Roker Ramble: The ex-Newcastle forward that is scared of drag queens... and the return of STID!

STID is back...

Oh.... great?

I’m not sure what it is about this series that gets my back up. Maybe it’s because they never replied when I sent my CV to them a number of years ago.

Or maybe because the series was edited in such a sloppy, haphazard way, they were lucky Ofcom didn’t take an interest. Bluntly it contained more inaccuracies than Amanda Staveley’s defence of the Saudi regime.

Different stadiums used for cutaways, players appearing in footage before they signed (Ejaria), the Sky Sports News reporter on Martin Bain’s radio in the car despite the fact he doesn’t do radio.

Misleading, inaccurate, poor.

Really though what annoyed me the most about the first two series was the fact that Sunderland were the butt of the joke. People were laughing at us, not with us and that stung.

Yes, it might have got the club the sympathy vote from many - and bought in a new legion of fans from across the world, but what is really worth it?

The news that a third season is on its way is not a massive source of joy. However, at least we know how this one ends - in success, so maybe things will be different.

However if I see a cutaway of Simon Grayson at Carrow Road, I’ll blow a bloody gasket.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

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Gavin Peacock

When Gavin Peacock shuffles off this mortal coil, and the time has come to put some well chosen words on his gravestone, I would suggest the following: Here lies Gavin Peacock. Footballer. Pastor. Balloon.

If you don’t remember him, he is the ex-Newcastle and Chelsea footballer-turned-God-botherer who has emigrated to Canada to espouse what you might describe as semi-regular lunacy.

Why lunacy I hear you ask? Well, it’s just some of his views aren’t so much from the dark ages, more like all of our houses just after the energy prices went through the roof. He’s made headlines over the years for espousing assorted shades of shite about how women should be subservient to men; many of you might call it the “traditional” view, but I just call it misogyny.

Photo by Danny Brannigan/Hulton Archive

His latest digital diarrhoea hasn’t really made the press because no one engages with him really. A bit like a slightly more visible Katie Hopkins, simply because he remains unbanned on social media.

Also, one of my mates follows him on Twitter and pinged this Tweet my way:

We are a fatherless society. Therefore we are a vulnerable society.

Alright start I suppose, everyone needs Dads don’t they? Maybe stop th... oh.

Fathers protect children from the harm of puberty blockers, drag queens & MAPs (Minor Attracted Persons).

Yes, yes, we’re all thinking it - there’s another word for minor attracted persons: paedophiles. And why drag (no pun intended) the poor queens into this? What have they ever done to you? I humbly suggest you’ve never been on a real night out until you’ve been in a nightclub when there’s a drag queen on the decks.

Plus mixing the two together is a real dick move, equating them together and propagating the myth. Peacock needs to be called out for what he is: a pillock.

Happily though, it reminded me of the time William Salyers, an IT consultant of all things, was asked what he thought about children mixing with drag queens at school. His response went viral:

I’m against drag queens being exposed to children. A lot could go wrong.

Nails could be broken, wigs pulled off. Someone could be knocked off her heels.

Children are wild, irrational and unpredictable, and their characters are still in the formative stages. Someone fabulous could get hurt.

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EFL consider scrapping Saturday afternoon blackout

Interesting thought this one, with the EFL considering ending the 3pm blackout of matches when a new TV deal is negotiated.

The new deal comes into being in the 2024-25 season and the league’s authorities have said they want an innovative approach to it - including bringing an end to a rule which has been in force since the 1960s.

Of course the rationale is a relatively solid one - protect the integrity of the traditional kick off time in the country.

Photo by Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

However this could be about to end - and it could mean matches streaming on services such as Netflix. Great news when you’re away from home and would like a match to watch.

Bad news if you’re a, for example, lower league club that relies on scooping up those who just want a match to go to.

Gateshead are probably a good example of this, though I offer no evidence for this.

You do wonder what effect it has on the attendance when Sunderland have a match on TV.

Have you done any research? Let us know in the comments box below.

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News In Brief

• Maradona’s hand of God ball is expected to sell for £2.5m-£3m when it goes on auction next month. The ball, incredibly, is currently owned by the referee of the match, Ali Bin Nasser.
• Hilarious scenes in Wigan last weekend as the goals were reported to be two inches too high, with the game being stopped for a number of minutes to check. Rumours are Max Power was the culprit after he put that one just over the bar against Lincoln.