Roker Rapport

Fancy a trip back to the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s result? Well this is the Podcast for you lads and lasses... Gav was joined by our Ant and Bomber on Saturday to discuss the result in-depth and chew the fat a bit about what we clearly need - in the lads opinions - this window. What’s the crack?Well that was just incredibly frustrating wasn’t it?Should we be taking all those points, and if we had done so... would we have deserved them?Individual errors - Not all of the Lads covered themselves with dust and glory on Saturday... and one more than most drew the ire of the panel. Guess who?Let’s get physical - We need lads to bully sides and we’ve known we need lads to bully sides for years... So can we get some lads to bully sides please? Cheaz.Over to Mr. Speakman - We need players in - ideally sooner rather than later - but which positions are we weakest in currently and are there any ideas on who we’d like to see brought specifically?Don’t Panic Mr Mainwaring... As Gav has inspirational words for us a

Our Chris Wynn was joined yesterday by Phil West for the first full review of 2022 - as they looked back (with the glorious benefit of hindsight and further replays) at the Wycombe draw in front of the Sky cameras at the weekend, and looked ahead to the coming games - starting with Lincoln on Tuesday night! What's the crack? So... have the lads recovered from the insane end to the enthralling game at Adams Park?From the wonders of the Loch Ness Drogba to the wizardry of Alex Pritchard, and the dynamic duo that is Dan Neil and Embo - the lads wax lyrical about the absolute ballers in the Sunlun ranks!Was Kristjaan Speakman and Lee Johnson right to go ahead with the game in spite of all the lads out? The lads certainly think so...Young Patterson was recalled on short notice from Notts County, only to get kicked back down the motorway to face Wycombe - All things considered is some of the criticism he's faced for that performance justified or even rational considering the circumstances?Looking at that back line,

Rich was joined by our Paul and Paddy to quickly give their thoughts on the action packed draw against Wycombe at Adams Park this afternoon! What's the crack? ROSSCOOOOOOO - Aye he's still class.Pretty crazy game overall, but that equaliser was a bit gutting wasn't it... Are the lads over it yet?Was that a foul on young Patto for the Vokes goal?What positives can we take from that performance?All this and more! Listen in!#SAFC #EFL #LeagueOne  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rich was joined by Gav and Martin to look back a bit - as we stand at the midway point of the season - as well as looking forward to our business dealings now the January window is open, and the fixtures we have coming up - including our next opponents this Saturday in Wycombe Wanderers!What's the crack? So December went reasonably well didn't it - how much credit does Lee Johnson and the squad deserve for the turnaround following that slight dip? The Annual Transfer Window chaos; We have lads coming in, lads wanted by other clubs, positions that need filling over the next month... how soon do we think the majority of our business will be done?Dan Neil - The Speakman says no - but to be fair would we accept a serious offer from a big PL side? Even if we did - this window or next - would that actually be better for lads like Dan Neil or could they suffer the same struggles in development as the players we're trying to bring in?Which positions require the most attention in the lads opinions, especially giv

Our Rich and Gav got together this morning to react to last night’s fantastic result for Lee Johnson’s Red & White Army, as the Black Cats took the Owls apart with ease to put us back on top of League One! What’s the crack?LOCH NESS DROGBA - A perfect hat-trick for Ross Stewart!Despite the fact we played very well last night, we weren’t actually as good as we can be, and we’re still impacted by injuries to key players - How well does this bode for the rest of the season?Pritchard another level yet again...Flanagan and Wright - How is LJ getting the best from two lads who had previously been almost completely written off?BENJIIIII - Well in lad! A lovely finish from a lovely Dajaku pass last night - Does he need to make sure he acts while he can to secure his future at the club?Callum Doyle gets his first professional goal - very well deserved for a lad who has struggled on occasion recently but is now finding his form again.Lee Johnson in. Aye.All this and more! Thank you all for listening to us in 2021 L

