ROKER ROUNDUP: Watch as Sunderland star Bryan Oviedo scores an own goal on international duty

Sunderland Foodbank a huge success

Sunderland Foodbank and the supporters group Red And White Army teamed up at the Fanzone before the game against Fleetwood Town at the weekend and were inundated with donations of food and toiletries.

The volunteers had their work cut out for them as more than a tonne of food was donated by Sunderland AFC fans and the co-ordinator of the Sunderland Foodbank Kate Townsend was overwhelmed with the generosity shown:

We’re overwhelmed by the generosity of Sunderland supporters. Since we partnered with RAWA we’ve received over a tonne of food and £1,800 in cash donations. Crucially, it’s helped to raise awareness within the football community about the sad reality that results in the need for foodbanks in the first place.

A number of the club’s under-18 and under-23s, as well as Max Power, Max Stryjek and Donald Love, all showed up to lend a hand and Academy manager Paul Reid said that the scheme helps a vital part of the development strategy at the Academy of Light:

A key part of our development strategy is educating the players about the realities of the community they represent. Young players can be caught in a bubble where all they see is the Academy and a team of staff supporting them, that’s not the real world. We want to instil some humility.

This isn’t thinking less of themselves, it’s about thinking of themselves less. Helping with the foodbank project is a win, win. It educates the players and hopefully adds value to the initiative. The goal is to create well rounded players who appreciate the position they’re in and use that elevated status to help others.

The Players and Coaches have really taken this onboard and will continue to be involved in local community schemes.

Although the scheme at the Fanzone was a big success, more donations are always needed. You can still donate at the Foodstore in Hendon and you can check HERE for which items they are currently urgently in need of.

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Lawrence on Sunderland departure

Roy Keane has been in the news this week after it emerged that he had foul mouthed bust-ups with Irish pair Harry Arter and Jon Walters.

Keane was reportedly unhappy with Arter being unavailable due to injury and had an argument with the Cardiff City midfielder while the player was undergoing treatment.

Former Sunderland winger Liam Lawrence appeared on Sky Sports News yesterday to talk about the situation and gave details on how a similar scenario ended up with Lawrence signing for Stoke City:

We had a training ground bust-up on the Thursday, and by the Friday I was on my way down to Stoke. I suffered some of those words that he is using there as well, but about 20 more times!

So I know what it’s like to be on the back of his tongue. But yeah, I literally left the next day and was never seen there again.

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Gyan on the move?

Asamoah Gyan’s nomadic career is set to continue, with the former Sunderland striker unhappy with his lack of playing time at Turkish club Kayserispor.

The 32-year-old only has 25 minutes of first team action under his belt this season, a substitute appearance against Yeni Malatyaspor back in August, that has led the Ghanian international to consider his options.

According to his local manager Sammy Anim-Addo, Gyan is having problems with Kayserispor’s head coach Ertugrul Saglam:

Asamoah Gyan is currently having problems with his coach. Don’t be surprised if he moves in the January transfer window.

Gyan is fit and he hasn’t been experiencing injuries of late because he had a very good therapy during pre-season.

In his last match he played about 25 minutes for his team.

Photo by Clint Hughes/Getty Images

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Oviedo scores own goal

Bryan Oviedo was on international duty yesterday as Costa Rica took on Japan in Osaka.

The left-back started the game but scored an own goal after just 16 minutes as the hosts ran out 3-0 winners. That was Costa Rica’s second defeat in Asia in less than a week after they went down 2-0 to South Korea on Friday.

Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images