Roker Rapport Podcast

Our Gav Henderson welcomes Martin Wanless back to the pod as the lads look back on Sunderland's goalless draw against Bristol City at the Stadium of Light yesterday, ahead to Tuesday night against Leeds at Elland Road, and grab a few listener thoughts on all things SAFC! What's the crack? It wasn't a win - we couldn't get the ball to go in - but was it better? A far improved performance from Pierre Ekwah yesterday; Martin thinks he needs to get a bit of consistency going ahead of potential competition arriving for his place in that midfield. The lads just don't rate Hjelde, so apologies to Hjelde fans out there; The tangents continue as is now tradition, as Gav and Martin try and dance around a lot of the actual football by getting lost in thoughts about the summer and next season; Are we looking to turn a quick profit on Jobe, hence his long run in the side this season? Should we be thinking more about any future deals with Rigg and prioritising his development in that area of the pitch? Would we rather give Watson (or anyone else at all who we currently own) a chance over the likes of Burstow? What's occurring with Ba getting dropped from the bench? Against all Dodds; Leeds coming up next as Mike attempts to take points from Daniel Farke again this season but Gav is a little nervous. Could we “do a Sunlun” though?We may be back tomorrow with our bumper International Fans Day special recording from the Fans Museum on Friday, or we will catch you all on the other side of the Leeds result however that goes.. Cheers for listening and ha'way the lads! #SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship

Our Martin and Chris had the good sense to fuck off on holiday for Easter so Gavin grabbed our heavy loss specialist, Craig Chapman, to see if they could ignore talking about any of the football from the win on Good Friday over Cardiff or the horrific loss yesterday to Blackburn! What's the crack? Those Good Friday vibes didn't continue, the lads would've talked about them but why bother? Argh why us argh etc Dodds was a mistake. A terrible, terrible mistake aye. Would Heckingbottom be a good appointment and if so, would it be better to get him in now or leave it until the summer? Craig attempts to get Kristjaan Speakman's attention by accusing him of picking the side himself, poor decision making, appointing his mate in a caretaker role unnecessarily, poor player recruitment for a while, resting on ancient successes and tells him to sort it out like because this isn't on like and we may get relegated next season if he doesn't sort it out like. No protests have been planned as yet. The important/vital summer becomes more important/vital still as the "important/vital summer" quote extravaganza continues.  All this and more! Aye.#EFL #EFLChampionship #SAFC

So we stopped a cycle of losing before heading into what is a very welcome international break for most, as Sunlun held QPR to a draw at the weekend. Join Gav and Martin as they try to talk about it all.. and end up talking about everything but the game. What’s the crack? Our worst losing streak in a decade comes to an end, but we didn’t make it easy on ourselves; what did the lads make of it all? Nice quick minute or so spent on the game itself here. We got a clean sheet! Just the one for now but it’s good news? It is isn’t it? Tell me it is please I need something. Can we build on this result, however dull it might’ve been? We need this international break, we need this summer and ideally we need it all to come along a lot faster; Do we need to change up the backroom staff a bit as well as the head coach? This is exactly what our Chris Wynn said would happen aye. Just… aye. Ha’way the Lads! #EFL #SAFC #EFLChampionship

If you haven't noticed there's a little gift we've posted full of joy and positivity just prior to this here podcast. Honest it's all great fun. Seriously though we are actually back, as Gav and Chris sat down late last night to look at the Southampton result and ahead to QPR! What's the crack? BREAKING NEWS: WE'RE STILL SHITEIt wasn't exactly an inspirational performance against Southampton but at least we got a couple goals aye? Stop overthinking it Mike; the lads try to explain to Dodds where he might be going wrong... Defensive injury woes continue to just get worse as Seelt is now absent for Saturday and likely the rest of the season; so how do we sort this mess until Luke gets back? The lads both get a little ranty about it all and question the team selection, specifically regarding players like Adil Aouchiche. So with QPR retaining the services for now of a lad who allegedly hit someone with a brick back on the continent, we have to deal with a reasonably potent attacking threat. Especially if he's got a rock in his hand. The lads try to predict how things will look after the final whistle and sort of give up. Aye. All this and more. Ha'way the Lads! #SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship

Personal circumstances we don't really need to go on about online have unfortunately put the pods back a couple weeks, so in the interest of continuity/torture/sadism this is a combination of three recordings made after our defeats at home to Swansea, Norwich City and Leicester City… running back to back. This isn't something we'd necessarily advise you listen to, especially if you're feeling a bit low, but if that's your thing then we won't judge. Enjoy the descent into madness or switch to the Southampton reaction and QPR preview that's just gone up.What's the crack? The first half hour or so the lads looked at the defeat at home to Swansea City, tried to work out what exactly the players were playing at and started to show a little concern over the Dodds intervention on the pitch. Gav was not feeling confident at all.The second half hour is of course dedicated to the memory of Doddsy's sanity and tactical nous, as the lads just stood aghast at the complete lack of attacking intent against a Norwich side that could have been beaten on the day. The final part of this glorious trilogy features further concern after our result against Leicester City and a complete lack of belief in the lads being capable of getting a result at Southampton which (spoiler alert) funnily enough turned out to be the case.We're very sorry we have to do this to you all. Good luck and Ha'way the lads! #EFL #EFLChampionship #SAFC

