OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint

So Hearts players have to run for cover while a pitch invasion tales place and leave the stadium straightaway. Police attacked while attending a medical emergency. What will be Celtic's censure? Sacrifice of title or a quick rap on the knuckles? Integrity of football? Look around you, Gibson. Boro should be fined for wasting so many people's time.

It looks at this stage (before it goes on sale to members) that more tickets have been sold for this game than for the FA Cup semi final. Who gets all the middle tier tickets? Are these corporates?

Even if we admit everything, it's got to come back to this. The crime is minimal. Boro know it's minimal. That's why Gibson changed tack from saying their plans were spoilt by this super spy to saying he's defending the integrity of football. It's all bollocks. I just hope the independent panel can see through this nonsense and, equally important, award a minimal penalty which they know won't do down well with the vultures in the media.

Ah, I see. The panel has already met and is hearing evidence from both sides now. While I respect seasoned forum writers Lord Duck & AlexLaw, I still think reason will prevail and this panel will consider what impact an guy with an iphone can have and come to the conclusion that it's not much if anything at all.

I'm not a lawyer but I am seeing bully boy tactics and a one sided argument being presented in the media which needs to be tamed.

This is the thing. While I totally agree we don't do "This is the case for the defence m'lud" in public statements, if I were in Dragan's shoes, I would be asking our lawyers whether we should make a public announcement that as a club we are deeply concerned at the way Middlesboro is trying to manipulate the media and influence the judgement of an independent panel. All my colleagues not connected to Southampton can't believe a young lad with an iPhone has caused such media hype. OK, many are Chelsea and Arsenal season ticket holders so probably don't want their own activities too closely monitored, but I am convinced common sense will prevail and we'll be given a fine.

And should be subject to sanction. The EFL needs to remind Middlesbrough that there's a difference between making a complaint and trying to influence an impartial panel which should be stamped on straightaway. Something isn't right. Maybe the Saints hierarchy are keeping quiet and letting Middlesbrough make fools of themselves because they know something we don't.

There's one thing that doesn't sit right with me. Maybe I am overestimating the intellect of SFC employees, but what I don't understand is how an SFC employee could possibly tell an intern to go to Middlesbrough, take his phone and live stream the Middlesbrough training session knowing that a) Leeds had previously been fined for doing just that and b) that it was blatantly breaking the rules. Because that is such crass stupidity, you've got to ask is there some ulterior motive that we're missing? Maybe this is just conspiracy theory talk but I would be looking at who gave these orders. It wasn't one of the ex Middlesbrough staff we've got on our books, was it? A double agent??

Hope so, but these things have a habit of gaining momemtum of their own. The EFL saying "supporters should be aware that the outcome of disciplinary proceeding may yet result in changes to the fixture" is an example that this is not sorted and they are keeping all the options open.

Right, I've just wiped out my Betfair account laying Middlesbrough at 7.2 to get promoted because that ain't happening. Now we need to knock some reality sense in to those making the decisions. SFC have gone on the silence and let's delay proceedings and hope everything blows over tactic but surely we have our own media team that can present a more balanced reasoning to everyone out there. I sense there's a general feeling among neutrals that the tide is moving towards this is a mountain made out of a molehill and we need to fuel this feeling.

Quick. Get Tonda on TV crying how hard he's worked for Saints last 20 games and how he misses his family....

Exactly. Was there any discernable change in our formation from the last 15 games under Tonda? No. Did Middlesboro do anything different from their last 15 games which are freely available to watch? Doubt it. Add to that the way they were all over us in the first 45 minutes at Middlesboro and it is obvious we gained no advantage. I trust EFL and those studying this treacherous misdemonour will have the common sense to realise this is media hype getting out of hand and put an end to this nonsense soon. And I am laying at those 4/1 odds...

As someone else has said, think it's to do with the rail links and the more southern team gets the west side. That suits fine. Half the Man City crowd couldn't see a thing with the sun in their faces.

