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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The lads got together to chew the fat about our win against Stoke on Saturday and all the mayhem surrounding the club as we approach the end of the January window! Apples, pears, Pritchards and cockney stuff. Bosh.What's the crack? WE WON. Doesn't that feel a bit better? Well played Mason; Young Burstow had one of his best performances, if not the best so far, in a Sunderland shirt. Congratulations to the lad for getting his first goal for the club! Alex Pritchard apparently plain refused to pull on his shirt this weekend. The lads debate how reasonable this is given his seniority and responsibilities and judge the fan reaction they've seen so far to the news. ABDOULLAH! The lad comes good again! Take a bow; Pierre Ekwah found the net again also! What did we make of the performance overall - does it look like we're starting to see any significant changes? How are Gav and Martin (who had no strong feelings on Michael Beale's arrival) feeling about the microanalysis of pressers and interviews; Beale got in trouble for calling out personal insults (when asked about them) and got himself in more bother trying to explain what he meant. Could he have handled that a bit better? Did the following wave of clickbait bullshit from impossible to navigate sites built by Satan's minions help matters? Would the Alex Neil approach to journalists work better for him or should he ask the group what their favourite chocolates are? RAWA meeting minutes and Speakman speaks; so did we learn anything new? How we feeling about the approaching end of the window? Nervous? Relaxed? Wanting a signing or three? All this and more! Ha'way the Lads!#SAFC #EFLChampionship #EFL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It all went wrong for the Lads at the Stadium of Light last night so our Gav and Martin got together to try work through their emotions.. What's the crack? We didn't score. This is still an issue, surprisingly. Why aren't we trying something different? Is Beale doing enough to hold off the baying mob? Where exactly do the hierarchy go from here with two seemingly strongly held positions becoming more and more clearly defined in fan discourse and disputes over the direction and decision making from Kyril, the board and Speakman. With two horrible looking games on paper coming up... what do we do? Will they actually sack a manager after 7 games or will they double down on it? All this and more! #SAFC #EFLChampionship #EFL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So for part two of our return to pod action in the New Year, we resume normal service as Gav and Martin react to our loss to Ipswich on Saturday and give some further thoughts on the January transfer window! What's the crack? So we might need a striker aye; Could we have taken at least a point from that game? Martin shares his worries about the state of play currently at the club; Should we actually go for the experience Tony wanted? Would it make a difference to Beale if he's always one game away from the noose? What can Beale do at this point this early on to change hearts and minds? Is it actually possible for some of the fan base to forgive him for… Rangers? Some more discussion about individual errors and how sick we are of discussing them; It could be a long couple of months. All this and more! Ha'way the Lads! #SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aye we didn't exactly escape anything these first two weeks of 2024, but having upgraded a few things (and taking a bit of time to haul ourselves back on the wagon for another year) we are in fact back to a more settled schedule; Kicking off with a double bill of podcasting chaos as Gav and Chris got together first - prior to Ipswich - to answer listener questions about pretty much everything that's happened since we last recorded! What's the crack? The Mags game... did we set up properly? What did we make of the performance?The SO37 display and the treatment of the volunteers online; The Ownership - some people aren't happy… The Black Cats bar fiasco - whose fault was it, and what's going to happen next? Is anything going to happen? The Transfer Window - who should we sign, who needs to leave... and will Jack Clarke go anywhere? Michael Beale - what do we make of the job done so far?The Future - what will be seen as success this season?All of this and more! Ha'way the Lads! #SAFC #EFLChampionship #EFL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While we’ve been enjoying a few too many Baileys, mince pies and turkey, the Lads have been on the road — join Gav & Martin as they chat all about it and look ahead to the Preston game! What’s the crack?Sunderland drew at Rotherham in what was a flat performance, so what did the lads think of what they saw?Weird team selection at the start seemed to make it hard for us to break them down, so what did we do to turn the game back in our favour nearer the end? Is four points from two away games a good return all things considered?