Cabrone

Fingers crossed on this one, a keystone signing who may sway other players to stick with it for another go at promotion. It's going to be a much tougher league next year, Peretz would be a huge asset.

Fingers crossed the FA leave it to the club. That should see Tonda as our manager next season. SFC broke a rule, got punished, took it on the chin and now lets move on. As long as Tonda stays I'm looking forward to 26/27, should be a cracking season. Damn there is some serious competition this time round, need to get out of the traps flying because we know once Spam, Burnley and Wolves get going they will take some stopping. Then there is also Sheff Utd, Norwich, Boro, Millwall and Wrexham. It's going to be one hell of a scrap.

If he actually manages to stay I reckon next season would be an absolute belter. Lots of spicy fixtures + banter and a run at top 2. Proper football.

Absolutely, there will be a lot of European clubs tracking this saga with an eye to approaching him. If Tonda goes he will be fine, we on the other hand will get another 3rd rate dodgy experiment courtesy of the brains in SR.

Firstly I think there is a decent chance the FA will accept that the league gave us an appropriate punishment and stop at that, leaving any other internal disciplinary actions up to the club. As fans we can afford to debate this from an ethical standpoint but we aren't paying the bills. However the owner is and he wants to get back to the Prem ASAP. He'll be pondering the best strategy to get back and I think he'll conclude that sticking with Tonda is more optimal than taking a gamble on yet another unknown. My feeling is Tonda's future depends on the FA, the club will back him. Maybe they are sounding out the FA right now?

Firstly even if you think 20 odd games unbeaten in the champ is par for the course he also beat a solid Prem Fulham at their place, beat the prem champs and took the prem runners up to the wire. Any other champ manager would be hailed on high for that. He is streets ahead of anyone else we've had since Ralph and arguably Koeman. Secondly he's only just started, how good could he be next year or the years to come with all the extra experience he's garnered? He'll never make this mistake again but he will become a better manager. I actually like his ruthlessness TBH, all the best managers have it, he was just naive. Thirdly if the club drop him who actually thinks we'll get anyone as good? We'll most likely end up with another Nathan Jones\Ruben Selles and next season will be gone. We'll be in the champ\league 1 for a long time wondering what might have been. Fourthly the players liked Tonda so I'm not convinced of a massive exodus. They know a good mgr when they see one. Some will go but hopefully there will still be enough talent around to mount a top 2 push. Fifth it will feel like unfinished business if he leaves like this. I want him to earn redemption with the club and fans and I hope he's burning to right wrongs. Finally I don't care much what other fans think, just tough it out and we'll get grudging respect eventually. Most of them really don't care much anyway. We are the fans he needs to please, he owes us.

If he didn't know about the 72 hour rule then I'd give him a chance of redemption. He's a baby in management terms, was parachuted into a difficult situation and did a fantastic job. The board get paid to be the wise heads that make sure everyone understands the rules. If their 1st team coach didn't know something as fundamental as this I'd be asking why? They could have booked a day out somewhere, taken all the staff and spent the day going through the rules. They failed. Also let's be real, if SR reappoint it will be another dodgy experiment. No thanks I'd rather have a contrite Tonda. If we let him go he'll be snapped up somewhere else. I hope he stays and takes the stick, I'd respect him for that. However it may be out of our hands.

Looking at SR's appointments so far..... Nathan Jones: (November 2022 – February 2023) Rubén Sellés: (February 2023 – June 2023; plus an interim spell in November 2022) Russell Martin: (July 2023 – December 2024) Simon Rusk: (Interim spells in December 2024 and April 2025) Ivan Jurić: (December 2024 – April 2025) Will Still: (July 2025 – November 2025) Tonda Eckert: (Appointed November 2025) Doesn't fill you with optimism does it. I'd still stick with Tonda if possible, take the hits, circle the wagons and galvanise. Emotions are raw at the moment, maybe out of our hands, who knows. If it comes to it you just know SR will go for another knock down experimental appointment. Anyone for another season of Jones\Selles\Juric\Rusk\Still? Me neither.

A lot of ppl are gunning for Tonda but I'm going to take his words on face value that he genuinely didn't know about the 72 hour rule. Controversial I know but I do think he was very badly managed himself. For me the real idiots are the board. They get paid the big bucks to make sure everyone complies with the rules and that everyone knows what the rules are. Gross incompetency from them and I'd be happy to see all of them fired today. Quit your endless word salad and self congratulations and actually run the club properly. So personally I'd stick with Tonda (assuming he's not going to get banned by the FA over this). He'll be burning for some kind of redemption. We should tell him to swallow the shit that is going to come his way and that the minimum next season is top 2. I think he's good enough to get it. After all this business would have barely given us any advantage anyway and he did take us from relegation candidates to almost top 2. He owes us. We can either come together or fall apart.

If Boro beat Hull I can see Hull reaching for the lawyers and they'll have a case. The EFL must be desperately hoping for a Hull win. This is going to run.

How about a 3 way tie where Hull play us at 12.30pm and then Hull play Boro at 4.30pm. Hulls final score is the total no of goals scored against both of us. The team that scores the most goes through. Makes as much sense as anything else that is going on right now.

SR need to go, it's been generally downhill ever since they arrived and this is the point of no return. Generally poor manager appointments, plenty of self aggrandizing word salad and now this, a total failure to understand the basic rules of the league they make their living in. I think this has really knocked the stuffing out of the fan base. The smell is too bad now.

Utterly sickening. Firstly Gibson didn't give a monkey's about the rules, he sensed an opportunity, kicked up a mighty media storm and IMO cheated his way to a Wembley place. They lost - Hull should go through. I'm going to feel sick if they go up on the back of this. Secondly and this will be contentious but I'd keep Tonda and tell him auto promotion is the expectation next season. He'll be burning to retrieve this and he owes us. He's been our best manager since Ralph and possibly could go on to be even more successful. Getting rid of him for another Russel Martin\Will Still\Ruben Selles will be shooting ourselves in the foot even more. I expect him to suck up the abuse and achieve catharsis via autos (this assumes the FL isn't going to punish him personally). SR can foxtrot oscar, I'm sick of the sight of them. After a series of useless appointments they finally looked like they were getting it right only to screw it up again. Seriously - FO. Sick.

I think it'll be a fine and 3 points but that's just my opinion. It's taking time because obviously it's a big decision, Saints need to be allowed to put their case together and the authorities want as much time as possible to think about it. Perfectly understandable. I also think the club should stick with Tonda, he's the best manager we've had since Ralf and arguably could go on to much greater things. If the club were to be thrown out for something as lame as this he'd be supercharged to right wrongs. If he were to get the boot he'd be snapped up elsewhere, the guy will be rated across Europe now. Finally if Boro were to replace us I'd definitely feel aggrieved. Yes Saints broke rules and need to take their punishment but at the end of the day Boro lost fair and square. It wasn't William Salt that cost them, it was their finishing ability, their fitness and their lack of squad depth. Fingers crossed Saturday is still on.

What's the longest ever thread on this board? We are at 91 pages and the real fallout hasn't even happened yet.