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Oh when the Saints don’t go marching in…

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Southampton kicked out of the Championship Playoff Final (It’s the most lucrative match in the world, dontcha know…)

They have admitted to spying on at least 3 different teams training sessions, including their opponents in the semifinal who they subsequently beat , Middlesbrough.

They’re not really been a precident so it is big footie news tonight.

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Comments

  1. Saints will likely to start next season on -4 points too.
    Hull City go into the Final against Middlesbrough having finished 7 points behind and sneaking in on the last day over Wrexham.

    And Man City are losing so The Arse may be Champions this evening.

    • A win tonight and there’s a chance they sneak into Champions League next season – 18 years ago they were bottom of League 2 (after a 17 point deduction and only survived on the last day)

      • Sunday matches are Spurs v Everton and West Ham v Leeds.

        Spurs need 1 point to stay up.

        Everton have 6th best away form. Spurs have worst home form. Leeds have 3rd worst away form. Gives us Hammers a fighting chance. ⚒️

        It’s a funny old game Saint!

        • Leeds fan here – we’re on a great run of form at the moment, but I’m bloody glad our Premiership survival didn’t come down to this game – a few weeks ago me and my mates were convinced this match would decide who stayed up. Good luck Bamber – scant consolation I know, but the Championship is a great division – we like to visit it every couple of years.

      • I only wish. Having watched West Ham’s last three must win games, a tally of zero points is all we have. Even Look mum no computer got one bloody point on Saturday.

        • We actually played well in the Brentford and Arsenal games and after Taty came on against Newcastle. Leeds have been a bit of a bogey team but there’s still hope!

          Let’s hope Spurs are especially Spursy on Sunday and that we do our job to get the win. I’m quite enjoying the drama of this seasons relegation battle compared to the many I have endured previously.

    • I think pretty much all the major teams training sessions are now “closed” sessions, at least since John Hartson was filmed kicking Eyal Berkovic between the eyes, and security is much tighter. I’d say the bigger question was why Boro had such slack security.

      • I haven’t been to Rockcliffe Hall where Middlesbrough train though there is a public golf course and it’s easy to watch the training sessions.
        Wasn’t the spy caught because he payed for coffee with his credit card on site. Rockcliffe Hall is owned by Steve Gibson, Boro Chairman.

        • It seems he was seen on CCTV and by coaching staff who could see he was filming. From the picture I saw online he’s trying to hide behind a tiny tree whilst very obviously filming. He was identified from his picture on Southampton’s website. I heard on the radio that it’s fairly well signposted that the team training facility is private and that CCTV is in operation, something the chap in question must now regret not taking heed of.

          I used to know someone who worked at Chelsea’s facility in Cobham. She refused to spill the beans about John Terry and Wayne Bridge but said unauthorized visitors – fans, press, angry husbands, spies – were ejected from the place most days.

    • My understanding re Leeds is that, that rule didn’t exist until Bielsa spied on Derby. Leeds were fined (not in the spirit of the game) and they wrote not spying into law. Had the law existed then Bielsa wouldn’t have done it (presumably).
      I heard that Saints can appeal – but where does it leave their fans – and Boro’s? Do they risk buying tickets?

      • You are correct, Sir. Bielsa admitted doing it and admitted it happened all the time in other leagues he’d managed in. He went on to give a long presser in which he showed all the research he had done for his upcoming opponents, and even went as far as presenting the team sheet for the next match. He even paid the £200k fine himself. What a man.

        Southampton knew there was a rule against it and did it anyway. Foolish thing to do and if a rule is to have any meaning it needs to be enforced.

  8. Southampton ironically won none of the three games they admitted spying training beforehand but apparently a bunch of other teams said “How did they know we were playing three at the back? ” or “Why did none of our free-kick routines work?”
    Saying that, the penalty seems harsh – surely a 10 point penalty in whatever league they end up in?
    As for Bournemouth, I was based in Poole at the time when they looked like going bust. I persuaded my firm to donate £10,000 and received a 20 year season ticket in return. The ticket went in a shop floor raffle and I never actually attended a game (far too busy attending very, very important business meetings) but I like to think their current success is largely down to me.

    • They knowingly broke the rules in a knockout competition. Of course their opponent goes through instead.

      Points deduction would almost certainly guarantee relegation from the premier league and prevent automatic promotion from the championship. However, if they are not promoted, their parachute payment ends, they will have to sell players and manage on a lower budget. They would do well to get into the play offs. Promotion would restart the parachute clock.

  9. I wonder how many Boro players have had to be called back from holidays abroad? It’s not ideal at this level.

    While Southampton have rightly been punished, it seems to me that the individuals responsible for the decision to spy have got away lightly.

  10. Southampton appear to be hell bent on whinging their way to being the least loved team in English football. Complaining that they have missed out on loads of money is pretty disingenuous and disrespectful to Hull, who they would still have to beat. The punishment is quite straightforward. They have broken the rules of the competition (potentially, cunningly picking the three games to admit to that wouldn’t impact the standings of the competition) so they have been kicked out of the competition. It would be odd for somone who broke the regulations (this is different to a foul on the pitch) to be allowed to carry on in that competition. They have also been given a 4 point penalty for next season.

    As far as points deductions go, this is pretty minimal. I didn’t hear Southampton lobbying for leniency for Sheffield Wednesday, Luton, Leeds, Everton, Leicester or any others in the past who all had bigger points deductions.

    I feel sorry for the fans and the players (apart from Taylor Harewood-Bellend, who seems to living in a world of karma at the moment) who have not done anything wrong it seems. I am also feeling a little bit of sympathy for the intern who was sent out spying. Whilst he probably knew it was wrong (hence the hiding and running away in a disguise parts of the story), I imagine, as a young intern, he did not feel empowered to do anything other than as he was told by more senior people at the club. I would suspect the managers position is nigh on untenable as well.

  12. Strange karma … in 1997 Middlesbrough had 3 points deducted after a flu epidemic meant they couldn’t play a game.
    Their appeal was heard, but didnt get full support from all PL clubs. That deduction contributed to their relegation.
    One of the clubs voting to uphold the penalty … Southampton.

  13. On the Oxford Utd fan forums there is general amusement given that we were one of the spied-upon clubs (for a match which we won). Unsurprisingly you can also find the odd argument that instant relegation would be appropriate, which conveniently would allow us to stay in the Championship.

    • The EFL have been consistent though with reinstatement to losers who have had regulations broken against them. This was what they did to Swindon earlier this season.

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