SaintLondon

Thanks for the camaraderie today chaps. I'll see you when I see you.

And that's that.

Best of luck with it all - wishing you a speedy recovery.

I think some of you are missing the point a bit here - we *have* to assume that we go up for the fine to be the tune of £200m. If we don't then it absolutely removes the point of proportionality. I agree he probably should have referenced Hull and perhaps spent a little less time sounding sorry for himself, but equally he was clearly trying to get a few key points across quickly. Do I love the statement? No. Is it better than complete silence? Absolutely. As for reinstatement, I just can’t see it happening now. But whilst we can’t appeal the outcome of the appeal itself, I would be very surprised if this doesn’t eventually evolve into a separate legal action against the EFL for loss of earnings. That feels like a very realistic next step from here.

You'd hope he's left out the legal mumbo jumbo for the silks and just tried to be as plain as possible for the masses.

Me.

Wait so let me get this straight, people are saying that the 4 points is for the additional spying and the expulsion is for the spying of Boro? That is mental. I hate that we did it and I have nothing but pure anger towards those that organised and executed it but that is not a crime worthy of the punishment. What is a bit petty of me is that I want us reinstated as much to play the game but more so to piss off 'Gibbo'

I still don’t think we’ll get reinstated, but I do think the EFL may end up regretting this decision. It sets a pretty serious precedent and, in my opinion, opens the door to further litigation and complications down the line. The thing I find particularly interesting is the argument that the playoffs are considered a separate competition and therefore had to be dealt with differently. But if the first instance of spying dates back to December, surely that makes it a league-related offence rather than something isolated purely to the playoffs? Maybe that’s clutching at straws at this point, but the whole thing feels messy whichever way you look at it. Honestly, I just want the appeal finished and done with now so we can all stop checking SaintsWeb every three minutes and move on with our lives.

If we get reinstated I'll buy everyone in here a pint.

This would be glorious.

POTENTIAL BOLLOCKS ALERT: Just spoke to a friend who said he'd heard that we have evidence of other clubs spying this season.. IF this is true the EFL will be up shit creek - what do they do then? Doesn't mean we get off of course but the league will be in dissary.

Now the dust has settled somewhat and the initial shock has faded, my horror has turned into genuine fear. Forget the playoffs - that feels irrelevant now. The implications of what happens next are enormous. This isn’t some flash-in-the-pan issue; the ramifications of a handful of people’s decisions could impact the club for years to come. The level of idiocy involved is staggering, but beyond that, it’s the arrogance of it all that absolutely stinks. The people responsible will move on, get other jobs, earn millions elsewhere, while leaving the club and its supporters to deal with the fallout. Ultimately, the buck stops with Dragan. He needs to move past the initial anger and clean house quickly. Proper football people need to be brought in, but equally important is the wider PR and leadership strategy around this because right now the communication has been dreadful. Not only does he need to remove the wrong people internally, he needs advisors around him capable of steering the club out of what increasingly feels like a complete hellscape. (Aka not Rasmus) I honestly don’t know where the money comes from, but there also needs to be some form of acknowledgement / compo towards the fans who have spent their hard-earned money following the club this season. Wholesale changes are needed and, above all else, there needs to be genuine transparency around what’s happening and when. As someone who works in PR, I completely understand the logic of not speaking until you have something concrete to say. But I am genuinely staggered there hasn’t even been a holding statement. And then you have leaks to Alfie House suggesting the club are “confident” the game goes ahead - there’s that same arrogance again. I’m genuinely at a loss as a fan. Yes, support the club through thick and thin - of course. But if everyone simply moves on as though nothing has happened, then the people responsible effectively escape accountability for what looks and feels like negligence on a monumental scale. The vicious circle, of course, is that the more disillusioned the fans become, the bigger the hole the club finds itself in. In short: what an absolute mess. A complete shambles.

Well we all had fond memories of League 1, right...? RIGHT?

He is very thick isn't he - does he not understand that the appeal is on the punishment?

Let's do a load of spying and then let a member of the team leave to a promotion rival.. it's beyond arrogant and thick.

What I want to know is, who the fuck is this whistleblower and why are they such a grass? (I'm just deflecting my anger)

No, it's a brand new panel.

It isn't the EFL that decide though is it.. It's an independent body and we're led to belive they only met today..?

Anyone else struggling to concentrate on work today...

Is this for real? I thought I saw yesterday that their manager was in Sweden.

I think people have almost convinced themselves that we definitely won’t be thrown out, but I’m not nearly as certain. Personally, I think it would be an absolutely crazy decision for the EFL to make given the scale of the punishment and the wider implications, but I still believe it’s very much on the table. For whatever reason, I just have a feeling they’ll want to make an example of us. Whether that’s because of the publicity around it, the integrity angle, or simply wanting to show they’re taking these things seriously, it still feels to me like there’s a risk they come down harder than people expect. Which of course, is exactly why Boro have done what they've done with the press side of things - trial by media first etc.

I have a bad feeling about the outcome of this.

It is true. Who knew, I don't know but it was a Southampton analyst.

Starting to feel sick with nerves constantly.. I think if Watford get a positive result tonight it'll be massive for tomorrow - I do worry about Norwich but I think if we can start the game well and get the monkey of our back then we can hopefully kick on... Up the Saints!

There is next to no margin for error and I think it'll come down to a point or two so all focus should be on the league but Arsenal should be considered a free hit. Put out a decent team and we surprise a few people by playing well. We lose the game playing well with our heads held high does no damage (IMO) to morale - losing to the PL champions elect. Win and it could very well be the game the catapults us to play offs. For what its worth I think we might just fall short but my eyes are on Hull - I think Wrexham will make it into play offs.