SaintBobby

That's pretty weird then. If - by some miracle - we don't just beat Hull, but then manage to stay in the top flight for 27 years (as we did from 1978-2005), we would begin the 2053-54 season in the Championship at a points deduction?

Can I ask about what people mean by a "suspended" points deduction? Does it mean "suspended" until we play again in the Championship (maybe next season, maybe a long way in the future) or does it mean "suspended" in the same way as a prison sentence can be suspended (not served at all if there are no further offences in the future...but added to your sentence if you're found guilty of a similar crime at a later date)?

I don't think we are being charged with "systemic rule breaking". Just with the specific charge about spying on Boro. I'm not sure you can charge someone with shoplifting and then just lob on top a charge of armed robbery or attempted murder.

To my mind, let's say - for sake of argument - we cheated. We broke a rule by sending an intern to hang out by a tree with a pair of binocculars. If sending someone to watch a training session is cheating, then we may have cheated. I'm now more interested in proportionate punishment in this scenario. Diving for a penalty is cheating. Failing a drugs test is cheating. When are we going to replay the 1986 World Cup quarter final against Argentina? Maradona clearly cheated. The question is (if guilty) "to what extent did your cheating give you an advantage?". The punishment needs to be proportionate to that. If cheating in and of itself means expulsion from a competition, we are expelling vast numbers of clubs from huge numbers of competitions. It's hard to see - on any basis - how watching Boro's training gave us more than a 0.00001% edge. If that's enough to get you expelled from the play-offs, then anyone who dives for a penalty kick in the Football League should immediately see their club kicked into a Beazer's Home League regional divisions.

Surely the fact that you can view and film Boro’s training sessions from public land is relevant. I could have gone there myself, filmed it and put it up on YouTube. Are all Saints employees then prohibited from watching my video?

Another boring, predictable and routine home win. I sometimes wonder why I bothered to buy a season ticket this year 😂

Am I right there is no VAR for the play-off semis but there is for the final?

That would be annoying. I only have Betamax.

I think Peretz is brilliant. But I also accept he is a little crazy.

Are they likely to screen the first match in a lounge at St Mary’s?

Slightly scrappy win today, but main thing was to win and avoid knocks and injuries. Onwards.

Slightly odd line up. But I guess we need to have more than half an eye on next weekend.

Is this match the exact opposite of a "must win"?

What a bloody great game....especially the 2nd half. I've decided to devote the rest of my life to a PhD on Peretz's contribution to our equaliser and whether he should formally be awarded an "assist". Spolier alert: he should.

It turns out you can simultaneously be incredibly proud and utterly heartbroken. Never knew that before. So, for me at least, that made today pretty f-ing epic.