#Spygate

[whelk]

15 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

I see people are starting to change their backgrounds on Facebook to the Middlesbrough crest to show their support.

I really wouldn’t be bothered if Putin decided to attack Middlesbrough 

[Colinjb]

Dear any Boro fans reading this...

"We're in your head, in your head..... Spygate.... Spygate....."

[S-Clarke]

1 minute ago, hypochondriac said:

He feels he has been wronged and in his kind he will take whatever steps he needs to in order to get a semblance of justice. I expect he knows there's a low chance we will actually get kicked out and boro reinstated but it's all theatre to some extent to maximise his eventual returns. Worth going back to that statement from Simon Jordan. 20 million for Middlesbrough to drop things. He didn't pull that number out of thin air. 

He's having a laugh if he gets that sort of compensation from us.

When West Ham were found to have illegally registered Tevez and Mascarano back in 07-08 (i think), they stayed up ahead of Sheffield United and Tevez scored the winning goal in the last game which ultimately kept them up iirc. WHU were ordered to settle £20m compensation to Sheffield United. 

Compare that to a young lad with an IPhone taking pictures from behind a tree. They are totally opposite in extreme levels, so thinking a punishment should be equal is crazy. And by the way, WHU didn't get 'expelled' or docked points for that either.

[O_B]

16 minutes ago, Gary R76 said:

I know its a mates mate but this has just come up on Not606 forum

Le Saint

Well-Known Member

 

 

 

 

 

 

• 9 minutes ago

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one of my mates is mates with Ed Chamberlain who is currently at York races where boro are having a day out. He spoke with Gibson who said they are expecting £5 million and 6 points

Knowing Boro he means 6 points extra for them...

[Smirking_Saint]

10 minutes ago, Tommy said:

What i dont get is that the EFL said they have contingency to move the play off final, but when too? or where for that matter as it certainly wont be Wembley unless they can find a midweek to stuff it into. And thats without considering players are entitled to a holiday, theres a world cup etc

There will have to be a final, no why the EFL want to be refunding broadcasters, sponsors, other partners etc. 

Here is the list of all weekends between now and the start of the season, along with the officially confirmed bookings and events at Wembley Stadium during this period. I have also included weekday events as notes so you have the full schedule.

May 2026

• Weekend of May 30–31

• • Saturday, May 30: The Betfred Challenge Cup Final

  • Sunday, May 31: Adobe Women's FA Cup Final

June 2026

• Weekend of June 6–7

  • Saturday, June 6: Capital's Summertime Ball with Barclaycard

• Weekend of June 13–14

  • Saturday, June 13: Harry Styles (Together, Together Tour)

• Weekend of June 20–21

  • Saturday, June 20: Harry Styles (Together, Together Tour)

• Weekend of June 27–28

  • Saturday, June 27: Harry Styles (Together, Together Tour)

July 2026

• Weekend of July 4–5

  • Saturday, July 4: Harry Styles (Together, Together Tour)

• Weekend of July 11–12

  • Saturday, July 11: My Chemical Romance (Long Live The Black Parade Tour)

• Weekend of July 18–19

  • Saturday, July 18: Bruno Mars (The Romantic Tour)

  • Sunday, July 19: Bruno Mars (The Romantic Tour)

• Weekend of July 25–26

  • Saturday, July 25: Bruno Mars (The Romantic Tour)

August 2026

• Weekend of August 1–2

  • Saturday, August 1: Luke Combs (My Kinda Saturday Night Tour)

  • Sunday, August 2: Luke Combs (My Kinda Saturday Night Tour)

• Weekend of August 8–9

  • No confirmed Wembley Stadium events.

• Weekend of August 15–16

  • Saturday, August 15: The Weeknd (After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour)

  • Sunday, August 16: The Weeknd (After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour)

  •  

Saturday, August 22, 2026: Opening weekend of the Premier League 2026/27 season begins.

Thats easy… just cancel the womens final

[Badger]

26 minutes ago, Plastic said:

Thing is, Wembley couldn't accommodate a re-arranged final. They are booked up months or years in advance. The only outcome possible in this scenario would be to cancel and give it to Hull. Boro don't have a chance IMO, despite their whining. 

