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Dear Roker Report,
Monday night…wow! I witnessed the goal of the season.
My seat is in L6 of the Stadium of Light, right behind from where Chemsdine Talbi struck his wonder goal.
The moment it left his foot, you knew it was going in — “postage stamp”.
The best compliment I can give that goal is no goalkeeper in the world would’ve saved it or even laid a glove on it. It was that good.
Mark
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Mark. Thank you for your letter.
It was some goal from Talbi against Burnley, wasn’t it?
I loved the confidence he displayed
in order to shoot from that distance and that he was able to produce the skill to make it work. A wonderful solo strike and another reminder of the huge talent possessed by the nimble and elusive Moroccan winger.
Hopefully there are one or two more of those moments to come before the end of the season!
Dear Roker Report,
I can’t understand the upset and anger directed towards the club for allowing the players who did so well in League One and the Championship to move on.
Players who’ve been on the long journey through the academy will be remembered with great affection and will always be held in the highest regard by true Sunderland supporters — and I’d also extend that gratitude to others who’ve made important contributions in our slow climb back to the top.
There are too many to name but every supporter will have their own list of favourites.
I know I have mine and Corry Evans is one, but if these lads can’t get into the team, it’s because the team is better, stronger and more skilful. We’re now a Premier League side with Premier League class-players, and miles better now simply because we have far better players.
We’re on the first rung of a steep climb to the top so it’s early days but I’ll tell anyone who’ll listen that I look forward to the day when none of the first-team squad playing now are good enough for our team, as if that ever happens, it would mean we really are at the top of the tree.
So again, thank you to all the lads we’ve let go.
You’ve all played your part in our slow upward ascent and we’ll always remember how you played your part in our story. Good luck with your careers. I know most will be successful and again, thanks for the memories.
Gerald Kearney
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Gerald. Thank you for getting in touch.
In my view, the departures of local lads such as Anthony Patterson and Dan Neil was a great example of the need to balance ruthlessness with opportunity, and these are the tough decisions that’ll have to be made in order to ensure this club continues to progress over the coming seasons.
As a fan of both players — as well as Patrick Roberts, who’s moved to Birmingham City — it did feel like the end of a chapter but on the other hand, they’re going to be playing regular football and at this stage of their career, that’s absolutely vital.
Football can be a tough sport and we’ve seen that in the past week, but hopefully these decisions will be vindicated in time.
Dear Roker Report,
As sad as it was to see Dan Neil depart the club, we have to be brutally honest as to why the decision was made.
I take nothing whatsoever away from the great service he gave to the club or how much Sunderland meant to him, but we do have to look at how things are in the real football world and the truth is that the lad would go “missing” too many times during games — and Jobe Bellingham was the same.
We could all see the potential in both these players but in the Premier League, potential alone is just not enough.
I remember watching Neil and I used to scream as he was just ineffective at times and seemed to be going through the motions. Don’t get me wrong: when he was on song, he was excellent, but being excellent at Championship level on occasion doesn’t equate to being established in the Premier League.
On saying that, I would love the lad to step up a gear.
You never know — being away at a new setup might just bring out that extra 10% that’s needed from him and he might yet come back to us all guns blazing. I genuinely do hope so, as it’s extremely rare these days to have a player who’s willing to stay with the one club for his entire career.
So, good luck Dan. Please prove people such as me wrong, and I’ll be pleased to gorge on huge dollops of humble pie.
Peter Milton
Ed’s Note [Phil]: Hi, Peter. Thank you for your letter.
I’ve heard this argument a lot when it comes to the Sunderland careers of Dan Neil and Jobe, and I have to respectfully disagree wholeheartedly.
The idea that Neil would “go missing” in games never stacked up to me. Fundamentally, I’ve always believed that to a point, it’s not actually a bad thing when midfielders simply get on with their jobs, give their all and keep things ticking over. Neil did that on so many occasions — and often in a position that was unnatural to him, as we saw during the 2024/2025 season.
Time will tell how his career pans out from here but Ipswich have signed a very, very capable Championship midfielder and if they’re to win promotion at the end of the season, I wouldn’t be surprised if Neil plays a major role along the way.
