Roker Report
Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
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Sunderland’s Togetherness Can Carry Us Into Another Big Season
A year ago, Sunderland AFC was newly promoted, and there was a level of trepidation among our amazing fans. We had sold a few of our stars over time, such as Jack Clarke, Jobe Bellingham, Watson and Ross Stewart, at an amazing profit, which provided a platform for our summer 2025 recruitment spend. But would […]
On This Day (13 August 2005): Mick’s Luck Runs Out As Ex-Transfer Target Nets A Double
Back on this day 21 years ago, optimism was cautiously high. Mick McCarthy had done a sensational job getting the club promoted despite some pretty hefty financial constraints imposed upon him by Captain Bob, and despite those financial constraints continuing upon promotion, the hope – if not the belief – was that McCarthy could continue […]
Fan Letters: Sancho, Ticketing and Sunderland Memories
Dear Roker Report, I am now living in Florida and have lived in Canada and the USA for 52 years. But I was born and bred in the Liverpool area and still support Everton. Growing up, I became a fan of Sunderland because one of my uncles was a friend of Ivor Broadis, who played […]
Why It’s Great To Be A Mackem: Celebrating Our Proud Identity!
August 12 marks ‘Mackem Day’, a celebration of our deep and storied heritage, and this year marks the tenth anniversary of the day when it was founded in August 2016 by A Love Supreme. So, why’s it so great to be a Mackem and why are we so proud of our identity? Is it the […]
Haway The Podcast | NATIONAL MACKEM DAY | Jeff Brown on Sunderland’s Summer & Sheepfolds
Happy National Mackem Day! If you get on quick today there might be the odd ticket left for tonight’s free, all-ticket celebration at Sheepfolds! So to build us up to the festivities tonight’s host, Jeff Brown joins us to tell us all about it and talk some footy! On today’s show: All this and more! […]
Why Wilson Isidor Could Be Sunderland’s European Wildcard
Wilson Isidor was signed during a summer where Sunderland needed a clinical striker. Initially signing on loan, there was sheer joy at some of the goals he scored during the Championship promotion season, with some of them being stunning. After promotion was achieved, I remember there being more than a few other fans who said […]
Chris Rigg: A Homegrown Talent Shining Brightly
Following a particularly drab Manchester derby in April 2025, a visibly frustrated Gary Neville took it upon himself to bemoan what he termed the “robotic” nature of football and the game itself during his post-match analysis, even going as far as to apologise for a lack of enthusiasm during his Sky Sports commentary. Pep Guardiola […]
2026/27 Pre-Season Predictions: Which Sunderland Youngsters Could Shine?
Ben McKevitt says… The obvious answer is Chris Rigg and it’s the answer I’m going to echo here. Honestly, I had some doubts over Rigg for the first two thirds of the last season. It looked like the jump to the Premier League was (understandably) perhaps a bit too big for him at such a […]
On This Day (12th Aug 1967): A 3-3 Thriller — Sunderland’s Pre-Season Promise
The season gone (1966/67) had been disappointing, to say the least. With a squad that looked capable, Ian McColl’s team had spent most of the season looking nervously at the relegation places and finished in seventeenth position. A thrilling fifth-round FA Cup contest against Leeds that required three games to sort a winner gave an […]
Haway The Podcast | NEWS ROUNDUP | Ticketing, Transfer Latest & Memories of Ba!
