Dan Johnson

I think the situation is more complex to be honest. Although Tonda has been heavily implicated and involved, we're still unaware of when the practice of spying on other teams began and ultimately who is the main implementor of the practice. If the spying precedes Tonda and happened under Multiple previous managers and implemented at the sporting director level, then it becomes very difficult, legally, to sack Tonda on charges of gross misconduct if it was an intuitional problem, maybe it was forced on Tonda from a higher level? We see this in gross misconduct cases all the time, where an employee has been fired but then opens a counter claim against the organization where they explain their actions were in line with the systemic problems throughout that organization and that their being made a scape goat. I think the longer it goes on without personnel leaving or being fired probably indicates that the spying has gone on pre-Tonda and is much more deep rooted than we think, it doesn't mean he wont eventually leave, but it hopefully means we're ensuring their is no come back when we do eventually get rid of him. That may mean we have to wait for the robust internal investigation to be completed.

Reputation matters here. I think we need someone with huge sporting integrity, a Gerrard\Parker, to win over players, fans and any potential signings. Some obscure coach that no ones ever heard of wont cut it in this situation in my opinion.

Full statement here if anyone is looking for it https://www.efl.com/news/2026/may/21/efl-statement--written-reasons-relating-to-southampton-fc/ There's a link on that page that brings you to a pdf https://images.gc.eflservices.co.uk/0a0e87d0-5538-11f1-ab88-f930a57d19ce.pdf

Until we get the facts, we have to reserve judgement. Although there are whisperings and rumors that he's been involved, we still don't have definitive proof, until we get that we cant be reactive. The facts will determine the outcome, if he is involved he will be sacked or made to leave, that is inevitable as his position will be utterly untenable, regardless of feelings within the football club. I'd be gutted for the young man if so, he's obviously extremely talented and he's the first manager in a long time that has the universal backing of all the fans, which has gone a long long way to our on pitch recovery and performance.

I think losing in the final vs not playing in the final are two different things.

I disagree, I think the punishment can still be disproportionate to the offence regardless of our own admission\approach. The integrity of the game issue is address by our willingness to create a working group, "Contrition without change is hollow, and we intend to demonstrate change." it's brief, but it's addressed.

Legally speaking I just don’t know how any of this makes sense. Rule is spying 72 hours before a game, meaning only the first fixture would be in breach of the rules, not the second leg. why have Middlesbrough been reinstated over Millwall as part of OUR punishment? If we’re kicked out the playoffs then surely Wrexham as the next team in line should compete with Middlesbrough for that Wembley position? Do other teams who have broken rules, like financial fair play, also face the potential of being thrown out?

Couldn't agree more. I don't think I have ever looked forward to just getting back to the preparation of a game, more than I have this one!!! IF and it feels like a very big IF at the moment, I end up on my way to Wembley this weekend, talking with my brother and mates about the GAME, about the PLAYERs about the TACTICS, I'm going to enjoy that moment just as much as the game!! I'm normally impatiently waiting for kick off but I will definitely enjoy that half an hour or so before kick off, watching the players warm up, soaking in the atmosphere, more than I ever have in the past this weekend!

Has he signed yet, btw?

Fuck me, what an embarrassment, they’ve not missed out on promotion because of an analyst with an iPhone and 5 minutes of footage, they’ve missed out because they went on a SEVEN game winless run during the run in, they bottled it and now they’re clutching at any straw they can. they battered us in the first half of the first game, battered us! What advantage did we get from cheating? Did our video make their players miss multiple chances?

When was the last tIme we had a keeper better than Peretz? I’d take Peretz over Ramsdale, Bazunu, McCarthy. Maybe Early Forster, Niemi, Boruc are the only keepers in the last 20 years that could give him a run for his money. sign him up every day of the week for €8m!! We get to the prem and he performs like this we’d have a £40-£50m keeper on our hands.

Another top top performance, what a goal too. 10 goals, 6 Asists, 16 goal involvements in total.

That save yesterday was incomprehensibly stunning. An absolute worldie in arguably our most important game of the season. We concede then, we probably lose, credit where it’s due what a signing he has been! Both January signings have made us considerably better. hes been getting better and better in a saints shirt and you can clearly see why he ended up at a club like Bayern Munich, what ever happens we have to sign him. id rather have him in goal next season over ramsdale, whether we are in the premier league or not.

Really like him, tireless work rate, pops up with important goals, he’s a real asset.

Said it before will say it again. Azaz is criminally underrated, he was outstanding yesterday, he’s been a real highlight this season for me, a few games off the boil here and there but he’s a huge huge reason as to why our season turned around. been a really successful signing for me.

Excellent post! selling Armstrong to me is confirmation that 5 at the back is a thing of the past and selling a player who no longer fits with the way we plan on playing. his best position is out wide, we have Leo and fellows there who he won’t displace, Armstrong doesn’t want to play there, he wants to be central and that changes the way we play, a way that’s not really worked for us. stewart, for me, has proved we’re better with a physical striker and that’s why we’re getting another one in.