I wondered if the refrence to looking at other venues was in case of a Hull v Middlesbrough match which might be more easily accommodated at Old Trafford or wherever.

As for giving it to Hull that would be disaapointing of course to put it mildly, but an easier outcome to accept than reinstating Middlesbrough.

[Gloucester Saint]

7 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

He feels he has been wronged and in his kind he will take whatever steps he needs to in order to get a semblance of justice. I expect he knows there's a low chance we will actually get kicked out and boro reinstated but it's all theatre to some extent to maximise his eventual returns. Worth going back to that statement from Simon Jordan. 20 million for Middlesbrough to drop things. He didn't pull that number out of thin air. 

Wonder how much Mel Morris paid him when he shook Derby down.

Give your lunch money once though….

[Nolan]

24 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

 

If he didn't think it was an issue, he wouldn't be hiding behind a tree.

You must have been found first as a kid in EVERY game of Hide and Seek if you think that's hiding.

 

C'mon MLG

 

[Mboto Gorge]

Just now, S-Clarke said:

The fact they thought it was a legitimate ask to be on the panel is just crazy. Do they not understand how this all works? The EFL are always the broker in these situations, same as Fifa, same as the FA, same as the EPL.

If a club lodges a complaint with the respective authority, the authority then becomes the broker between the 2 parties. It gathers evidence from both sides, and the alleged will have a chance to fight the allegations. Boro aren't fighting the allegations, we are. Having clubs going to 'war' against each other in these ways would not create the fair and INDEPENDANT nature of this hearing.

What planet are these guys living on? What the fuck is all this. This is basically shaping up to be a Steve Gibson sue everyone special, I can smell it a mile away. 

Gibson is clearly well aware of their position and rights, but is just wanting to throw his weight around at absolutely everything he can, Trump style, to put pressure on and attempt to intimidate anyone who gets in his way of what he wants. Acting like a spoilt child and is clearly used to employing bullying tactics to get his desired outcomes. If he doesn’t get what he wants, he will try to tarnish everyone else to spite them. 

[Badger]

4 minutes ago, whelk said:

I really wouldn’t be bothered if Putin decided to attack Middlesbrough 

Last time I was up there I thought he had.

[SNSUN]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

He's having a laugh if he gets that sort of compensation from us.

When West Ham were found to have illegally registered Tevez and Mascarano back in 07-08 (i think), they stayed up ahead of Sheffield United and Tevez scored the winning goal in the last game which ultimately kept them up iirc. WHU were ordered to settle £20m compensation to Sheffield United. 

Compare that to a young lad with an IPhone taking pictures from behind a tree. They are totally opposite in extreme levels, so thinking a punishment should be equal is crazy. And by the way, WHU didn't get 'expelled' or docked points for that either.

They're gunning for Solak's £1.6 Billion fortune. They want it all the greedy fuckers. Plus a 100 point deduction for us spread over as many seasons as it takes, a firing squad to eliminate all staff and fans from existance, and SMS razed to the ground.

[Gloucester Saint]

4 minutes ago, whelk said:

I really wouldn’t be bothered if Putin decided to attack Middlesbrough 

If Billingham rumbles and ignites that would do a far more effective job than than Russia ever could.

It’d improve Middlesbrough far more than any amount of levelling up funding tbf.

[Turkish]

21 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

I see people are starting to change their backgrounds on Facebook to the Middlesbrough crest to show their support.

How is this doing on the woke league? Reckon it’s probably above Ukraine and LGBT rights at the moment 

[Farmer Saint]

5 minutes ago, whelk said:

I really wouldn’t be bothered if Putin decided to attack Middlesbrough 

How would we even know?

[Badger]

23 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

#prayforboro

Is Middlesbrough twinned with Merseyside ? Could well have been over the last few days.

[bpsaint]

1 hour ago, RedArmy said:

https://www.mfc.co.uk/news/2026/may/15/club-statement-/

That is fucking disgusting it really is. Crying about not being allowed in the hearing and then trying to sway the verdict.

