Cup After Talbi Magic
Sunderland progressed into the 4th round of the Carabao Cup with their first victory in the tournament since 2021 after playing out a 1-0 win against fellow Premier League side Hull City, inflicting the visitors’ first defeat of the season. How did the match play out? Régis Le Bris made wholesale changes from the draw […]
Talking Points: Sunderland’s Fringe Players Impress in Carabao Cup Victory
Debutants We knew there would be a lot of changes coming into this game, and Régis ended up giving us our first sight of Dayann Methalie and Jules Ahoka, while Fofana got his first start for the club. I was excited to see both get minutes, as I think they can each have big roles […]
2 Up, 2 Down: What Were The Positives & Negatives from Sunderland 1-0 Hull?
Gav says… Jules Ahoka… wow. You’re likely to hear a lot of repetition today on the positives, because anyone watching the game couldn’t have taken their eyes off the DR Congo wonderkid. Making his first start in a Sunderland shirt in ONLY HIS FIFTH EVER GAME OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL (I genuinely cannot believe this), Ahoka […]
Don’t Give Up On Your Sunderland Dream, Chemsdine
Prior to the start of the 2026/2027 campaign and with several of Sunderland’s leading lights having enjoyed a stellar World Cup campaign to sit alongside their historic achievements of 2025/2026, I highlighted three players whom I felt could be key figures for us in 2026/2027, with their talents potentially being showcased on multiple fronts during […]
OTD (9/9/1908): Jackie Mordue — The Pitman Who Became A Sunderland Great
The season was 1908/09. Two opening games away from home had left Sunderland pointless and manager Bob Kyle perplexed, as he attempted to manage a team in transition. Five players had made their debuts in the opening-day defeat against Man City. One of these debutants, centre-forward Arthur ‘Boy’ Brown, cost a world-record fee of £1,600. […]
Andy’s Player Ratings: Sunderland 1-0 Hull City – Cheeky Chemsdine Chip Clinches Cup Contest
Melker Ellborg: 6/10 Made one comfortable save from a free kick, where he pushed the effort wide. A couple of times he was a little slow to getting out to the ball after the centre backs had left the ball to him but without any real scares. Trai Hume: 7/10 Comfortable night at right back […]
Hull City Tactical Analysis: How Will Sunderland Handle the Tigers?
Sunderland welcome Hull City to the Stadium of Light in the Carabao Cup as the Black Cats kick off their League Cup campaign for the first time in the third round due to European qualification. We face a Tigers side that haven’t conceded a goal in the Premier League after three games and are coming […]
Haway The Podcast | MATCH PREVIEW | Is The League Cup A Priority For Sunderland?
The Brentford game was the start of a run that sees Sunderland play five games in sixteen days, and with two of Europe’s best sides to come and our first step on the European adventure sandwiched inbetween, makes tonight’s game against Hull City is a tough one to place! Martin, Andrew & Jonny join Chris […]
OTD (8/9/94): The Sunderland Academy Graduate Who Became a Captain is Born
On this day in 1994, George Honeyman was born in Prudhoe, Northumberland. Brought into the Academy of Light at ten years old in 2004, Honeyman would spend a decade impressing in the youth and under-21 set-up before finally making his full debut in February 2015. Honeyman was handed his debut by Gus Poyet in a […]
The Argument In Favour Of Attending Sunderland’s Cup Games
Dear Reader, I come to you in peace. You’ll find zero negative vibes here today — and I have little interest in sparking any kind of intra-fanbase beef or even a mild-mannered debate for that matter. There’ll be no fingers being pointed, blame apportioned, guilt being tripped and absolutely no pontificating whatsoever. My soap box […]
Fan Focus: Hull Supporter Ant is Fully Confident They’ll Beat Sunderland
Hull have had a dream start to life back in the Premier League, currently unbeaten without conceding. It must feel like a dream after so many wrote you off? It feels like a dream but we knew we had it in us — despite whatever every other content creator and pundit tried saying about us. […]
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