Roker Rapport

Gav and Chris return to action and find themselves reacting to a loss against Stoke City in a pretty shit and extremely Stoke-esque game marred by a mixture of tactical mistakes, Stoke themselves and PGMOL apology worthy errors from more useless officials. What's the Crack? Two weeks of waiting for 90+ minutes of frustration; how do the lads feel about it all? Mowbray made some changes to the line-up and opted to keep all our strikers on the bench before later throwing all our strikers on the pitch; would he have been wise to maybe use one or two from the beginning? Though everyone was delighted to see Pierre Ekwah back on the pitch and Jobe did his best with the role he was forced to play, how much did we miss the presence of Dan Neil in the middle of the park? Another match, another terrible example of modern officiating; considering we only lost the use of a key player over 135 minutes of football because of the decision making of a referee whose general incompetence drew an offici

After avoiding the issue for as long as possible, Gav and Chris sat down in the aftermath of a refereeing and game management disasterclass to look at Sunderland 0-4 Boro and the state of officiating in the modern game. What's the crack? What the actual f*** was that? How is that the standard of refereeing in this country? The letter of the law versus the spirit of the law; it's not the rules, it's how and when you apply them. A lack of consistency; the lads get to the bottom of the frustration with PGMOL. Mowbray's game management; what did the lads make of the way Tony attempted to adapt to the situation? Despite the result, how do the lads feel heading into this international break sat where we are currently? All this and a bit of a long rant. Aye. Ha'way the Lads! Free Dan Neil! #SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello again... As we play midweek we thought it would be a good idea to preview the fixture a little, so Chris and Gav took a quick look at Watford's visit to the Stadium of Light! What's the crack? What are Watford up to recently? They're not looking great sat where they are in the table; Be nice to get another three points under the lights against a struggling side but there's always a worry that could work against us so will they come to frustrate or will they take the risk and try to attack?  Do we think Mowbray will make a few changes given we play Boro on Saturday? The lads try a bit reverse psychology on Tony this week.Gav takes a look at the Watford fans online and their take on it all; are they feeling any hope currently and if not, can we exploit that? Ha'way the Lads! #SAFC #EFLChampionship #EFL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Gav and Chris were joined this week by a very tired Martin from the land down under as they tried to work out what time of day/night it was, chatted about the win on Friday and look at your thoughts and opinions on all things SAFC right now! What's the crack? CLARK, CLARKE WILL TEAR YOU APART, AGAIN! Just aye. Jack Clarke is too good for this division. How good is this side? Do we know how high the ceiling is for some of the talent we have? Burstow played his best game for the Lads so far, what did we think of his performance? Cheers for the points Chansiri? Sheffield Wednesday are in a bit of a state at the moment, bless them, and he's not exactly helping matters; Sunlun 2.0 - We often think of "doing a Sunlun" as a negative but has that changed recently? What has actually driven our successes on the pitch, and how much has our new approach changed people's perception of the club? We go through a few listener points and of course the three word reviews, as Gav

Following on from the breakdown of our home defeat to Cardiff at the weekend, Gav and Chris reconvene to discuss Sunderland's upcoming fixture at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday (in front of the Sky cameras) on Friday night. Given that our Chris has been studying their fans down in their natural habitat of South Yorkshire for a few years now, we turn to him to ask the important questions like.. can we make them more miserable than they already are? What's the crack? Chris needs this win as he's surrounded by their lot; but just because we should win.. well.. you know the rest. Yes things really are that bad down there. The fans are apathetic, agitated, annoyed, sick of the owner and the manager and the struggle. Sounds familiar. In all seriousness, can we take advantage of a side that currently share a terrifying statistic with a former striker of ours? Are we tempting fate with all this? Of course aye. The lads discuss the possible changes (if any) that Tony Mowbray could make, and wax lyrical about

