trousers

Indeed... It's nowhere near our self inflicted points penalties at the start of this season... 🙂

Nice try.... The regulation specifically refers to 'training sessions' though... (Yes, I know you were probably being tongue-in-cheek )

Indeed... I bet a lot of clubs are keeping very quiet for this very reason...

Indeed, although the precident for just breaching 3.4 alone is a fine. (Not that believe we haven't breached 127 in some shape or form)

Once again, note the more adult / rational approach being taken by Hull City and their fans. They're right, the root cause of the chaos here is the EFL's inadequate rule book, not the (no doubt many) clubs that bend or break the rules...

I'd be asking Man City's advice on how they managed to get some of their charges dropped so quickly...

Yep, anything below 6 points deduction and a £1m fine and we'll let it slide I reckon

You agree we should be penalised as heavily as Leicester were?

That's the thing... In this case, the 'conspiracy theories' actually make more sense, and stack up more logically, compared to the reported 'reality'....

How about this statement from Salt: "I'm sorry m'lud. It was technically my fault. You see, the club asked me to check their training sessions but not stray into the 72 hour embargo period. However, I got my days mixed up due to the Monday being a bank holiday, hence thinking the Thursday was Wednesday. Yeah, stupid I know but it was a genuine oversight on my part" (Yeah, I know, I know.... I wasn't 'Clutching at Straws World Champion 2017' for no reason... )

Some well articulated thoughts, but what he's basically saying there is that this misdemeanor is as bad as Leicester cheating in plain sight for an entire season (or more)...

Yep, this 👍🏻

Whilst it can't be used as a defence in a given case per se, surely the fact that "everyone else does it" is a huge mitigating factor in terms of the severity of punishment? I wonder if we might threaten to unleash a flood of counter-accusations against other clubs were we to receive a disproportionate punishment, given it must be relatively easy to gather evidence on such actively if it's always been rife across the board?

It also doesn't add up that Salt wasn't apprehended... Just allowed to leave the complex through, one assumes, a security manned entrance / exit... If his movements were being monitored on CCTV, as we're led to believe, surely they had opportunity to apprehend him rather than let him "retreat to the changing rooms before just disappearing". Surely they'd have approached him and questioned him etc, rather than just letting him "flee the scene"? It's almost as if they only wanted to get a photo of him 'in the act' in order to set the dominos falling....

Yep... I appreciate it's conspiracy territory but, it does actually make all the dots join up, theoretically... As you say, we know that there are always plenty of Middlesbrough fans milling around the golf course / hotel area watching sessions from that very same vantage point... What aroused their suspicions this time compared to all other times... As you say, them having prior knowledge it that Salt was going to be there is perhaps the only way all the pieces of the jigsaw make sense... If it was a trap then, yes, we were stupid to fall for it and should still be penalised, but there is definitely something that doesn't add up with all of this IMO...