Our Rich was joined yesterday - whatever day yesterday was - by our Malc and Paddy to go over Sunderland's comfortable win over Donny in front of the Sky cameras, and look ahead a bit to Sheffield Wednesday! What's the crack? F***ing delightful - But how delightful was it exactly?How class is Alex Pritchard?Neil, Embo and Pritch all a shout for MOTM yesterday - and how about the performances from both Gooch and Dajaku?Of course Donny have been struggling this season so we're not getting too carried away (honest) but are there plenty enough positives to take from that into what will be a very different game against Wednesday on Thursday? Aye.The news of Broadhead's injury; how unlucky is the lad considering the run of form he was on and how much of a blow is that news?All this and much more!To everyone who donated to the Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen fundraiser, everyone who shared our posts on social media, all the guests who appeared on the live 24 Hour Pod, everyone who listened to the Pods over the las

We have smashed the £60,000 target Reidy set us last week for the SCSK fundraiser! Absolutely staggering support from everyone involved, as it stands we sit at £61,300, let's keep pushing right 'til the end, and once again, thank you all! Now to the footy... Our Gav and Chris sat down together after last night's meeting with the PL big boys at the Emirates to work out exactly how they felt about it all.What's the crack? Broadhead; one of our absolute ballers is injured and we hope he isn't out too long, but what a goal for the lad - again - We need to tie him to a permanent contract as soon as possible don't we?If that Embo strike had gone in... Well we can dream can't we?The away support was, as expected, absolutely class! Well in lads and lasses! Did us all proud!Speaking of pride - we may have been outgunned but Lee Johnson made sure we played our game still, and regardless of the score, it was lovely to see!Turns out some of these Arsenal lads aren't that bad... Fair play and congratulations to young Eddi

Our Rich was joined immediately after the final whistle on Saturday* to react to the point against Ipswich away in the league, joined by Kevin - one of the newest members of the RR team - all the way from North Carolina in the States! What's the crack? Was that a point gained... or two lost?Nathan Broadhead; That's 5 in 5 for the lad, can we sign him now please? See also: Dan Neil's sublime pass...Ross Stewart; Just working out that new strike partnership at the front, or is the lad just a bit tired with all that running around he does?That Dajaku clattering looked nasty didn't it?How we feeling ahead of the 'extremely-short-but could-be-quite-long-if-the-league-shuts-down' festive break?All this and... a couple bits more? Aye.Listen in and while you’re here - please consider donating to or simply sharing our annual Christmas Fundraiser for the Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen - who work tirelessly to help the most vulnerable in our community - by clicking here for our GoFundMe and here for so

[Excerpt from live broadcast on Twitter Spaces - Saturday, 11th December 2021] Well we skip ahead a bit here lads and lasses (this'll happen from time to time) but there's no better reason to as Gav - the rest of the RR lads - Chronicle Journalist James Hunter (and a certain Matty Piper) were joined by the one and only Peter Reid! Discussing his career, his time as Sunderland manager, and his thoughts on the current situation at SAFC! Aye. It was all a bit surreal to us too... What's the crack? IT'S PETER REID!Now we've got that down; how is Reidy doing at the moment?Peter shares his thoughts regarding his time at the club;How did he build those sides, and how important was the role of people like Sacko in what he was trying to do?What are his favourite memories of the club, and the fans; how much does the continuing adulation mean to him?So how exactly do you go about getting a side promoted - and how difficult is it to keep them up competing?Most recently having worked with Paul Cook at Ipswich and Wigan -

[Excerpt from live broadcast on Twitter Spaces - Friday, 10th December 2021] Our Brett took over proceedings last Friday following Julio and Crabbers, as SAFC legend - if only for those haircuts - the great Gordon Armstrong joined us for a chat about his lengthy career at Sunderland, and his thoughts on recent years in League One! What’s the crack? Gordon lets us know a little bit about what he gets up to these days;His long list of achievements as a player for Sunderland; What are his proudest moments?His relationship with the club and the fans, and how much it all means to him;His favourite goals; He scored a few... Does he ever get sick of hearing about that particular header against Chelsea?His thoughts on the difference between players that came through in his era at the club and those who pull on the Red & White stripes now... As well as modern footballers in general;How much does community mean to Gordon, how does he feel about the former and current owners, and what does he make of Sunderland's se