Chris and Gav look at the Beale burner fiasco that unfolded since we last recorded, at the task Dodds has ahead of him now for the rest of the season, and look ahead to his first challenge against Swansea on Saturday! Or they try to but get distracted aye.What's the crack? BurnerGate; Well that's not very a clever thing to do is it lad? The lads try and work out why it appears he did what he did and why it's a bad idea...Will Michael Beale get another job in coaching after this or should he take some time to consider everything that has happened these past couple months/years; Away from all that and back to the footy as DoddsBall returns this Saturday; what are we expecting from the great one? How exactly does he get to grips with the situation he's been left to deal with? Looking over Swansea this season and in spite of our poor record against them, Chris is optimistic about our chances… but Gav isn't. So what's wrong with Gav? Do we expect to see Jobe or Rusyn up top and which would the lads prefer? Can Mundle take advantage of a bit of a winger injury crisis? Will we start him and even maybe a young Chris Rigg? The lads struggle with the concept of 'quick fire' as they attempt a short listener Q&A but end up going on a bit as they do. Gav goes a bit funny at the mention of Benidorm. Don't ask. All this and more! Ha'way the Dodds! #EFL #EFLChampionship #SAFC

Aye there'll be more from us on this in the near future - specifically burner related - but Gav and Chris sat down to give their initial thoughts on the short tenure of Michael Beale coming to an end at SAFC and the appointment of Doddsy as caretaker coach for the rest of the season! What's the crack? Beale gets his name in the Sunlun record books; How are the lads feeling after hearing the news and processing it a little? A bit of a vague statement from the club about Beale's departure; what do they make of it all? Should the club consider fan reaction to an appointment? Can Beale be blamed for that initial backlash? Did it help the situation? The lads feel a bit relieved but not so much over the footy... was that all a massive waste of time? All aboard for DoddsBall 3.0 as the club leaves footballing matters in Mike Dodd's hands for the foreseeable; at least we know the lads will play for him aye? All this and more! What a club man.#SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship

Editor's note: Gav has taken my recent illness badly, I fear for my life. If something happens to me it was Gavin Henderson aye. The lads got together to chat all things Sunlun after a lovely win over Plymouth at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, as well as to answer a few listener questions and look ahead to a busy week as Michael Beale tries to fix our away form against both Huddersfield and a certain Birmingham City at the weekend! What's the crack? The lads reflect on a nice performance against Plymouth, specifically in the second half...Is Jack Clarke the greatest winger in the world? Probably not, but he's getting there. Ekwah, Jobe and Jack all scored some lovely goals, but who scored the loveliest? Have recent performances and tactical decisions helped Michael Beale enough to ease some of the pressure he was under? Can he address our issues away from home this season? What positive changes have we seen now our head coach has had time to settle? How has he got more from Clarke than Mowbray was getting towards the end of his time at the club? How are we feeling ahead of Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night? Is this another must win or would Gav take a point if it meant we had the better performance at the weekend against Mogga? Martin convinces Gav to get a few more of your questions in than we can manage! All this and more! Ha'way little Poppy 💙#SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship

So yesterday our Gavin spammed all your social media feeds asking for questions the lads can get themselves in trouble answering and you didn't disappoint. Listen in as they try to cover off as many of your talking points as possible! What's the crack? First threesome in a little while, they've not forgotten how it all works though. Aye.The transfer window; Covering everything from outgoings to Greece, new signing Leo Hjelde, the seemingly endless Amad Diallo saga and more! Questions about the BealeOut hashtag trend and possibly taking things a bit far; Does anyone have an answer for why some people hate him so very much? The lads try to work it out and reiterate their feelings on the matter. The RAWA meeting with the club, how the lads feel about things off the pitch generally and the brilliance of the wonderful Malcolm Bramley. The Ownership; Does Chris like Kyril? Does Martin like Juan? Is Gav using Maurice like a sock puppet or is it his turn for the Wee Phillie treatment? How do the lads feel about where the club is right now and how do they feel going forward? So many questions, so little time. There's just so much going on aye. If we didn't get to yours this time, apologies. Send any abuse about anything you may have heard on this episode to Gavspersonalemail@itwasntme.co.ukThanks for listening and ha'way the lads! #SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship