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Saturday at Stamford Bridge was mostly an outstanding experience, marred for me by only one element. I am going to step into that with both feet, and no apologies, shortly. I met Son No. 2 at King’s Cross, and we had brunch at Earl’s Court (I finished half of his, as in typical student fashion, […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Fancy sending us your thoughts for the next edition of Fan Letters? Email us at [email protected] and we’ll publish them here on the site! Dear Roker Report, This might seem trivial, but wearing red-and-white stripes, the Sunderland colours, whenever possible for away matches is highly desirable and, in my opinion, advantageous. It appeared to be […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
We’ve had so many questions this week we’ve had to record two Q&A pods! Martin, Ant and Andrew got together again to tackle your burning questions, including… All of this and much more – get subscribed to you don’t miss another episode of Haway The Podcast!
3 months ago | 1 read
As the full time whistle went in the car on Saturday just as I – thank God – had pulled up and put the handbrake on as I arrived home. I’d had to make an “emergency” trip to Aldi; it was in fact a carefully planned anxiety dash; so desperate was I to get out […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Unfortunately for Lee Johnson, these results were becoming the norm and would continue to be going forward. Johnson had his Sunderland team playing a wonderful brand of football where they would press high and attack relentlessly but every so often, the systems failure button would be hit and the team would have a complete no […]
3 months ago | 1 read
I come from a big family — with five brothers and five sisters to be precise, so it’s very hard for us to get together as we’re all dispersed around the country, and one brother lives in Canada. It’s usually his visits that kickstart family reunions — and such a visit happened last week. He […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
It began during the aftermath of the first game of the season as Sunderland’s new-look side eased past a gutless West Ham at an ecstatic Stadium of Light, kicking off our Premier League campaign in emphatic fashion. On that evening’s edition of Match of the Day, Alan Shearer was forced to attempt to engage in […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
A few years ago, as my beloved Sunderland plumbed the depths of League One, I began what has now become a tradition. It may seem like an odd thing for a grown man to do, but the start of the 2021/22 season was an odd time. In the surreal world of Covid, Sunderland had finished […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Anthony Patterson: 7/10 Conceded two but was unlucky with the first, saving the initial penalty and had no chance with the second, an absolute arrow into the top corner from distance. Tipped another effort from a tight angle over the bar late on but didn’t have much else to do and was tidy with his […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Ian Murtagh talks to Jonny & Chris about how good things are feeling around Sunderland at the moment and how it feels different this time… 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 | 0 reads
Following a dominant display against winless Wolverhampton Wanderers last week, Sunderland looked to keep their momentum going and travelled down to the capital in what was their first return to Stamford Bridge since the fateful final game of their last stint in the top flight, ending in May 2017. Chelsea came off the back of […]
3 months ago | 1 read
If we are all honest with ourselves, when we saw the fixture list at the start of the season, you would probably admit that Chelsea away is one of those fixtures where we thought we would be likely to get a good slapping. Along with Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester City away, it was one of […]
3 months ago | 1 read
In the run up to Sunderland’s fixture against Bolton Wanderers, all of the talk centred around the availability of striker Benny Yorston. The diminutive striker, who had joined the club midway through the season before, had struck the winning goal against Middlesbrough the week before, with a 2-1 win at Ayresome Park lifting Johnny Cochrane’s […]
3 months ago | 1 read
All season long, despite our fantastic start to the Premier League campaign, we’ve heard that Sunderland have been good… but, they haven’t really played anyone yet. Which, of course, we all know is a complete load of rubbish. The Premier League is full of great teams with great players, and there are no easy games. […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Are you a budding wordsmith and fancy writing something that we can publish here at Roker Report? Drop us an email and we’ll post it on the website – we can be found at [email protected] In the words of the late Davey Atkinson, let’s get carried away, man. 17 points after nine games, Champions League-level […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Thanks to everyone who sent questions in via the website, social media and email! We’ve had so many we’re recording 2 Q&A pods this week! Martin, Andrew and Ant got together to tackle the first round of questions today. On today’s agenda… All of this and much more – get subscribed to you don’t miss […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Stamford Bridge at around 4.50 pm on Saturday was a scene of delirium and delight for Sunderland. A 93rd-minute winner from Chemsdine Talbi moved us up to second in the table and despite Chelsea dominating the ball, they never looked likely to peg us back. The atmosphere was up there with the best I’ve ever […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Last Tuesday we looked at a tight home win over Bradford City, ahead of which manager Denis Smith had named an unchanged side following two disappointing away games On This Day (21st Oct 1989): Bradford City Sunk By MacPhail’s Arrow | Roker Report. The match had taken place during a heavy run of fixtures, with […]
3 months ago | 1 read
In the early 1980s, a somewhat bizarre TV special titled The Mystery Of Al Capone’s Vaults aired in America. In it, an underground room at a Chicago hotel once inhabited by the notorious crime boss was opened live on air — only for the entire thing to fall flat when nothing more than mounds of […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Are you a budding wordsmith and fancy writing something that we can publish here at Roker Report? Drop us an email and we’ll post it on the website – we can be found at [email protected] In the aftermath of our tremendous victory over Chelsea, it’s hard to sum up just how well things are going […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Among the many indignities inflicted on Sunderland fans in our last Premier League campaign almost a decade ago, one that sometimes slips under the radar is the farcical final-day defeat at Stamford Bridge. Future Mag and gobshite Javier Manquillo actually gave us an unlikely lead, but what followed epitomised the cowardice and lack of self-respect […]
3 months ago | 1 read
I was there. 24 years ago. January 2001. Don Hutchinson and Stan Varga, with his luscious long hair, steering us to a 2-0 away win at West Ham’s Upton Park. We sat second in the Premier League after that result. I was only 12 and had just become a fully invested Sunderland fan, thinking that […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Unfortunately no Martin this week, but Andrew, Kelvin (for most of it until he forgot to put 50p in the meter!) are here to guide you on a spooky ride through a week in the history of Sunderland AFC that includes Halloween – and there have been a few nightmares at Sunderland on that day! […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
John Wilson says… I’m sure the players’ morale and confidence in their own ability has been high all season. As Wilson Isidor said, “Nobody believes in us, so let’s show them!” Of course, winning away at the Club World Cup champions is going to give a boost to any team. As we keep hearing, consistency […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
It’s been one of the most popular angles of the season so far as opposition supporters have sought to dampen both Sunderland’s superb start to the 2025/2026 campaign and the optimism generated along the way by caveating almost every positive result we’ve achieved — no matter how it came about. “Yeah, but they’ve had an […]
3 months ago | 1 read