Where the fuck are our club mouthpieces fighting our comer on social media over this? We should be swaying the narrative back in our favour now.

Honestly what a vile little shithole club they are. Never had hating Boro more than Pompey on my 2026 bingo card but here we are.

Edited 2 hours ago by bpsaint

[Turkish]

21 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

They've got form for this sort of snivelling though - remember their outcry over Rob Edwards leaving? Rob Edwards, rightly or wrongly, wanted a crack at his former club in the PL (although not for long). They created such an outcry, the Boro fans hate him, the club made a crying statement about it as well iirc.

Wait for all the blubbing if/when it doesn’t got their way 

[Whitey Grandad]

9 minutes ago, Dman said:

Yeah they hate Azaz for leaving their nothing club as well. Odd bunch. 

So of course they turned down the £12m trabsfer fee out of disgust.

[S-Clarke]

Let's just lay out the two potential cases here.

1) We have been found to have foolishly spied once, that's the only evidence. No other clubs impacted and thus the only punishment in that sense is a fine. They couldn't issue sporting sanctions for a one off event.

2) We have been found to have foolishly done it all season, and there's tons of evidence to back it up. This does in fact bring the game into disrepute in a bigger level, and you then certainly have the power to impose sporting sanctions as the severity and potential advantages you could have gained is much higher.

But digging into point 2 a little bit more is where it gets tricky in this timespan. If that were the case, lots of clubs would have legal cases and stacks of evidence against us. Derby and Wrexham would be up in the arms and demanding to go into the playoffs in place of us. We'd obviously appeal, everything would be delayed, no one would know what league they'll be in and the entire competition is a mess and can't start next year. They wouldn't allow that to happen.

Personally the chances of 2 are very slim, because like I said we'd have had more about other clubs by now. This seems to be a Middlesbrough solo effort pinned solely on point 1, which they blew out to try and gain an advantage - which they couldn't take. So at this point Sporting Sanctions shouldn't really be in the equation for a one off evidenced event, which has been proven to have had no impact on the result. A fine and a slap on the wrist is the worst case IMO.

[Dman]

1 minute ago, bpsaint said:

That is fucking disgusting it really is. Crying about not being allowed in the hearing and then trying to sway the verdict.

Where the fuck are our club mouthpieces fighting our comer on social media over this? We should be swaying the narrative back in our favour now.

Honestly what a vile little shithole club they are. Never had hating Boro more than Pompey on my 2026 bingo card but here we are.

Nope. Absolutely the worst thing we could have done in this situation. 

We have handled it fantastically. 

[hypochondriac]

1 minute ago, bpsaint said:

That is fucking disgusting it really is. Crying about not being allowed in the hearing and then trying to sway the verdict.

Where the fuck are our club mouthpieces fighting our comer on social media over this? We should be swaying the narrative back in our favour now.

Honestly what a vile little shithole club they are. Never has hating Boro more than Pompey in my 2026 bingo card but here we are.

No we fucking shouldn't! The inky time we should make any noise is if they try to kick us out. Before that we are doing things by the book. 

[Gloucester Saint]

Just now, Badger said:

Is Middlesbrough twinned with Merseyside ? Could well have been over the last few days.

There’s actually some nice places in Liverpool though! City centre impressive and the city has views of Snowdonia. Compare that to Middlesbrough..

 

 

[CB Fry]

4 minutes ago, bpsaint said:

Where the fuck are our club mouthpieces fighting our comer on social media over this? We should be swaying the narrative back in our favour now.

Why on earth would we be doing that?

It's not about feeling good about yourself because the club are mouthing off on Facebook or in the papers. It's about getting the hearing out of the way and the punishment as low as possible. Keeping our head down and cooperating professionally is literally how to do that.

Edited 2 hours ago by CB Fry

[Mboto Gorge]

I’ve noticed pretty much 100% of all wolves fans on social media are on our side , such is their hatred for Boro due to the over the top crying and whining they did over Edwards leaving them for wolves. They really are a vile club. 