Gav and Chris were quite frustrated with the result on Sunday but they managed to sit down and relive it all for a giggle, weaving a few of your points, questions and three word reviews throughout.. and aye just generally being themselves. What's the crack? Gav bans his mate from attending any future home fixtures; How can we dominate like that and yet lose, and why does it feel so Sunlun? The positives: Dan Neil and Jobe Bellingham to name a couple; how good is young Jobe, was taking him off a mistake? Just how exceptional a player is Dan Neil going to be? He's already a PL midfielder in our opinion.Do we play better without a striker? It would appear so currently, but can that change? Aye you might've noticed this was actually recorded in the immediate aftermath of the game so Gav and Chris got stuck into the immediate fan reaction and many of our listener opinions; All this and more! Back Thursday with a nice shiny new preview for our upcoming game against Wednesday on Friday.

CLARKE, CLARKE WILL TEAR YOU APART, AGAIN! What a match that was man. After picking themselves up off the floor our Gav and Chris sat back down to pick apart another three points on the road, try to put into words what we just witnessed and somehow preview our upcoming home fixture against Cardiff City on Sunday! (Cheers for the title idea @Rachaelthex91) What's the crack? JACK THE LAD! He's only gone and done it again hasn't he the absolutely gorgeous b*stard. The EFL Championship's current top scorer is on fire! DAN NEIL STRIKES BACK! Absolute stunner from our young midfield maestro to get us back in front; Has he been underrated so far this season? Luke O'Nien plays where he wants; some insanity at the back but the Lads got it done any way they possibly could. Hopefully not too a serious knock for Dan Ballard? Pure unadulterated chaos; Are we all ok after that? Everyone got their sedatives aye? Maybe some warm milk or some… valium… Sunderland are now fourth in the league

HahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaI'm alright Jack; The p*** biscuit saw red at Loftus Road after trying to snap Jobe's leg in half, before our very own Jack Clarke fired in a beautifully timed equaliser. Funny.Well that was f***in delightful; how do the lads feel after that performance?Ainsworth; what the f*** was he wearing honestly? A lovely 20% possession for the shithouse is all he's got to show for his tactical genius. Again... funny.Goals for Dan Ballard and an assist for one of our new French lads as Abdoullah Ba finished the game off in style! Just class from so many today wasn't it?So as it stands we sit 7th in the EFL Championship with a couple nice wins under our belt; looking forward to Blackburn on Wednesday? All this, your three word reviews and more! Ha'way the Lads!#SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more

The international break is over! Sunderland are back to league action against Gareth Ainsworth’s QPR at Loftus Road on Saturday. Gav and Chris sit down to preview the trip, try to guess what changes Mogga may make (if any) and react to the official unveiling (finally) of our new Ukrainian forward Nazariy Rusyn. What’s the crack? Slava Ukraini! Welcome Nazariy Lad! Are we feeling confident ahead of Saturday? Tony Mowbray is probably unlikely to make any significant changes from the side that started against Southampton last time out, but we do have a few strike options available now; Weird haka performances aside, how has Ainsworth been doing recently in his relatively new role? Are we expecting the same sort of tactics from one of the masters of lower league time wasting shithousery? It's just nice to have options isn't it; the new lads seem hungry from what we've seen and we could even get to the point where Mowbray has a selection headache thanks to our new strength in depth.How do

Sunderland had a bit of a mad end to the 23/24 Summer Transfer Window and followed it up with an immediate battering of a poorly prepared Southampton side at the Stadium of Light. So now some of the Lads have a bit of time off with the international break, our lads Gav and Chris have had a look at everything from the departure of Batth, Goochy and Stewart to the arrival of five lads we can't wait to see play for the club, to the wonderful spinning top action of our young Jewi! What's the crack? Well it's been quite a week lads and lasses, so hope you're in the mood to revisit it all again as these two are! That absolute battering of Southampton wasn't bad at all was it? Imagine missing that man. The lads look at just how impressive Sunderland were last weekend and try and pick their standout performers from the match; We dish out plenty of credit to lads (a certain Abdoullah Ba particularly) we've previously been critical of, as patience shows itself once again to be a virtue worth ha

