Roker Report
Sunderland AFC's foremost blog and Podcast!
Total reads
4,549
This week
14
Rank
#31 of 419
Published
1,666 posts
Most read posts
Featured on Sportsblogs
Run this blog? Add the badge to your site to show readers you're featured — it links back to this page.
Latest Entries
Women’s FA Cup: Ambition Takes Centre Stage As Sunderland Women Draw London City Lionesses!
The magic of the FA Cup has always thrived on moments of possibility — fixtures that bring together clubs with different histories, different trajectories, and different ambitions yet meet on equal footing for ninety minutes, and Sunderland AFC Women’s draw against London City Lionesses in the fourth round fits that mould perfectly. It’s a tie […]
Sunlun’, You’re The One!
Derby day was just as terrifying and nerve-wracking as I remember. I last saw Sunderland play Newcastle in the flesh in October 2008, when Kieran Richardson’s thunderbastard freekick sealed all three points. A lot has happened in the years that followed — including Sunderland beating Newcastle on several occasions. The last few minutes of the […]
On This Day (18th Dec 2010): Welbeck Sends Sunderland Sixth
Steve Bruce was beginning to put his stamp on this Sunderland team around this time in 2010. With Sunderland rising to sixth in the table, the club were looking towards the European places rather than the opposite direction thanks to the rich vein of form they were displaying. The signings of Danny Welbeck and Asamoah […]
Haway The Podcast | POST-MAGS Q&A | Own Goals, Supermarkets & Socks!
We asked for your questions and we got them sent through in the bucket load! So Bomber, Andrew & Chris got together to discuss questions on beating the mags, AFCON, the January transfer window, Supermarket shopping and which way round to wear our home socks! On today’s agenda: All of this and more – get […]
Good v Evil: Karma Bites The Saudi Boys On The Backside
Days like Sunday don’t come along very often, but when they do, you are reminded of why you love your team and you love football. Sunderland were absolutely outstanding against Newcastle in the first Premier League meeting in a decade, and whilst it wasn’t a startling game of football, there can be no doubt that […]
On This Day (17th Dec 1960): The Battle of Vetch Field
“The arts of football were forgotten in this tremendous battle which often promised to erupt into a near riot” Paul Chester of the Sunday Sun Sunderland were undefeated in eight games as they were at long last beginning to acclimatise to life in the Second Division and starting to move in the right direction up […]
Granit Xhaka And The Art Of Red And White Leadership
Unless Kyril Louis-Dreyfus ever opts to write a memoir that includes an in-depth retrospective of his spell as Sunderland owner, it’ll forever be a mystery as to the nature of the discussion between himself and Granit Xhaka as he sought to persuade the Swiss midfielder to join his red and white revolution for the 2025/2026 […]
What Did Sunday Tell Us About Sunderland AFC’s Ambition?
Anthony Gair says… After Kyril-Louis Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman came out and said that our aim isn’t just Premier League survival, I can’t help but be excited about the future plans for our club. We must now appeal to some of the best young talents out there. We’ve shown that we’re not scared to give […]
Lasses Review: Five-Star Sunderland Complete A Rams Raid!
Sunderland’s emphatic 1-5 victory over Derby County in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup on Sunday was the kind of performance that reassured supporters and sent a message to the rest of the competition. It began with a shock as Derby struck first, but unfolded into a demonstration of Sunderland’s resilience, tactical maturity and attacking flair. […]
Haway The Podcast | ON THIS WEEK | 15-21 Dec | Rowell Hattrick, Bally Headers & Gary Owers!
Join Martin, Andrew and Kelvin for another episode of On This Week, as we take a look back at events that took place between 15-21 December on this week in the history of Sunderland AFC. On today’s show: We look back at Sunderland’s 3-0 win over cosmopolitan Chelsea in 1996 – including a great Kevin […]
Talking Tactics: The First Wear-Tyne Derby of 25/26 Goes Sunderland’s Way!
Sunderland returned to the Stadium of Light for the small matter of a Wear-Tyne Derby on Sunday — our first league meeting since Sunderland’s 1-1 draw at St James Park back in 2016. In a game devoid of many moments of quality, how did Régis Le Bris revert to type in order to nullify Newcastle […]
On This Day (16th Dec 1911): Holley Arrives Just In Time For Christmas!