Cundy made the point that taking your shirt off after scoring a goal is breaking the rules but it's not cheating. As mentioned before, watching a team train from a public place is breaking the rules but not cheating. There needs to be a reality check. What did we gain from all this? Judging by the first half at the Riverside, the answer is nothing. Media hype is making this sound more than it is. Yes it's an embarrassment. My guess is we'll be fined. £200k is the precedent, so reckon it'll be more like £1m this time. Any more than that and counter sue.

Since going to a back four, he has been brilliant. Commands the central defence and unlike Wood (who treats the ball like a hot potato and passes sideways all the time), THB has gone from long floaty passes forwards to being instrumental in starting some of our best moves either through defence splitting fast passes or by moving the ball down the wing really quickly. He's apparently on £400k per year. When you've got Archer, McCarthy, Azaz on £2m+ a year, this lad needs looking after.

Hull beating Millwall was the best result for us not just because I fancy our chances more against Hull but that really match really was a warning to not underestimate any opposition just because we're now playing the home leg.

Succinctly put Disconnect. We've bought a few players off Man City. Buy a couple of their lawyers and they'll soon put this nonsense to bed. Diving to get a penalty is cheating. Deliberately obstructing a player/goalkeeper from getting to a ball is cheating and much more likely to affect a game than someone watching a team practice. And since when has watching become a crime. If they want to train out in the open, then that's their lookout, but don't start squealing if someone takes a video and don't make it sound so precious. Every time a commentator says "and that has come straight from the training ground," I think yeah right! Anyway, we've already got 46 games to work out their style of play plus an ex Boro player and trainers.

Totally agree. They're not going to do that nor will they give us a points deduction. There's precedent. If proven, like Leeds, we will be given a fine. Take a leaf out of the Ruskies' books. The golden rule of spying is when caught deny everything. And even when there is irrefutable evidence (remembering the novichok Salisbury case), still deny everything and spread misinformation and doubt. That first half display yesterday was proof in itself we weren't spying on them!

So what's daughter saying:- "Mum, you're an embarrassment" or "Mum, don't bring your work to the game." Loved that's she's dressed in white to really make a tit of herself.

He was the weak link in that back four yesterday. There's a difference between sitting back and trying to catch them on the break and being swamped like we were yesterday in the first half and we got lucky. Got to have outlets and got to have people who can clear to those outlets and Wood doesn't do that. Agree with comments that on their days these are the two best teams in the playoffs. It will be a lot more balanced at St Marys and I'm not expecting a walkover by any means.

Yes. Weren't Leeds charging £48 per ticket two years ago? Lots of confidence among Saintswebers. Personally, I am concerned about us being too complacent. Yes, we are probably favourites to beat Boro over two legs but we got thumped in January when Tonda was in charge and that team was practically the same as the one we'll put out on Saturday (other than Baz was in goal, and that twat Armstrong was leading the line). Hoping we impose our superiority early and go after them. If we do, we can do a Wrexham & Charlton on them.

I have found I can record the game once the match is on Red Button is working but if you try recording in advance you get the pre-scheduled game - which looks like Ipswich. Would have thought it should have been Wrexham

It is slightly odd in that he's playing a strong team and the players I would consider most prone to injury (Scienza, Stewart, Wellington) are all playing - so he's not resting players for this team. But what's Charles doing going in for Bree? Is it a change of formation? Surely not when he's found a winning set up.

I like this summary. Made me realise just how effective his departures have been. As I see it, the big change has come when the club realised it needed a proper goalkeeper and it needed a solid centre forward. If Spors is the person who realised this and understood he'd dropped a clanger with Downs and directed the change, then good on him. I was at Tonda's first game in charge at Loftus Road when the players went around congratulating each other almost in disbelief that they'd held on for a win. Now you see a winning team oozing confidence. Maybe Spors had already given us many of the players; it just needed a manager to bring the best out them.

It started with Spurs and now everyone seems to have nicked our Oh when the Saints song. Derby did oh when the rams, Ipswich were singing oh when the something and while it's a bit irritating, it adds to the atmosphere when the whole stadium is singing the same tune ... albeit with different words.