saintstowin

I'm going to suggest that 200 pages is enough and we move into rebuilding mode. Saying this partly for my own sanity. I keep trying to stay away but can't. Good luck everyone and so sorry it came to this. We will have a team to support next season and when we score that first goal it'll feel much better.

But are we still on an unbeaten run?

I imagine if we'd lost the semi final that the punishment would have been points and fine. And if we hadn't done it in the play offs against a then disgruntled opponent it would have been similar. So the consequences are directly linked to the timing and the attention. I doubt that's enough of an appeal.

My level of upset at the club is related to the level of punishment, it's hard not to connect the two. If we'd done what we did, got found guilty, but just points deducted, it would all feel different. I have no idea what that means, I'm pretty shocked. I'm not saying it's ok but we've definitely been utterly hammered due to the prize and the timing. And I suppose that goes for everyone outside of Saints too. There's a lot of 'they deserve it look how bad it was'. But that's mainly because we've had the book thrown at us and it helps others feel like football is fighting back against cheating. Which it really isn't. The horrible thing is that we've just got to take it. And what happens next feels so negative right now.

Could only be bettered by another later in the week....'with less than 72 hours until kick off see how training is shaping up....'

The error thing isn't unusual. I've got that in the past (and today) and then when seats go on sale I've been able to click on the buy tickets link and it has remembered I was in the queue and allowed me to buy tickets. However this probably isn't consistent and foolproof. It's what I'm doing today but I could be at the back of the queue come 130.

I think the government need to get involved, the lost work hours to this thread alone could fund re-starting HS2.

5 Live earlier. 4 pundits each with differing views and from what they said contrasting levels of understanding and amount of thought given to it. Perfectly encapsulated the complicated nature of all this. Presenter a Middlesbrough fan and kept well out of it. It's been a long weekend.

Oh, I thought that was a suggestion rather than a done deal. I would accept this.🙂

I hope we wear yellow. I've never liked the change of shorts to white or red when we've done that occasionally to avoid a shorts clash.

210 minutes!

The last bit sounds like Ryan Manning.... Bungle is known for being very inquisitive. This means he loves to ask questions and learn new things. However, he is also quite clumsy, which often leads to funny situations.

Bungle is quite insightful, bit of an over thinker possibly, but I trust his views as well thought through and mature.

Just had my first look, maybe my only, there's not a lot of sense there. I get the anger, plus it's a football forum so you can multiply that many times over. But the delusion. Saying that our win at Coventry is likely down to similar shenanigans because Coventry had such a good home record, and then someone else posting a list of their results to back it up. It then becomes fact, for them. Strange people.

It's a good point mentioned about thinking ahead to when it happens again - and we all know it does happen and with more attention will likely come up in the future, hopefully not us doing it. Because the fact it's connected with a play off game shouldn't mean the punishment is escalated, compared to a league fixture. And the EFL should be thinking carefully about not setting a very dangerous precedent. If it was a league fixture you could argue they may award the game to the other team. But much more likely the guilty party receives a fine/points deduction, because it would be a stretch to give points to a team based on a scenario with no certain impact on the result of the game between them. Other teams could rightly be upset as they are drawn into it because another team is given free points. Far easier for future cases is just to punish the guilty. And that's when the EFL needs to think carefully. Because, one thing that definitely doesn't happen in a league scenario is the guilty being kicked out of the league, or told they can't be promoted that season. It's not proportional. And in effect that's what the outcome would be if we're not allowed to play the final or kicked out after we've won it. This is alongside all the hopefully sensible EFL thinking about what a mess it would be if we challenge a disproportionate outcome.

Hooray! And not just because we finally made it home. What a wonderful night. Too tense for words at times. When that winner went in, that's what we go to football for. A proper team effort. Some standout performances, but when the opposition are strong and it's not quite firing in attacking terms you need everyone. And we had a team out there tonight. Still don't know who was playing where at times in midfield. Not a criticism, it was clearly a plan. And it worked.

It's a tough game. When we played well on Saturday, albeit briefly, we caused them difficulties. My hope of victory is based on us having lots more moments like we did and our quality winning it for us. But I fully expect them to play well and the typical football outcome will be they'll score with far fewer chances than the first leg. But we can score more.

I can't believe we're not focusing on the worst thing about all this and that's yet another example of wrongly adding the word 'gate' to signify a scandal. Watergate was the name of a complex of buildings, and importantly an entire and single word used to signify that particular scandal. And therefore what has followed over the years is a travesty. I can't believe Saints have been drawn into this. I never thought it would happen to us. But feel free to call it spywatergate.

I think we'll just have to put up with pundits who thrive on the vibe of the game is sacred and let's hammer someone who may have ruined it. Even though it's tainted most weeks and exists on imbalance. There's so much air to fill we will hear all kinds of bizarre opinions. It's our fault we have to withstand all the rubbish, sadly. The Middlesbrough noise post match about them setting up so differently every game and therefore this affects them so deeply (because we may have seen ahead of time their latest amazing unique plan) is very odd, and I get a sense their anger isn't doing them any favours as they prepare for the 2nd leg.

I believe that was a game of 2 halves.

That's the worst half in many a month. Should be several nil. We look scared and feeble. Standing off them is presumably a tactic but if you're not engaging them at any point it becomes terrible. And nothing to take the pressure off because we've been so bad with the ball. I hope it gets better.

This is very frustrating. So stupid. And it does taint us even though everyone, including rivals, knows it has little impact on gaining an unfair advantage. Which is part of the stupidity. Not that I wanted us to cheat, but to go through all this for a rubbish few minutes of a training session. I do worry about punishment affecting the play offs but the only one I can see is being kicked out after getting to Wembley and Middlesbrough being reinstated. But that is fraught with complications including appeals and delaying the final. It is unlikely. The more likely is a fine, points deduction and a length of time being thought of us stupid. Which we are. Very.

Alongside the expected angry comments the one that says the only way to deal with this properly is to award Ipswich a penalty made me chuckle.

That was me once or twice but I realised it slowed me down, cost me loads and my employers brought in random drug testing so I knocked it on the head. Should make him easier to mark.

It's an unpredictable system again, for me. Initial queue before 1230 but kicked me out. Tried logging in, logging out etc. Then the game disappeared from the website completely. Then reappeared and allowed me in with no queue (maybe the system recognised me as in the queue from earlier) and tickets got - for home match. Good luck all.