I think Armstrong has been a good servant and an honest pro for his time here. i don’t really buy this “guaranteed 20 goals a season in the championship” mantra, 277 career games in the championship, 91 career goals, so he averages 15 over 46 championship games. He’s made 29 appearances this season, and failed to score in 20 of those games. The majority of those for us have come from a wide position, his best position in my eyes, now we’re playing a 4-4-2, he won’t displace Leo or Fellows in those wide positions, and I just don’t think he can play that central striker position in our formation. Stewart has been a breathe of fresh air in 2 of the last 3 games with how he’s played that central striker position and I think signing another physical 6.2 player to replace Armstrong means we will be sticking with 4-4-2 going forward. Armstrong just isn’t a strong finisher in my eyes, he misses more than he scores, needs 4/5 chances to convert 1, I do like his work rate but as many of us have identified, he’s been someone we should have replaced some time ago. i think £9m is a fairly good fee, if we sold in the summer he’d be 30 in the following season, and for a player of his attributes, it maybe the best chance to maximise a fee. It may give us better spending power in the summer.

No Armstrong or Archer in the squad today. strongly suggestion they will be sold, surely have another attacker lined up!?

I don’t even think I need to reply to that 🤣

So You’re flabbergasted at fans who spend money on tickets and merchandise to support the club, while you complain about the lack of club spending, don’t attend games, only accepts free tickets and you’re shocked people are spending money to support the club? I don’t think you know what “Support” means, happy that you’re staying away, the club doesn’t need you

- 2 CBs has to be the way forward and it has to be Stephens and THB, I thought that was THB best game in a long time, my MOTM, cleared one of the line, won most things in the air, competitive. Having him on the right side of a 3 means he’s no where near as commanding as when he’s central. Shout out to Stephens too, real leadership on the pitch again, keeping players spirts up, it’s criminal in my eyes that these 2 haven’t been the CB foundation of our season since Game 1. - Wellington was excellent, his best game for us? Looked forward when winning the ball, surprisingly good in the air, looked to win the ball high (did so for our goal) a big improvement on Mannings recent performances. - Downs and Janders best games in a long time, competitive and busy, Downs breaking up play and Jander using the ball well, winning high and pushing forward. - Ross Stewart, the freshest breath of Fresh air in some time, if he’d not got injured we wouldn’t be where we are now, a real nuisance to them all night, his forward play even in a defensive aspect, drawing fouls to reduce pressure was exactly what we’ve needed. I don’t think I’ve actually seen Stewart have a bad game for us, as little as his played unfortunately. I really hope we can keep him fit, he has to start and become our focal point. - Leo and fellows in their right positions offer us an outlet we hadn’t had in a while, it brings the game 10 yards further up the pitch just because the opposition won’t commit as far forward due to the fear of being hit on the break. - keeper, questionable distribution but I could hear him from the kingsland organising his defence all night, in and out of possession. Made some good stops. We’ve been crying out to stop playing around from the back and get a good shot stopper in, hopefully as he gets more game time his rustiness will dissipate and he’ll become a solid improvement on Bazunu. - Charles, forgot how big and physically imposing he looks, something we’ve been missing in midfield. Looking forward to having him back - Azaz, low on confidence, over compensating and it’s showing. When we won 6 on the bounce he was unplayable with his movement and vision, he looks a bit lost at the moment. If he was on form he’d be such a massive asset. I hope he can come good, let’s hope he makes himself a hero on Sunday and the fans get onboard with him. If he’s on form we move up the table. jelert - solid full back, has to start in my eyes. A bit rusty at times but he improved us. overall I thought it was a good performance, their keeper makes 2 good saves from Scienza, Azaz fluffs an easy chance, wouldn’t have been harsh to say 3/4-1 would have been a fair result. We battled, we competed and largely performance levels were much more consistent across the 90 than they have been in other games, no massive drop offs. its something to build on.

Yep, not far from the truth. He had a few good games that pre-season too, the odd good dribble in a game here and there, but otherwise those 2.5 games are about it. At home, first half (well first 35 mins anyway) against Man Utd probably the pick for me, thought he was destined for the top after those 35 mins but he’s tactically weak, with poor work rate and terrible defensively. i thought the majority of his performances in the premier league optimised just how bad we were, he contributed a much much larger part to the poor performances than he did anything good, couldn’t understand any fan’s obsession with him towards the end of the season, if Jack Stephens put in Diblings level of effort fans would be calling for his head. i said at the time we sold him, he’ll never move again in his career for more money than Everton paid for him. Everton also probably the worst club he could have gone to, A club who were desperately short of players, couldn’t really afford to spend £40m on 1 player after years of PSR issues, they needed seasoned pros through the door, players who could hit the ground running and Dibling is/was not that player. I’m not surprised Everton fans are on his back, his performances aren’t good enough, I’m surprised that more of our fans weren’t on his back last season and also fail to acknowledge just how much we’ve had Everton’s pants down over him.

Hasn't done anything here to suggest he's remotely good enough. Good bit of business.

Yep, no Chickens have been counted. However, the fact we've even managed to get that 10m option in there is still a win given how abject he's been for us. If the winds behind him, every fan in the crowd crosses their fingers, we do a little goal dance every Saturday, you never know, he may score a few goals and they end up signing him.

Look, he's been an absolutely terrible signing, there should rightly be some accountability taken by the transfer committee on this abject failure. However, equally, some comfort should be taken that the situation was reversed at the very first opportunity, that there's the potential to make money and not lose money and we're not persisting with a player who is obviously not suited to this league. I'd be more worried if we were either loaning him out and ringing the "Long term prospect" bell or playing the "He has the quality to adjust long term" card