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Cards on the table: I don’t miss the Championship. I don’t miss the grind of the forty-six game schedule, the often-ropey red button coverage on Sky Sports, the attritional style of football or the incessant proclamations that Jack Rudoni is a future Ballon D’Or winner — and I certainly don’t miss Andy Hinchcliffe and Don […]
The club recently announced the introduction of Legends’ Way outside the ground – recognising and commemorating some of Sunderland AFC’s club legends. The club put out a shortlist of 43 names – and with only 14 stones available, it’s a tough choice to pick who should be honoured, and who should miss out! So, Martin, Kelvin […]
Cecil Irwin was a schoolboy prodigy, first playing representative football with East Northumberland Under – 11s Schools. He trod a familiar path for lads that had any football talent in that part of the region, representing ‘East North’ upon attending senior school. Approaching the end of his school days, he was on the radar of […]
Dear Haway The Podcast, I’m certain that I’m your most dedicated fan here in NYC* I’ve held back on all the things I would share, but I’ve got a compliment I have to share and a compelling question. Andrew’s description of being at Wembley with his family and friend and the niece’s “big, fat, hot tears […]
Mavis Brack was born in Sunderland in 1920, one of 7 children. She and her future husband, the splendidly named Henry Smiles Griffiths, or Harry as he was known, spent their courtship at Roker Park, in the club’s halcyon days leading up to World War 2, as Raich Carter and Bobby Gurney tore through the […]
Welcome to another episode of On This Week, as we take a look back at some of the key – and some of the not so key – events to have taken place on this week in the history of Sunderland AFC. Join Martin, Andrew and Kelvin as they look back on: All this and […]
It’s never going to be a day of celebration when a musical act of which you happen to be a big fan either loses a member or calls it a day entirely. I remember feeling shocked and a little saddened, for example, when Blink 182 initially called it a day in 2005 (the official term […]
Did you know in the 1972/73 season a player involved in this game played for both teams in the FA Cup? Brian Chambers, who was an unused substitute for Sunderland at Hillsborough in 1973, was transferred to Arsenal shortly after the final for £30,000 and played for them against Wolves in the 3rd/4th play-off game. […]
Gav says… I’m going to be really boring and clichéd here, but we have to take it one game at a time. If we beat Spurs on Sunday – and, regardless of what anyone thinks or says, that would still be a huge win given the amount of quality they actually have at their disposal, […]
One of the lads takes in an advantage from part one and in part two we talk about socks & shinnies, IFAB, open play snobs and prices of everything! 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. Want to […]
I don’t typically like international breaks at all. Bar the World Cups or Euros, I barely pay attention to international football, and usually, the national teams getting together is just an unnecessary diversion from league action. This international break, however, could not have been better timed. By the time we take to the field on […]
When it’s felt like nothing short of 9,635 days since our glorious victory against the ‘hosts’/‘visitors’, you’re left with a significant amount of time to think about our next match. International friendlies, although traditionally notoriously dull, have proven to be even more meaningless, with even the players themselves deeming them as optional events to take […]
“Ruthless”. A popular word in footballing circles, often used to describe the world’s leading strikers (“He’s ruthless whenever he gets a chance inside the box”), teams who scent blood and show no mercy, hard-nosed managers who make often-controversial decisions for the good of their team (“Manager X is ruthless when it comes to making the […]
Sunderland had just drifted aimlessly since dropping out of the top tier in May 1991. Reaching the cup final in 1992 provided a big distraction from just how bad things were, but we ended up with a manager in Malcolm Crosby that chairman Bob Murray just didn’t want. Roker Park was falling to bits, there […]
We hadn’t done one in a while and two come along in quick succession! After the fun we had last week we return with another Room 101 and Jonny returns along with Andrew to get rid of their football pet hates! On today’s show… All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so […]
Gav says… A lot probably depends on where we finish the season, so it’s probably a little too early to say. If we — and I know this sounds utterly mental — manage to qualify for Europe, the demands on the squad will be far greater than if we’re just competing for domestic honours next […]
The latest episode of Haway The Podcast’s “On This Week” series ends with the story of what was meant to be a Good Friday showdown between rivals Newcastle United and Sunderland. With both a possible league title and local pride on the line, the fixture attracted huge numbers to St James’ Park, but as was […]
Régis Le Bris is fast approaching a second full season in charge at Sunderland, a feat that only three others have reached in the last 30 years – Steve Bruce, Mick McCarthy, and Peter Reid. This stat is amazing in itself and stands out even more when you look at the high turnover of managers/head […]
VAR might have helped us at Wembley, but is it a good thing?! Jonny & Andrew join Chris to go through the good and the bad of VAR and maybe come up with a few ways to fix it! On today’s show… All this and more! Get subscribed to Haway The Podcast so you never […]
Three important fixtures are in the near future for the Lads, as the results of these games will more than likely define our European dreams. There has been an awful lot of discourse around our chances of securing a European spot since we secured safety and it has never been so prominent than in these […]
I have loved many wingers at Sunderland AFC. I used to play on the right wing at school and beyond. As I got older, and knew that I couldn’t manage the turn of speed that any good winger needs, I still couldn’t help myself hugging the touchline. So a good winger has always caught my […]
I love some of the new songs that are coming out in tribute to our new squad. It must give the players a huge lift and a boost of self-belief, and when sitting in the North East Corner, I’m in the unenviable position of having to listen to the away fans spouting off — yet […]
Supporting Sunderland is always a rollercoaster but if you think of where we were just twelve months ago it’s been some ride! So we thought, ahead of the final quarter of the season, we’d go through the top ten moments of the last twelve months to see how we got here! On today’s show… All […]
Gav says… This is probably going to be a really weird choice, but I think I’ll go with the 3-2 loss to Newcastle at St James’ Park in the 2005/2006 season. I know, you’re probably thinking, “Well, that’s a bit sadomasochistic”, but I think enough time has passed since then given it was twenty years […]
Want to have your say on all things Sunderland? Drop us a line and we’ll publish your views! [email protected] Dear Roker Report, I may be wrong but this year is the first time since 1963 — when I first attended matches — that there’s no game over the Easter weekend. Easter was always the biggest […]