[Gloucester Saint]

1 minute ago, CB Fry said:

Why on earth would we be doing that?

It's not about feeling good about yourself because the club are mouthing off on Facebook or in the papers. It's about getting the hearing out of the way and the punishment as low as possible. Keeping our head down and cooperating professionally is literally how to do that.

And Steve Gibson and his hangers on in the local and national media have provided a clear contrast. 

[S-Clarke]

Just now, CB Fry said:

Why on earth would we be doing that?

It's not about feeling good about yourself because the club are mouthing off on Facebook or in the papers. It's about getting the hearing out of the way and the punishment as low as possible. Keeping our head down and cooperating professionally ly is literally how to do that.

Exactly, I'd say our approach is how you act in these situations. Who knows, there may be other clubs who have brought a case to the table too - but you don't broadcast shit like this unless you want to get an advantage from it, and we all know that's all it's about. They want a free run at the PL and we've stupidly given them an angle to try and get that, albeit a very slim angle it has to be said.

[St Chalet]

Having read a few of the league judgements, these are professional people looking at the facts, previous cases and proportionality. 
 

Boro looking desperate now which is a good sign. 
 

Saints doing our business in private will play out better. 
 

My position all along is we will admit the charge and provide as much mitigation as we can. 

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

Why on earth would we be doing that?

It's not about feeling good about yourself because the club are mouthing off on Facebook or in the papers. It's about getting the hearing out of the way and the punishment as low as possible. Keeping our head down and cooperating professionally is literally how to do that.

Social media has done weird things to people's brains. Why they feel entitled to a running commentary I have no idea. 

[Pamplemousse]

[Dman]

That chant of "Are you watching Middlesbrough" from 35k saints on Saturday is going to be soo fucking beautiful. 

[Matthew Le God]

47 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

The Middlesbrough statement today asking for us to be kicked out is the equivalent of a player doing a tackle and the opponents surrounding the ref and demanding he give a red card! Acting like that isn't allowed on the pitch, nor should it be off it.

In fact... aren't they breaching the same regulation Saints have?

EFL Regulation 3.4 — clubs must “act towards each other with the utmost good faith.”

Attempting to prejudice and influence the outcome of an ongoing investigation is not acting in good faith!

Edited 2 hours ago by Matthew Le God

[WinglessWonder]

17 hours ago, Turkish said:

Box of tissues, some smelling salts, few lemons, what else?

Maybe some fencing lessons to beef up the security at their training ground? 🤔

[trousers]

59 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

 

If he didn't think it was an issue, he wouldn't be hiding behind a tree.

Even if he wasn't aware of the 72 hour rule, observing another team's training is still in breach of the lesser "acting in good faith" rule, hence he was always going to be acting a tad cagey....

Edited 1 hour ago by trousers

[Gloucester Saint]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

In fact... aren't they breching the same regulation Saints have?

EFL Regulation 3.4 — clubs must “act towards each other with the utmost good faith.”

Attempting to prejudice and influence the outcome of an ongoing investigation is not acting in good faith!

Hence why Saints keeping their powder dry is the way to go. Gibson has been getting more and more wound up during this afternoon at Boro not being at the hearing - they’ve given their witness statement like any other hearing. Sky are equally stupid for pandering to him even this afternoon but you have to wonder if it’s backfiring on him and them.

[Jimmy_D]

5 minutes ago, St Chalet said:

Having read a few of the league judgements, these are professional people looking at the facts, previous cases and proportionality. 
 

Boro looking desperate now which is a good sign. 
 

Saints doing our business in private will play out better. 
 

My position all along is we will admit the charge and provide as much mitigation as we can. 

We’ve not actually said anything publicly other than we’re cooperating fully and we’re doing an internal investigation.

I don’t think it’s likely, but I really would laugh if we’ve just kept our powder dry and we have something like the rumour of him actually not being employed by us that gets us off the hook completely.  

[coalman]

Look, people, I know we're all mad at the Boro fans right now but can you actually think of a worse punishment than being forced to live in Middlesbrough? Nothing we can think of for them compares with that irrespective of how the hearing turns out today.