[Excerpt from live broadcast on Twitter Spaces - Friday, 10th December 2021] The lads started the 24 hour Twitter Spaces Marathon with a bang last Friday - as we looked to raise funds for Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen - by chatting all things SAFC with the legends that are Crabbers and Julio Arca! What’s the crack? Gav and the rest of the lads outline why the live broadcast went ahead - and reflect on Lee Johnson and Mel Reay's visit that afternoon to the Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen;Is Crabbers there? Can Gav hear Crabbers? How does this technology work exactly?JULIO OH - What has our favourite Argentinian Mackem been up to lately?The party gets started as the livewire that is Simon Crabtree lets loose with his many stories and thoughts on his time at Sunderland;Julio tells some stories about his career, his time playing for the Red & White Wizards, and answers listeners questions;Gav loses Crabbers halfway through a Sacko story - anarchy descends - Crabbers returns fire with a few Bally stories

Our Gav was joined yesterday, after a restful and well deserved kip, by our Martin Wanless, and our friend and renowned man of tweed - the BBC's Nick Barnes - to look back at what has been a pretty decent weekend for the Sunlun family!What’s the crack?Well we had an interesting 24 Hours on our Twitter Spaces Marathon for the SCSK Christmas Fundraiser... So did the lads get any sleep?What a win that was, and what a great attacking performance in the first half in particular - is that the best half of football we’ve seen from the Lads this season so far?Lee Johnson; We’ve had the dip... and now 6 games undefeated with some decent results back under the belt in spite of a depleted squad at his disposal - he deserves a bit credit aye?Broadhead - Again we ask just how good this lad is already and how good he may be for us should we get him on a permanent deal...Pritchard - He’s hitting form now, how highly are the lads rating his performances recently? Is he and others filling that role left by the injured McGead

Our Chris Wynn was joined by our Brett and Malc after the final whistle last night, to go over a nice little win under the lights in the league! What’s the crack?Well that’s nice isn’t it; without getting all carried away - how do the lads feel about our performance? Can we start to build momentum - or do we already happen to have some on the go?PRITCH; What a goal and performance from the lad again - is it safe to say we’re starting to see the player we wanted to see after his struggles with Covid and the like shortly after arrival?BROADHEAD; Now this lad is a baller - do we believe recent rumours regarding him signing permanently and if so... Just how much of an asset could he be?GOOOOOOCH; Haway Lynden Lad! A cracking performance and a couple great assists from our Californian Mackem.DAJAKU; Young Leon has faced criticism, but played very well last night - are we hopeful we can get more of the benefit of his obvious but raw talent?Brett asks the question - regardless of last night’s win - what are people p

Gav was joined by our Phil late last night as they went over the performance against Oxford on Saturday, looked at the general reaction to the result and discussed many of our listeners Twitter questions!What’s the crack?What did the lads make of the performance in our draw against Oxford United overall - bit of a difference between the two halves?What do we need to see from the team these coming games, as we sit tantalisingly close to the automatics - besides wins of course...Player development and injuries - what are reasonable expectations from the Lads we’ve brought in? We knew the younger lads would need time to adapt - are they doing so?How many players do we think we need this January, and how many points are we expecting from the games left to play until we get there?What is and isn’t fair criticism of a manager or player? Is Johnson getting sh*t because people are frustrated with his tactics and selections - or do some simply not like the man? Are personal attacks pitch-side or online justified

Rich was joined by NTT20 Pod original, EFL pundit and Oxford United fan - George Elek - to look ahead to Saturday's meeting between SAFC and the OUFC at the Stadium of Light, and to look across the division so far this season.What's the crack?How is George doing these days? (Between slipping in and out of the Sky and Quest studios of course)How are Oxford looking; Has Karl Robinson weathered another short storm, and how is their ownership situation? Sounds a little complicated at the moment but is George confident everything will turn out... just fine?George gives his thoughts on the Sunderland dip in form after our initial strong start, and how we looked in his opinion in our wins over Ipswich and Cambridge;Who's looking strong for Oxford at the moment, and how confident is George of a result against us?The Independent Fan-Led Review of Football Governance - What are George's thoughts on the issues that were raised, the findings and recommendations and how some owners higher up the Pyramid have reacted to th

