James G

Oh yeah, the goalkeeper formerly known as Prince Charles

I misread that as Prince Charles 😆

Another thought is that if the FA ban him, we won't owe him any compensation as he'll be in breach of contract. If they don't ban him, then he might stay

I think keep him if we can, it's just the FA I think throw a curveball and have all training sessions open next year for all intern analysts. It's culturally acceptable and educational everywhere else. That'll mess with the spying laws

I like Murphy the Cardiff manager. He's statistical and positional like Tonda. I have a funny feeling it'll be Lallana

I think time has added some context to the whole Spygate drama First, there's been some articles about 'spying' in Germany where it's not a thing. Analysts are actively encouraged to watch opponents train, so it's very different over there. So some of this has been down to cultural differences. I think we've picked up that this goes on here, but it's under the radar and overlooked. Tonda maybe knew of the cultural differences but maybe not the laws of the game I think releasing the picture of Will Salt was in very bad taste given Tonda was behind it all. It has publicly shamed a man who was sent to do a job that he wasn't quite sure about The spying law itself will never sit right. Because they look at the act and not the damage, it sits in an uncomfortable place. I would rather either go like Germany and let analysts in, or make clubs build fences. I think the law of two semi final winners should have been adhered to. Maybe bring Wrexham in, that needs looked at. There are so many things about Spygate that will never sit right, and I think the EFL made this difficult for themselves not giving more guidelines

It's an odd thing to do As much as we have spied and have been punished, from his perspective it's a strange thing to do. Trust is a massive thing for me when hiring people.

It was the result everyone wanted.

I read somewhere the FA thing can take up to 6 weeks

A slightly different take. I think what stands out for me is the lone wolf theory at the beginning. It was given to us, to Gibson and to the panel initially. Alot of what we were talking about was based off that theory. And it turns out in the report that it looks like an attempt to deceive everyone before the actual truth came out. It's really just that part that doesn't sit right

I agree I think clearing the decks provides that clean sheet feel we need just now, as brutal as is might be internally It also let's everyone move on

I suppose there's a human side to it all. Eckerts world has come crashing in and it probably feels like a pile on at the moment with the anger from all quarters, plus the FA gunning for him SR will have to sack him because he'll get banned. Maybe they are just giving it a bit of space and time

I suppose we say he will get a job abroad, but clubs abroad have now seen the gains of playing team who spy. So, it might not be as easy to get another job

Boro might become the first team to lose in the semi final and final of the playoffs in the same year

You can't spy on all the grounds, but there are some in the league I do think he spied more the 3 times, but not every week. But he looks like a serial spy, I think he's done it everywhere he's been I don't think for us the spying made a difference. I think just going to 4 at the back and having a big guy up front made more difference. And we got better because we got more confident

He's a Temu James Bond, as quoted somewhere The FA will come for him so there's no choice really

I just don't understand why Tonda didn't send someone who didn't work for Saints, like a bloke from the pub

According to X, it was this guy

I think that's the irony I'm not sure how much the spying helped. I still maintain that it wasn't done at every ground because you just can't do it at every ground. I think, in the main, for what the spying has cost us, it was just a crazy thing to do

Tonda Eckert, who is battling to hold on to his job amid an FA investigation into the conduct of individuals at the club, argued he did not realise what he did was against the EFL’s statues. That explains all the ai images earlier on

I think so We have been thrown out based on the rules, which is fine. But if we're going down that route, if Hull lose, they should definitely try and lodge an appeal.

Yeah, that was the other angle about Hull winning it outright The Guardian article also states that the independent panel watched our entire training sessions leading up to the Middlesbrough game showing we didn't use or gain anything from the spying. So we did beat them Unfortunately it's the act of spying regardless of it's impact that counted against us

From the Guardian "The EFL’s rulebook contains no reference to the process for replacing an expelled team, although its guidance notes state that the playoff final should be contested between two semi-final winners, which will not be the case on Saturday." which means if we are expelled then the team in 7th should come into play I wonder if Wrexham will go for a high court injunction to stop the final

The Middlesbrough manager says there is more to come out about this when the report comes out which will add context to the decision that was made

I think all teams have cheated in some way at some point. Even Boro themselves, over 100 years ago they had another Gibbo and they were involved in all sorts of nonsense, match fixing, stealing money, tax dodging. Far worse stuff than this There are no saints in football