Sunderland took a point from our old friends Coventry City in a lively but goalless game yesterday afternoon. Gav and Chris sat down last night to give us their take on the performance and a few other things rumbling away in the background at SAFC! What's the crack? Clean sheet and a point - we'll take that all day long aye?How do we feel after that? Besides mildly infuriated that Ba didn't pass that ball.. We're sticking with Dack but is it working? Tomorrow never came, so new lad in tomorrow aye? Everyone is concentrating on the need for striker by the end of the window, but Chris thinks we need to focus our attentions on the midfield too;Another brilliant performance (on the pitch and down the beach) from Luke O'Nien. Isn't he a good boy? Yes he is. Your three word reviews and more! Ha'way the Lads!#SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sunderland are now a mere three points off the playoff places after our first win of the season against Rotherham on Saturday. Our Gav and Martin sat down the morning/evening after to react to the match and the rise of a new goalscoring star in the Bellingham household! What's the crack? JOBE "STARBOY" BELLINGHAM - The lads wax lyrical about the maturity, skill and promise of our new young starlet as his two first senior goals secure our first few points of the 23/24 campaign! Do the Bellingham brothers have more siblings hidden away anywhere? So do we all feel a bit more upbeat after a win? I bet we do..Was anyone slightly concerned when they saw the starting lineup? Bradley Dack impresses despite clearly not being a striker (that's Jobe now obviously) so how does this look for Alex Pritchard's future at the club?The name is Mr Sunderland - Luke O'Nien continues to prove his worth after a brilliant performance. All this and more! Ha'way the Lads!#SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship 

Tired from a great deal of fiddling on the Stadium of Light roof with Kristjaan Speakman and KLD - our Gav and Chris sat down to console Craig over the loss of footy bragging rights to his wife, react a bit to the loss to Preston with a few days to let it soak right in, look ahead to Rotherham on the weekend, and to try think who else wrote a season off after the second league game. What's the crack? The Sundered Lands; Aye we lost again and Craig's journey back home after the game was less than thrilling… What did the lads make of the game on Saturday, and what do they all make of the first week or so overall?Is everyone feeling ok? Tensions are running high online and every day there's a bit drama but it seems offline the majority are taking it all in their stride; do the lads think the players pay any attention to X/Twitter... and how uninterested in social media is our Chris?Do the Daveh Moyeseh; Can we somehow recover over the remaining 44 games or are we doomed? How do we feel ahead

Gavin sat down with Craig "usually angry but now quite calm" Chapman to go over the events of the last day or two, looking at the untelevised and scarcely attended cup game on Tuesday night that seemed to start a minor riot on social media, give their own thoughts on the reaction since and look ahead to Preston at the weekend… with a word or two from Craig's lovely wife who unfortunately (for both her and her husband) is actually a Preston fan. What's the crack? Don't Panic? Do Panic? Why are we panicking again? How was the fan experience for these two daft lads who unaccountably turned up to watch the Crewe game? What can we take away from that performance if anything and how did the rest of the Championship do against their respective lower league opposition? How are we feeling ahead of our trip to Deepdale on Saturday? Confident we'll resume our away form and give the fans something to smile about? Is it possible to be slightly concerned about something and not turn it into so

Well that was an interesting way to spend our Sunday evening! Our Gavin wandered back from the pub late last night to record a bit of reaction and rambling with Chris as they attempted to pick apart our first game of the season.What's the crack? Gav has had a drink. He'll tell you in a second.Have ye had a drink Gav aye? The lads try to put their initial feelings into words after a bit of a rollercoaster of a match;Are we planning on learning from mistakes this season? Lacking that killer instinct; They may disagree on a few things here but both agree we need to make more of our dominance on the ball. Any point overreacting to the result?*Can Paddy and Jack stop losing the ball please? Mogga's subs; not exactly inspired yesterday.What can we take away from the game overall? All this and much more! #SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship #HWTL*No. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aye the long wait is over lads and lasses as the new season is finally upon us! Our beloved Lads are back in action later today against newly promoted Ipswich Town and so our Chris Wynn sat down with EFL specialist, NTT20 host, Sky Sports and BBC pundit and the rest - Mr George Elek - for a chat about what expectations are for Sunlun and the rest of the sides in the 23/24 EFL Championship! What's the crack? It's been a long time coming, so is everyone suitably excited for the long season ahead? How has George been since we last spoke and what has he made of Sunderland's progress under Speakman, as well as our top six finish last season under Tony Mowbray? How bold is the approach we've taken to recruitment (from the outside looking in) and should more sides be looking to implement such a model? Does George see any reason Sunderland fans shouldn't be looking at the top six again this season?What's occurring around the division - are the sides who fell looking strong enough to make an i

