Roker Report
Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
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Fan Focus: What Can Sunderland Expect From Gary O’Neil’s Ipswich Side?
After guiding Ipswich to promotion last season, Kieran McKenna left the club this summer. Did that come as a shock? It did, but more the nature of his exit than anything else. Interest in McKenna had become a perennial summer talking point but we’d kind of got used to it. The only real suitors this […]
Score Predictions: Can Sunderland Start With A Bang At Ipswich?
Stats at a glance: Ipswich (A): 22/08/2026 Average home goals predicted: 0.75 Average away goals predicted: 2.0 Confidence of Roker Report’s writers: 6.25/10 Predicting a win for the Lads: 75% Martin Wanless (Cautious Optimist) says… Score prediction: Ipswich 1 Sunderland 2 It’s the worst possible time to play a newly promoted club in many respects […]
On This Day (22nd Aug 1947): Remembering Sunderland Legend Dick Malone On His Birthday
The name Dick Malone to any Sunderland fan should immediately conjure up images of the 1973 FA Cup-winning team. At 6ft, he was a slim and gangly defender who loved to attack. In my lifetime, along with Cecil Irwin, he was certainly one of the first attacking defenders who loved to overlap and get up […]
Starting XI: Is This The Sunderland Team To Take On Ipswich Today?
After a somewhat disjointed pre-season – purely due to the World Cup – we rounded off with a couple of strong displays, before the real action starts today. With Meunier, Alderete and Mukiele fit, Le Bris has a couple of selection dilemmas – particularly on the wings. Here’s how I think Sunderland will line up today. Goalkeeper: […]
Match Preview: Ipswich Town v Sunderland — The Opening Day Is Here At Last
Saturday 22nd August 2026 Ipswich Town v Sunderland – Premier League Portman Road – Kick-Off: 15:00 Tickets & Match Coverage Tickets: Tickets are sold out. TV/Stream: Full live match coverage is unavailable. Radio: Full live match commentary available via BBC Radio Newcastle (not online) Don’t forget to follow the blow-by-blow account of the game on […]
Could Sunderland Make More History In 2026/27?
Sunderland’s second season back in the Premier League is almost here, and the excitement of what we could do as a club and team is growing to lofty levels. The summer has been relatively quiet on the transfer front, but we had plenty of pride watching the World Cup and seeing so many of our […]
Sunderland Complete £24m Signing Of Dayann Methalie
Sunderland have completed the £24m signing of French youth international Dayann Methalie, after a worrying back issue was discovered during his initial medical and subsequently resolved. Have Sunderland landed another exciting young prospect ready to make his mark in the Premier League? Sunderland have announced the signing of sought-after French youth international Dayann Methalie this […]
Welcome to Sunderland, Dayann Méthalie
Ciaran McKenna says… This seems to be both a brilliant and necessary signing. After Dennis Cirkin and Arthur Masuaku left the club, the signing of a left back became imperative. To be honest, I thought we would buy a cheaper option who would be happy to ride the bench, but the club clearly prioritised bringing […]
Haway The Podcast | OPPO PREVIEW | We Catch Up On All The Latest At Portman Road With Brenner Woolley!
We’ve arrived and it’s our first opposition preview of the 2026-27 season! The Lads are off to Portman Road to take on newly-promoted Ipswich Town and Chris gets a chance to meet up with a good friend of our very own Nick Barnes, as he’s joined by Brenner Woolley from BBC Radio Suffolk for a […]
Opposition Analysis: Can Sunderland Make A Winning Start At Ipswich?
Could Sunderland make the perfect start to their Premier League campaign, or will Ipswich Town begin their return to the top flight with a statement victory at Portman Road? Sunderland travel to Portman Road on Saturday to face Ipswich Town in the first round of Premier League fixtures. The Tractor Boys return to the Premier […]
26/27 Pre-Season Predictions: Final Thoughts On Sunderland’s Prospects
Anth Gair says… I’m expecting a good one. Top ten. Last season should not have worked as quickly as it did. You can’t throw that many new faces together in one window and expect them to understand each other by Christmas, and the only reason it happened is that a few big characters — Granit […]
Why Sunderland’s Pessimistic Premier League Predictions Miss The Point
I have found great entertainment in reading and listening to the fallible predictions made by journalists, writers and podcasters in the build-up to a new Premier League season. Predictions are, of course, a fool’s game, but the content is enjoyable to delve into given the varying opinions and, at times, sweeping assumptions made by some […]
On This Day (21st Aug 2016): Moyes & The Sunderland Season That Started With A White Flag
Only weeks into the season, you could audibly hear and physically feel the toxicity that surrounded the Stadium of Light after just two games and only one home fixture. Sunderland had suffered their second defeat of the campaign, and already the atmosphere around the club felt like that of a team rooted to the bottom […]
Fan Letters: ‘We Were Here When We Were Sh*te!’
Fancy having your say? Drop us an email – [email protected] – and we’ll publish it here on the website in the next edition of Fan Letters! Dear Roker Report, Alreet, lads! I just need to point out a few things to you lads. I know you’re all young ‘uns compared to this owld get, but […]
Haway The Podcast | NEWS ROUNDUP | Catamo & Methalie Latest + Membership Moans!
Welcome to our Thursday edition of Haway The Podcast, and today we’re mulling over all the key news stories from the last 24 hours in the world of Sunderland AFC! Join Gav, Brett and Andrew as they discuss: All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never miss another episode of […]
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 […]
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