⁠Martin’s not a fan of Ba or Burstow, but what should we do with them both going forward? How much of the recent performances can be attributed to Michael Beale? ⁠Given all he’s learned about the team, how should he approach the Preston game — and will he start a striker up front? All this and much more. Happy New Year!*Recorded at some point in the last 24 hours aye. Been busy hew. Ha'way the Lads!#EFL #EFLChampionship #SAFC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sunderland were left embarrassed by Coventry at the SoL in Michael Beale's first game in charge - Gav and Martin were there and react to everything that happened. What went wrong? We're about to find out...What's the festive crack? Well, that was tough - so what went wrong? Ba's performance left a lot to be desired, but he didn't deserve the boos in Gav's opinion. The atmosphere in the ground was... strange. Why couldn't Sunderland convert dominance into goals (again)Sunderland's defending was crap and it needs fixing ASAP but could it be helped by the attackers not randomly losing the ball after running into a dead end? Who knows. Will Beale/Dodds use this performance to change things up at Hull? All this and more! A Merry Christmas to one and all…#SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having fun out there? Join us as Gav and Chris look ahead (rapidly) to Michael Beale's first game in charge of the Lads at the SoL - with our old rivals Coventry standing in our way of an important three points - and us all running around currently like headless chickens, fighting random strangers in Christmas jumpers.. What's the crack? Coventry are always a tough opponent for Sunderland, so how much attention should we pay to their league position? After losing some good players, are they the same force as they were last season? Some interesting stats on this one, and all things point to a draw... What did the lads make of Beale & Speakman's presser? Gav was at the U21s game on Monday and reports back on how all the first teamers played... Cards on the table - are we gonna win or what? All this and more. Ha'way the Lads! #SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gav and Chris got together to completely ignore the shite performance at Bristol City and instead talk about the news that Sunderland have hired former Rangers boss Michael Beale as their new head coach!What's the crack?Well, Michael Beale is here - so what do the lads make of it?How much stock should we place into what happened to him at Rangers?Has the reaction, particularly online, been fair? Chris allows his seething hatred of social media to resurface.What are the logical reasons for the appointment?Will there be any honeymoon period, or does he have to hit the ground running?What's the difference between a head coach and a manager, and why is it relevant?All of this and more - Back soon!#SAFC #EFLChampionship #EFL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Gavin and Chris return to react to a tactical masterclass from the legend that is Doddseh - as Sunderland beat Leeds by a goal to nil at the Stadium of Light last night! Other titles considered:On a mission from DoddsDoddsBall: The SequelNectar of the DoddsDodds Day SunriseWho let the Dodds outLive or let DoddsDodds, take the wheelIn Dodds we trustAll this and Mike fucking Dodds! Ha'way the Lads!#SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sunderland won a game of football with Mike Dodds in charge, and we're here to react to it! Join Gav & Chris as they mull over a pleasing performance, chat about the departure of Tony Mowbray and look ahead to Leeds tomorrow...What's the crack?Well, it's been a bit of a week, hasn't it? Chris catches us up on his thoughts on Mogga's sacking;Back to basics in many ways - and it worked!Jobe up front - what do we think about that?How much credit does Mike Dodds deserve?Potential red cards, a blatantly onside offside goal, dodgy free kicks and more - it was another day to forget for the EFL officials;Expectations vs reality - what's going to happen when we play Leeds? All this and more! Ha'way the Lads! #SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Mowbray was relieved of his duties by Sunderland AFC very late last night (just a few hours ago aye) so our Gav and Martin convened an emergency recording session to give their initial thoughts on the news! What's the crack? "Argh ye killed me other pod, man" and other tales.Was it the right call to axe Tony? Was the writing on the wall after his post-match comments?Do you think we’ve got anyone lined up? A European maybe? A bald Austrian or something? What do we make of what Speakman & KLD had to say? Where do things go from here? Besides of course waiting for the new coach to be announced so we can record another podcast. Just... Aye. Good morning btw.#SAFC #EFL #EFLChampionship #TonyMowbray Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.