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 Sunderland at the Brink: 2026 Will Make or Break the Club

For too many years now we’ve been told we’re a sleeping giant, and for the first time since the days of Reidy, Quinn, and Phillips we actually look like we might start realising our potential.

It’s been a while since we did these editorial pieces for the website and, after a ridiculously busy period where it’s felt like Sunderland have been playing every couple of days, it feels like an appropriate time to bring them back as a regular feature here on the website. So, thanks very much for checking in and for continuing to read Roker Report’s daily output as we navigate through 2026!

This website has just had its 15th birthday, which is a bit mad, really. When our founder, Simon Walsh, created Roker Report in 2010 as a platform to express his own views on Sunderland AFC, I doubt that he could have imagined how many legs this thing would have grown over the years, but we of course thank him for having the vision to gift the fans of this great club with such a vital resource for the expression of fan opinion. I’m forever grateful to him for that, and having been the custodian of this here vessel for the last eleven years or so, I’m aware of the privilege it affords me. Getting to chat each day about my team, particularly at the moment, is an absolute joy.

Anyways, that’s enough of the fluff. Back to the here and now. SUNDERLAND. Ah, Sunderland. For much of my time as the editor of Roker Report and an on/off host of our Podcast you’ve been absolutely SHITE and brought me nowt but misery, but at the minute… it’s fun. It’s delightful. I bloody love supporting this club right now.

What a team we’ve got. It’s just a privilege to sit and watch them at times, I think. Granit Xhaka is almost too perfect for Sunderland… if you could design a prototype for what a Sunderland captain should be, it’d be him. Fearless, aggressive, elite in every single aspect of his game and his lifestyle. If only he were five years younger… he’s just immense. O’Nien, Sadiki, Le Fée, Roefs, Ballard, Hume, Mukiele, Reinildo, Brobbey, Isidor, Rigg… I could go on and on, but I love them all. They’re just mint.