[Toadhall Saint]

1 minute ago, coalman said:

Look, people, I know we're all mad at the Boro fans right now but can you actually think of a worse punishment than being forced to live in Middlesbrough? Nothing we can think of for them compares with that irrespective of how the hearing turns out today.

Port Talbot?

[Midfield_General]

32 minutes ago, Saint NL said:

Turn it up, gangsta Gibbo will crush all those suits at the EFL 

 

😂😂😂

 

 

He'd be a much more intimidating gangsta if he didn't so closely resemble Keith Harris

(Pictured here with Kim Hellberg)

Edited 1 hour ago by Midfield_General

[coalman]

Just now, Toadhall Saint said:

Port Talbot?

It would need to contain more Boro fans for that to be true.

[Saint NL]

Just thinking back to when the transfer window was open, especially those last days of the summer window, saints made a lot of signings and there were hardly any news leaks. So it gives hope they're getting the business done without all the shouting and telling their buddies in the press...

[Toadhall Saint]

Just now, coalman said:

It would need to contain more Boro fans for that to be true.

Fair enough 

[The very right reverend]

8 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

There’s actually some nice places in Liverpool though! City centre impressive and the city has views of Snowdonia. Compare that to Middlesbrough..

 

 

There are a number of suburbs in Liverpool that to be fair are equal to or superior to Southampton's Chilworth, Ocean Village and Basset, Liverpool's Calderstones, Grassendale, Woolton and Allerton are very very posh.

[Gloucester Saint]

3 minutes ago, Toadhall Saint said:

Port Talbot?

Areas around Port Talbot are nicer though. Whereas Saltburn, Stockton, Darlington and Hartlepool are absolute luxury compared with Middlesbrough. We liked Darlington, Stockton has some superb pubs and a decent centre, Hartlepool has the quay and Saltburn has some great coastal scenery around it e.g. Staithes and traditional coastal town itself.

No excuse for living in Middlesbrough unless you really are struggling in life. 

Edited 1 hour ago by Gloucester Saint

[Andy Hill]

We are keeping very quiet through all of this - which is probably the right thing to do. But does anyone ITK know what our defence is likely to be ? 

[Toadhall Saint]

Just now, The very right reverend said:

There are a number of suburbs in Liverpool that to be fair are equal to or superior to Southampton's Chilworth, Ocean Village and Basset, Liverpool's Calderstones, Grassendale, Woolton and Allerton are very very posh.

Yawn

[6ft8saint]

5 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

They are aggravating factors. Proper evidence that suggests this is systemic and a campaign of cheating to gain an advantage is obviously more serious and deserves a harsher penalty. 

I work in security systems and id be amazed if any club in the league is storing cctv footage beyond the industry average of 30days so I think its hardly likely that many have any footage if it even has happened. However I wouldn't put it past Gibson to pay people to say anything at this point

[Matthew Le God]

3 minutes ago, Jimmy_D said:

I really would laugh if we’ve just kept our powder dry and we have something like the rumour of him actually not being employed by us that gets us off the hook completely.  

If that happened I don't think I could stop laughing from now until the final.

[RedArmy]

43 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

I see people are starting to change their backgrounds on Facebook to the Middlesbrough crest to show their support.

I hope we don’t have to take any refugees from up there. They’re all mental. 

[Whitey Grandad]

5 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Hence why Saints keeping their powder dry is the way to go. Gibson has been getting more and more wound up during this afternoon at Boro not being at the hearing - they’ve given their witness statement like any other hearing. Sky are equally stupid for pandering to him even this afternoon but you have to wonder if it’s backfiring on him and them.

You've spelt 'witless' wrong.

[The Kraken]

3 minutes ago, trousers said:

Even if he wasn't aware of the 72 hour rule, observing another team's training is still in breach of the lesser "acting in good faith" rule, hence he was a always going to be acting a tad cagey....

Is it?

The 72 hour rule specifically mentions not watching or attempting to watch another club’s training session. Why impose the 72 hour limit if it’s still an offence outside of 72 hours?