No we don't talk about Barbenheimer or the weird Twitter logo and brand change to X (or even the recent loan move of Joe Anderson to Shrewsbury Town) but now you're here you should listen to Gav and Chris chat about: Sunderland AFC wrapping up our US Tour with a 4-2 victory over North Carolina at some point in the early hours of Saturday morning, the positives to take from the trip to the States overall, and looking ahead to our upcoming friendly against La Liga opposition Mallorca on Saturday at the Stadium of Light - at a normal time of the day too aye! What's the crack? Gav realises the United States is a big place…The lads reflect on watching matches at weird times of the night and why they're suddenly bothered enough to stay up that late with work the next morning.How do we feel as the tour comes to an end (at the time of recording the Lads flights hadn't yet landed*) and do we think the experience has been beneficial to the squad? Bit of a breakdown of both victories since the last Pod; o

I know. Poetry is a calling. After a brief stint in rehab following the nerve shredding culmination of the 22/23 SAFC season, the pod returns to action for the season ahead, and as a few things have happened since our last episode... our Gavin Henderson and Chris Wynn pick up (sort of) where we left off. Chatting about our new arrivals, some sad departures, some weird rumours, a Shields/Gateshead double header, watching our beautiful Lads sweating in a US heatwave, our win over another SAFC, looking ahead to the next couple fixtures at daft o'clock and aye generally just trying to squeeze two months of news into an hour and a bit. Nee bother. What's the crack? So what's been happening since the end of last season? Did that Russian coup work out in the end, can we really 'just stop oil' - and more importantly - who are these new boys Kristjaan has signed and do they increase the average height of the squad significantly? What have we made of preseason so far? Did Gav enjoy his little road trip?

That's f***ing delightful! Our red & white wizards made us all very proud yesterday, so our Gavin Henderson and Chris Wynn return - after a brief recovery period - to try to relive one of the greatest atmospheres and performances a packed Stadium of Light has seen in recent memory! As well as to try convince a certain starboy to stay next season.. and to look ahead to the second leg of the Championship Play-Off Semi against Luton on Tuesday night! What's the crack? That was just... Aye. Incredible scenes yesterday and though it's not over yet, the parties continued long into the night on Wearside; so how do we feel today? AMAD LAD - "Never fall for the loan player" is a bit f***ing difficult when that player is Amad Diallo. TRAI HUME - What a performance (and what a header) from a lad playing out of position in a makeshift back three that fought tooth and nail to take his one goal advantage into the second leg! CAPTAIN AMERICA(N MACKEM) - Has Lynden Gooch once again managed to win

The only club that now stands between Sunderland and a return to Wembley - to fight for a return to the Premier League - is Luton Town. Gav and Chris look ahead to our Championship Play-Off Semi-Final fixtures and try not to be too nervous. They almost succeed.What's the crack? How are we even here man? How are Sunderland in this position now? Madness. How does everyone feel? I'm in a state in all honesty. The lads look at Luton and our last few meetings; we tend to draw a lot but could a draw at the Stadium of Light be enough? It's all in our hands again; how confident are we of getting beyond these? How inspiring are our young Lads? How much drive do they have? Were their expectations for this season a lot higher than ours? Strap yourselves in #TilTheEndHa'way the Lads! #SAFC #EFLChampionship #EFLPlayOffs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.