Before we start looking ahead to our final pre-season we thought we’d catch up on the latest news by recording on the day when transfer news keeps being updated by the hour! Anyway, Andrew, Jonny & Ian joined Chris to discuss the latest… On today’s show: All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The […]
Goodbye, Patto: A Sunderland Lad Who Got Us Back
There are times when a player leaves your football club and you immediately think to the future and the replacement signings. Then there are those whose departure makes you stop and look back. More often than not, we find ourselves doing the latter at Sunderland these days, and Anthony Patterson definitely falls into that category. […]
On This Day (11 August 1999): 1950s Sunderland Hotshot Dickie Davis Passes Away
Richard ‘Dickie’ Davis, born 22 January 1922 in Birmingham, died on this day 11 August 1999. Davis, a forward who played for Sunderland and Darlington, turned out for the Lads on 144 occasions between 1946 and 1954. A prolific scorer during his time on Wearside, he scored seventy-three times – a strike rate of just […]
Sunderland Are Well-Placed To Kick On Once Again
As the transfer window closed last season and we all marvelled at the fact that we’re now a club captained by Granit Xhaka, with hugely experienced players of the calibre of Reinildo, Nordi Mukiele and Omar Alderete, and exciting young prospects of the potential of Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki and Chemsdine Talbi all wearing our […]
Clearing The Decks: Views On Sunderland’s Summer Revamp
Calum Mills says… The loss of ‘vibesman’ Leo Hjelde is a bit sad. No darting run away from the front post means no Dan Ballard header and that trip to Wembley! He had a few bright sparks in red and white — particularly his debut away to Middlesbrough — but other than that, he was […]
Lens Away: A European Taste of What’s to Come
In any other year, a mid-August trip across the channel to face a club like Lens would be one of the high points of the off-season, particularly when the bulk of pre-season has been spent in the United States, a huge financial commitment for any fan. This is a very different pre-season, however, where finances […]
Haway The Podcast | HAWAY THE Q&A | Promoted Clubs, Membership Schemes & More
Welcome to today’s pod, and we’re delving into some of the questions we didn’t get the chance to answer last week! On today’s show: All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never miss another episode of our free daily show. Ready to have an AI that can tackle real work? […]
Editorial: One More to Go — Are Sunderland Ready for the Big Kick-Off?
One more to go… It’s usually a game of two halves and, by my reckoning, it’s been a pre-season of three parts – and we only have one game to go until we countdown to Ipswich. There was our trip to York that got early minutes into the legs, especially for those few who didn’t […]
Sunderland’s Quiet Window: Patience or Cause for Concern?
At the end of the 2025/2026 season, as Sunderland’s players, fans and coaches basked in the elation of having qualified for the Europa League in the most thrilling fashion, Florent Ghisolfi was at the heart of the on-pitch celebrations, joining in the party with the likes of Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Régis Le Bris – and […]
Lens Away: A Weekend to Remember for the Sunderland Supporters
My son Sam and I set off from home at 11:00 on Friday morning and had a largely stress-free trip down to Folkestone, across on Le Shuttle and then approximately an hour’s drive to Lens. We arrived at our apartment around 18:00, dropped the bags and went straight out in search of adventure (beer). On […]
Why Luke O’Nien Represents the New Sunderland
It felt a little like a “proud dad moment” when listening to Luke O’Nien speak on a recent episode of the High Performance Podcast. Not because I consider it the pinnacle of sporting interviews, but because of the journey O’Nien has been on since arriving at Sunderland and where that journey has ultimately taken him. […]
On This Day (10th August 1992): Sunderland Midfielder Wanted By Little’s Leicester
On this day in 1992, Leicester City were poised to make a bid for Sunderland’s out-of-favour midfielder Gordon Armstrong. Armstrong had been an automatic choice since Denis Smith took over in 1987, but had started only two of Sunderland’s five pre-season matches and Leicester manager Brian Little was set to test Malcolm Crosby’s resolve to […]
Haway The Podcast | REACTION | Sunderland 2-0 RC Lens | Sacré Bleu!
Sunderland put in an utterly dominant and convincing performance away in France against RC Lens, a side who have just won a major trophy, pushed PSG at the top of Ligue 1 last season, and will play in the Champions League in the coming campaign… so are we right to feel a little bit chuffed […]
Matchday Musings: Fun In The Sun As The Lads See Off Lens!
Yesterday’s match was a rarity for me: a pre-season game that looked to have something approaching an actual atmosphere. I wasn’t overly fussed about the Lads’ North American tour. I’m pleased it all went well but sinking $25 Michelob Lights with a side of grits in the PricewaterhouseCoopers THUNDERDOME isn’t my idea of fun. Knocking […]
On This Day (9 Aug 1950): When Tommy Wright Nearly Walked Away from Sunderland
With the 1950/1951 campaign about to start, Tommy Wright should have been looking to build on a successful first full season at Roker Park, yet the capture from Partick Thistle was far from comfortable and, rather than readying himself for the big kick-off, he had gone back home – and had made it known that […]
2 Up, 2 Down: Sunderland See Off Lens In A Lively Friendly!
Dean McDonald says… Chris Rigg, take a bow! Rigg looked every inch a Premier League player when he came on, playing a big part in both goals and just looking comfortable whenever he got the ball. The big hitters are back Noah Sadiki, Robin Roefs, Trai Hume, Luke O’Nien and Reinildo all getting ninety minutes […]
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