Tom & Gerry

No but some of them are or were Managers. Just because he was obliged to know the rules doesn't mean he did. He had quite a job on his hands when he took over if you remember. No one has come up with a logical explanation that if Tonda did know the rules, why he did it. Yes to gain an advantage but the gains were so marginal and the risks so great that he would have to be insane to do it. He would have known that the punishment if caught would be severe including expulsion from the competition.You who are so sure he did know the rules need to explain what on earth possessed him to do it.

No it's not an excuse it's an explanation. How many so called experts do you see on television commenting on refererees decisions don't know all the rules?

As the EFL is the only domestic league in the world to have a specific law prohibiting spying I believe Tonda did not know that law. Did he know it was wrong, well that's a difficult question to answer. Having a disguise doesn't prove he know it was wrong, just that the opposition wouldn't like it and would try to stop it if they knew who was doing it. Britain has spies and they are good guys. Foreigners who spy against us are bad guys. In business if you find out information about your competitors without actually breaking in to their premises your a good guy. It also seems that different cultures view things differently and in Germany it's just accepted as information gathering. So a bit like a professional foul Tonda probably knew it was a bit wrong, but it's what you do.

You don't believe him even though its the only logical explanation of why he would risk so much for so little but perhaps you think he's a reckless gambler or a complete idiot. I don't.

Was there anyone who thought he wouldn't be?

So nothing has actually happened today that we didn't know was going to happen for the last couple of months?

Should we sack Tonda? yes. Do I want us to sack Tonda? no, but it would take one hell of an apology

I'm coming round, but he's going to be banned isn't he? Mind you he only needs half a season and will he have the players next season? We could wait for the FA verdict and then it would take one hell of an apology.

If I don't want people to know what I'm doing I close my curtains and put up a fence or hedge round my garden. Surely with the rules against spying causing such complications and with it being treated as such a serious crime when the information that can be gleaned is little more than can be found by watching videos or the Manager's press conference , spying should be allowed as long as you don't break in to somewhere private, and the onus should be on teams to protect themselves from things they don't want to be seen?

A lot of ifs there. If the players all vowed to stay if he stayed then yes, but that's as likely as him not getting a ban. I'd have him back in the future but his career is likely to have moved on by then.

I wish you were right but I think the hostility from fans, not least our own would be too great. We need a Manager now that can bring back some positivity.

You don't think we need to attract players, sponsors, investment?

We have said that the punishment doesn't fit the crime so you should consider if he he should be sacked for the crime not the punishment. Having that we have to restore our reputation if we are to attract players particularly for the academy. He has to go but he will probably be leading Bayern Munich to European glory in a couple of years.

It's Friday night and I should be preparing to go to Wembley tomorrow. The feeling doesn't get any better does it?

There's a book there for someone to write - Headline Grabing Scandals involving Southampton Football Club

Don't forget Dave Jones, Norrkoping and Grobbelaar. Are we just unlucky or what?

Tonda is a brilliant driven young coach, meticulous, focused totally on winning, and tries to give his players every detail and advantage. So driven that he lost sight of what was right or wrong. He is inexperienced as a manager and someone at the club should have tapped him on the shoulder and told him it wasn't right. He will have to go away and hopefully he will learn from this and in time I'd love to have him back.

Humiliation again olay olay

Don't we have an English Assistant Manager and other analysts? The players say they can talk to Tonda if something isn't working, surely someone should have had a word in his ear not necessarily from above?

Tonda reported as not knowing the rules. Why the f**ck didn't someone at the club tell him?

This is taking longer than VAR.

I hope not, but there was someone yesterday on one of the threads, and talk of tickets being easy to get that made me think it might be.

Anyone thinking of not going because of our alleged spying , consider this. Yes I want to strangle ( figuratively speaking) whoever in the club thought that the rewards for doing this outweighed the risks, let alone the moral question, but the innocent party in this, besides the fans of all clubs is the players. It is their careers on the line and it can not help but have has an effect on them. They have been brilliant for us for the last few months and deserve our support more than ever. I for one will be singing and shouting louder than ever next Saturday (if we play)

Tonight could be a bit weird though. Win and then it's like the longest var ever

Some have said that the lone wolf theory is improbable but for me it seems equally bonkers that someone higher up would think this was worth risking the reputation and future of the club for. As a glass half full type of person I think if this was authorised anywhere above the lowest level the EFL are going to want to make an example of us and that will be a sporting sanction that will affect our future one way or another.