Our Gav and Ant headed down to Albert’s Place over the weekend to do some voluntary work with the SCSK team and have a lovely chinwag with the wonderful Andrea Bell about the work that has been done the past year since our last Christmas Fundraiser, and the work still to be done - as we begin this year’s fundraiser with a bang!Listen in to hear all about where your donations for the past two years have gone, who the people are SCSK have helped thanks to your kindness and generosity, and those they help on a regular basis - as well as the increasing need for support structures across the city and region, the struggles many people face regardless of employment status, Andrea’s dream of fresh fruit and veg for all, the homeless issue that exists in our city, the long journey to Albert’s Place, and just how far beyond simply providing a warm meal SCSK have gone in their desire to help anyone they can in as many ways as they can.We’re extremely proud to be associated with them all!If you like what you hear and wan

Our Gav was joined yesterday by young Timmy/Martin and our Brett as they went over Sunderland's 2-1 victory over the U's away in the league on Saturday, and look ahead to the next couple games as Lee Johnson's lads look to build momentum - in spite of the growing injury list...What's the crack?Martin tells us about a near death experience...Bit windy on Saturday we noticed; but how windy was it Chris Kamara?Broadheeeeed; What a goal that was, could he have had a few more?Gooch; The lad put in a shift Saturday, is a more permanent position change looming?How did the lads look Saturday as a team - are they playing for Lee Johnson?Answering your twitter questions, and how we all feel looking ahead - with a couple wins under the belt again...All this and much more! #SAFC #EFL #LeagueOne  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Chris was joined this week by massive U's fan - the BBC's Doug Shulman - to preview our upcoming League fixture with Cambridge United, and to look at a few things that have happened since the last league meeting nearly 30 years ago...What's the crack?It's been nearly 3 decades since Cambridge and Sunderland met in League action - Looks like they've had a bit of a time of it since... John Beck was a right laugh wasn't he; was he a footballing revolutionary too? Falling out of the Football League and returning again after 9 long years; How did it feel getting back into the 92?How are Cambridge fans feeling since their return to this tier for the first time in 2 decades to find this many "big sides" in the division?How stable is the club currently, and what are fan expectations of this season and beyond?The two styles and sides of Mark Bonner - How good was last seasons run to promotion from League Two under the fan favourite, and how has he adapted to this league so far?Wes Hoolahan will be playing Sa

Our Chris was joined immediately after the match (aye there was a funny mix up we only resolved earlier today) by Malc and Bomber to go over how exactly we managed to avoid a win, and to try slip a few clichés in while they were at it.What's the crack?A promising first half performance from the Lads was welcomed, as was that great goal from Pritchard... So what went wrong with that second half against 10 men?Would we be less disappointed if the performance had been more consistent and we still failed to get the winner?How are/were the lads feeling about getting 4 points from the 6 available - any sign of panic yet?Was that a red card?How did they expect the reaction to the result to play out on the socials, and were they right?Any positives to take from that at all? All this and more! Listen in! #SAFC #EFL #LeagueOne  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our Gav was joined earlier today by Martin and Phil to go over yesterday's return to winning ways for Lee Johnson's Lads against Paul Cook's Ipswich side, and to briefly look ahead to Shrewsbury away in the League this Tuesday!What's the crack?That's a f**king relief - Nice to be talking about a win again isn't it?What did the lads make of the performance overall?Lee knew he was under pressure and the players were clearly a bit nervous about their return - how much did they need this result?Another injury nightmare; should we look at the loan market for an instant fix to the left back issue - despite the performance from Luke O'Nien in that position yesterday - or struggle through until January?Building back momentum; how are we going to approach the visit to Shrewsbury this Tuesday, and do we think the system is going to change sooner rather than later?Who stood out for the Lads on the pitch, and just how vital were the changes Lee made to the side to win the game?How good was that triple save from Hoffmann.