Saint86

I think we all know exactly what has happened here, although it will never be proven. We sacked this Taylor(?) chap that we hired from boro. When we got Boro in the playoffs, he ran straight to the club to do a deal with them knowing salt would likely turn up, they were then ready and waiting with a media team to snap him in "4k" or whatever it was (the irony that he had better equipment than our spying analyst...)... and then Gibbo's got the extra "whistle blower" details out of him, had it to hand, and essentially ambushed us with it via the EFL a couple of days before the formal hearing. Which has included Taylor being in possession of previous whatsapp calls and images from his employment at saints. Reckon we were going to get done for this from the minute we got boro in the playoffs. Fully stitched up, even if it is our own fault. What they didn't count on, and what was an additional bonus, was Parsons being so incredibly stupid. Regardless though, Gibbo has played this superbly - and with the added factor of having the boro ceo as the Championship representative on the EFL board, Middlesborough have milked it for all its worth, including jumping ahead of Millwall, and getting a very obvious sporting advantage over Hull. We meanwhile can join Derby on the list of clubs ruined by Gibson.

We played Boro on the 9th May. At which point Parson's handed the EFL and Boro the noose and put the club's neck through it.

This is what happens when you have someone like Parsons running the club. Was evident years ago that he was woefully out of his depth, the kind of guy that somehow floats to the top and can't believe how lucky he is and doesn't really know how he got there...

The EFL look appalling in this at this point. Its very evident that all they care about is physically hosting a showcase final and associated revenue. Damn everyone else.

Bachelor of Arts 😄

An emotive but well put piece GS. What they've done to the club is a gut punch. Heart-breaking in some ways. Chasing the dream of premier league football under SR has seen the club sell its morals and undermine its very identity. In some ways, this latest episode is merely a symptom of the underlying malaise/cancer that's been afflicting the club since SR took over and began dismantling everything existing about the club, department by department. We are simply not run by anyone who understands the club or the fans anymore, let alone its heritage, or the city/wider area. We're just a plaything for people getting paid (partly with the fans money), only to waste years of passion and support. This latest instant will be a generational impact. How many kids will be hiding their support this summer, will want to see us play next season etc? League 1 and -10points was better because it galvanised the supporters. I fear that won't happen this time around and the club will simply wither away to a shadow of its best days.

This is all fair and reasonable. Unfortunately the EFL have the Boro CEO on the board, and we sent Parson's into the arena like a lamb into a lions mouth. So we are cooked, and this is another -10points level sanction given to us by footballing bodies, similar to the Luton/Swindon/Bournemouth (etc) cases of years gone by. We have been punished more harshly than Leicester ffs, who got an irrelevant points deduction. There is a short window where the club needs to rally together now - to try and mitigate this. Unfortunately, we are again being led by Parsons and co and the club is seemingly about as informed and decisive as a bunch of headless chickens at best, and total fools at worse. It currently feels like a summer where we are rudderless at board level, looking for a new DoF, and new manager, and having to once again rebuild the squad whilst wrestling with impending PSR sanctions, and an impending change to the league spending regualtions. As always, players and staff will come and go, but the fans will need to bear the brunt of this for years. Someone needs to provide something to rally around and fast, before the summer and next season become total rights offs, and rather than building something with our last year of parachute payments we end up spiralling down the leagues the way of sides like Wednesday and Blackburn etc.

Sadly, I think those saying he will be banned are correct.

It's academic, the FA will ban him. We're going to be destroyed over this.

They had a 50% chance at recovering 40% pay cuts... Which has been cost through no fault of their own, and despite frankly incredible sporting efforts... You can't see why they'd be pissed?

I agree with the Millwall fan here. Boro have no leg to stand on re deserving that slot in the final on sporting merit.

He has always been an inept cretin. It's been obvious for years and few of us have said it. Sadly he appears to have now completely ruined the club. Hard to see a way back from this. I fear a few miserable few seasons sliding to ignominy, financial plight, and relegation.

As much as I don't want it to be, I think Eckert's position is likely terminal. Parker, rohl, Ralph, challinor, skubala are the most obvious names to link to it. Wonder if we could get Frank... Something like that might settle the dressing room at least. Think we're probably screwed regardless tonight.

This could get a hell of a lot worse still... This "punishment" is quite possibly an example of yet another club killer dished out by the authorities against the smaller clubs. Would imagine the entire playing squad had 40% wage increase clauses in their contracts as a minimum for promotion. They can probably take legal action against the club for some of that. Likewise anyone good in dressing room will want out now, and other clubs will know we can't really negotiate from a position of strength. Scienza, THB, Charles, Jander as a minimum gone this summer, for less than should have been the case. No chance we sign Peretz. Fans have understandably turned against the board, so the atmosphere will be toxic terminally I suspect. Attendances will be down. Sponsorship deals will be reduced due to the club's reduced attractiveness as a brand. Squad morale will be through the floor and need an entirely new rebuild. Club attractiveness to new signings will be very uncompetitive. Likely we give in to calls to sack Eckert and spors, or they'll be suspended, or they'll leave off their own backs... So a new manager and new director of football, we will be rudderless going into the summer whilst trying to rebuild. £15M drop in earnings this season coming, a £45M drop in earnings if we fail to get promoted next year. And we made losses in the prem before we even got relegated. Not sure fans have really clocked how bad this can get.

Sell them? Mate, they'll likely get their contracts torn up.

I would keep tonda and spors. This is an almighty fuck up, but parsons is responsible for not having a suitable supervision for league compliance in place and for killing any legal defence the club could mount... Tonda is a 32year foreign manager in his first full season. As for spors, he's done an excellent job on the recruitment front and we cannot afford another DoF and another season and transfer window of upheaval and changing directions. Next year we lose £15M in parachute payments, the season after that we lose £45M. The club has been punished more than enough - let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Parsons should be the 2nd one out the door, after salt.

Wonder if the club can be found to have somehow breached their contracts. This punishment could be a real club killer.

Who needs evidence when your fucking CEO walks in and admits everything off hand and thinks announcing you'll pay a fine to the efl will placate the wronged party. I said years ago he needed booting out with rasmus. Mortal damage done now. Let alone sacking an analyst from a rival team with seemingly no NDA.

I'd suggest Taylor will be looking over his shoulder for a very long time.

Parsons in a nutshell 😅

No way convict, not for me. If (and I am prepared to accept it's an if) that story is true, then he is naive and stupid beyond measure, and he's likely ruined the club for the next decade or so. Sometimes you need to know when to shut up and lawyer up. And Wtf is the point of doing that in the press (and letting the club be dragged through the mud), if we've gone behind closed doors and given those out to ruin us everything they need. His job was to defend the club first and foremost, regardless of any "shit sandwich" he was dealt. Not give the hangman the noose and put our head in it to boot. The club needs capable people at the top now more than ever, and he's never done anything to suggest he is.

The "spying" rule only exists because derby complained about Leeds. Other leagues do not have "spying", and the EFL didn't have it before that. It's just scouting your next opposition.

So no proof? Given this reported story about parsons admitting everything to Boro / EFL, it sounds like he's taken the same approach in the hearing. Madness.

That was years ago.