Sunderland’s top scorer for the 1911/1912 season was George Holley, even though the local boy and fan favourite had endured an unfortunate drought in the build up to Christmas. After five goals in the first four games quickly became ten in nine by October, the Seaham-born inside forward then went six weeks without scoring again […]
Guardians Of The Game
I really dislike Twitter or X, or whatever you want to call it, most of the time. Mostly due to the dodgy algorithms that fill my timeline. Every now and again though, it’s a glorious place. Sunday night was one of those moments. It was rich with endorphin-laden content for any Sunderland fan. You could […]
Sweetest Derby Victory: Karma for Nine Long Years
Well, that was the sweetest – by far the best – of what we can still call a series of wins that Sunderland AFC has had over the other lot in the last 15 years or so. For the last nine of those years they have tried – fuelled by a compliant local media – […]
Sunderland Silence the Visitors: Derby Delight
Sssshhhhhh. Can you hear it? Something almost imperceptible? If you go outside your house and listen, there’s a noise quietly whispering to us through the breeze. It’s Sam Fender’s management asking Gateshead FC if he can have a free shirt as he wants to claim to support a team that he can actually be proud […]
Habib Diarra On His AFCON Call Up & Signing For Sunderland
Habib Diarra has been unavailable since September after picking up a groin injury, despite that absence Sunderland’s record signing has been called up by Senegal for the African Cup of Nations, which starts on Sunday. Now on international duty, Diarra has given an exclusive interview with dsports, in which he discusses his comeback from injury, […]
Haway The Podcast | MONDAY SUPPLEMENT | Sunderland vs The Visitors With Scott Wilson
Good morning Sunderland supporters! Yes, that did just happen. We beat The Richest Club In The World™ without them laying a tea towel on us, and we extended our unbeaten Premier League run against them to 11 games. Martin and Andrew got together with Scott Wilson from the Northern Echo to relive the game, and […]
Talking Points: Sunderland Stand Tall As The Mags Are Sent Packing
Newcastle outfought by Sunderland’s warriors! From the first minute, it was clear that the Lads wanted this more than the scared Geordies. The match featured precious few chances for either side but Sunderland’s spirit, hunger, drive and pride was on full display. The midfield battle was won by Granit Xhaka, Noah Sadiki and Enzo Le […]
2 Up, 2 Down: Derby Day Delight As Sunderland See Off Newcastle!
Alex Charlton says… Régis Le Bris gets it right! Whilst the players deserve all the praise that comes their way, I think Le Bris must be given immense credit. His selection was spot on; four at the back was the correct call and Brian Brobbey did a stellar job up top holding up the ball. […]
Matchday Musings: Derby Success On A Poignant Day For Sunderland
A full-blooded performance to savour. An atmosphere to revel in, and a result that’ll go a long way to showing that in the inter-city battle for North East supremacy between ourselves and Newcastle, Sunderland aren’t the plucky underdogs; the wide-eyed kid who finds himself playing with the big boys and is merely happy to participate […]
On This Day (15th Dec 1962): “Magnificent – That’s The Only Way To Describe This Thriller!”
Following the shock of relegation from the top flight for the first time in our history in 1958, Alan Brown had a big job on his hands to rebuild the club. Not only did the club’s reputation require a rebrand after allegations of illegal payments made to players resulted in the highest-ever fine imposed on […]
Haway The Podcast | MATCH REACTION | Sunderland 1-0 Visitors | Was The Result Ever In Any Doubt?!
GET IN THERE! Gav & Co. meet up in the bar after the final whistle and tell us all how good it is to beat the mags… enjoy! On the agenda: This episode of Haway The Podcast is sponsored by LiveScoreBet, a principal partner of Sunderland AFC. For more information visit LiveScoreBet.com or download the LiveScore Bet […]
Andy’s Player Ratings: Sunderland 1-0 Newcastle – Derby Day Delight!
Robin Roefs: 9/10 Didn’t have to make any dangerous saves of note but the command of his box and footwork were flawless today, very aggressive in coming for high balls into the box and was always successful. Nordi Mukiele: 10/10 Absolutely shut down the right hand side of the pitch, pocketed Gordon in one half […]
Score Predictions: Can Sunderland See Off The Mags At Home?
Martin Wanless predicts… Score prediction: Sunderland 2 Newcastle 1 Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Granit Xhaka A big, big day on Wearside. This is a huge game in our resurgence — and a win here could be the cherry on top of what’s been an exceptional 2025. It’ll be a tough game, but I’m hoping beyond hope […]
Gary Rowell: A Dear Club Legend
At Roker Report, we have put together a number of tributes to ex-players and club legends down the years, but this feels like one of the most difficult. Gary Rowell was a true club legend, and his hat-trick at St. James Park will forever be cemented in club folklore. He had earned a legendary status […]
Displaying items 1301-1325 of 1666 in total