#Spygate

[Holmes_and_Watson]

28 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

 

What Leicester got is irrelevant, the EFL will need to make sure any punishment is taken seriously because of the fuss that Boro have kicked up about it. 

WAAAAAAASAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

There. That should be enough noise for an auto-promotion and 12 free points should we ever return to the EFL. 🙂

 

[Toussaint]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

I’ve heard that there is no case to answer so we have been automatically promoted to make up for all the stress caused in the last week. Boro also have to give us Hayden Hackney in a straight swap for Baz and Damian Downs a the photo of salt was proven to be AI. Happy days lads

There is a lot of truth in that, I heard it too. First of all I heard it from the voice in my head (one of many), secondly you said it, ergo, it’s as much of a fact as the overwhelming number of other conjecture that has been reported as fact. All we need now is another ten people to repeat it and it does, in fact, become fact! Case closed. Welcome aboard Hayden! 

[Toussaint]

1 hour ago, LegalEagle said:

Re my messsge above. I’ve had messages of support today from mates who are Arsenal,  Derby, Coventry, Norwich, Leicester and Plymouth fans. They all despise Middlesbrough and Gibson in particular.

If I had any mates I’m sure I’d get similar messages of support. My dog, who is generally supportive, hasn’t got too engaged with this issue, which is somewhat disappointing. 

[SNSUN]

55 minutes ago, saintant said:

So if Boro shout loud enough we could be kicked out of the EFL entirely. Interesting.

Captain Jack, Cam Bragg, JayRob and Cam Archer and Dragan's 1.6 billion squid will absolutely dick the Vanarama National League next year. 😇

Edited 12 hours ago by SNSUN
Typo... we're not re-signing JayRod

[SW11_Saint]

16 hours ago, St Chalet said:

Was Bielsa sacked for doing this?

No. 

[swannymere]

 How about we play Boro again and the winner goes to the final?

[Saint_clark]

56 minutes ago, swannymere said:

 How about we play Boro again and the winner goes to the final?

Why should we?

[Matthew Le God]

8 hours ago, SNSUN said:

Points can be transferable between the Leagues but only if the Premier League accept it. Otherwise it'd be suspended until we got relegated again. 

We had a 27 year spell in the top flight between 1978 and 2005. It would be very strange if we did similar again and got a points deduction in 2053 for something that happened in 2026! 

Edited 5 hours ago by Matthew Le God

[Master Bates]

Wow!

 

[EssEffCee]

12 minutes ago, Master Bates said:

Wow!

 

Reckon this is far more worthy of expulsion than what Will Salt did.

[Arjen Robben]

6 hours ago, swannymere said:

 How about we play Boro again and the winner goes to the final?

Do you mean call a truce, come out of our trenches and have a kick around in no man’s land to decide.

[benjii]

11 hours ago, RedArmy said:

A post on their forum in reference to the skates 

 

“They are the Boro of the south coast.” 
 

You don’t fucking say 
 

 

Bit harsh on the Skates considering Boro's major honours consists of one League Cup.

[Toadhall Saint]

5 minutes ago, benjii said:

Bit harsh on the Skates considering Boro's major honours consists of one League Cup.

Was that the league cup sponsored by pampers?

[benjii]

The more I think about it, the apparent instant emergence of a whistleblower with links to Middlesbrough is quite odd.

Wouldn't surprise me if he somehow induced our chap to be there.

"Yeah, mate, it's open land. People stand there and watch all the time.  They aren't bothered. You can park at the golf club and walk round. Let's catch up for a beer after."

 

Edited 4 hours ago by benjii

[Toadhall Saint]

1 minute ago, benjii said:

The more I think about it, the apparent instant emergence of a whistleblower with links to Middlesbrough is quite odd.

Wouldn't surprise me if he somehow induced our chap to be there.

"Yeah, mate, it's open land. People stand there and watch all the time.  They aren't bothered. You can park at the golf club and walk round. Let's catch up for a beer after."

 

Could be. Hence the weird picture angle. Almost like the photographer knew he would be there.

[Turkish]

1 minute ago, benjii said:

The more I think about it, the apparent instant emergence of a whistleblower with links to Middlesbrough is quite odd.

Wouldn't surprise me if he somehow induced our chap to be there.

"Yeah, mate, it's open land. People stand there and watch all the time.  They aren't bothered. You can park at the golf club and walk round. Let's catch up for a beer after."

 

That’s what I think happened. Naive intern set up by former colleague who then grasses him up to get back at Saints for Giving him the boot 

[offsidetrap]

8 hours ago, CanadaSaint said:

It wouldn’t surprise me if the EFL top brass is wondering if they would be better without ANY rule on spying. The Leeds affair caught them unprepared, so they fudged a solution.

Exactly. Allow spying but just binoculars and notebook. No drones, mics or cameras (except maybe those tiny Minox film ones). Messages can only be sent back by pigeon and spies must travel by train or bus. Plus a free pardon for security staff on injuries inflicted and spies must wear first team tracksuits of the spying club. 

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, Turkish said:

That’s what I think happened. Naive intern set up by former colleague who then grasses him up to get back at Saints for Giving him the boot 

Imagine if Boro get a bollocking/sanction from all of this, for something

The meltdown would be f-ing priceless 🤣

[James G]

4 minutes ago, Turkish said:

That’s what I think happened. Naive intern set up by former colleague who then grasses him up to get back at Saints for Giving him the boot 

I do think that is what happened

Salt isn't in the second two manager of the month photos, which could mean he wasn't being included as much as he would have liked. The two LinkedIn photos went down at the same time, which means Salt maybe implicated the other guy. 

We didn't play any differently, but Salt is on the books, so the club just have to make sure there's nothing more to the story, hence the silence

Southampton have probably told the efl of everything so they are aware, which is why the efl have pushed ahead with the final

I do think if Middlesbrough were confident, they would have stayed quiet

[Toadhall Saint]

I just think the whole thing is a bit strange.

- timing just before our first leg play off 

- allegedly all clubs do it

- ex Boro/saints analyst 

- the actual picture of Will Salt

- not sure if there are any more junior roles than an intern role

- the feeding of info to journalists

- the expectation that they would get a seat at the hearing where they can produce further evidence in regard to us doing this all the time. 
 

etc etc

other than it being a bit shabby of us it really doesn’t smell right.

Edited 3 hours ago by Toadhall Saint

[Arjen Robben]

14 minutes ago, Turkish said:

That’s what I think happened. Naive intern set up by former colleague who then grasses him up to get back at Saints for Giving him the boot 

Heard Salt was really into ornithology and was told he would get some amazing pictures of the common smoggy tit and it’s striking red plumage that is known to frequent that area !!

[James G]

2 minutes ago, Toadhall Saint said:

I just think the whole thing is a bit strange.

- timing just before our first leg play off 

- allegedly all clubs do it

- ex Boro/saints analyst 

- the actual picture of Will Salt

- not sure if there are any more junior roles than an intern role

- the feeding of info to journalists

- the expectation that they would get a seat at the hearing where they can produce further evidence in regard to us doing this all the time. 
 

etc etc

other than it being a bit shabby of us it really doesn’t smell right.

It's about money 💰 

I think Gibson has figured out from an early stage that they can get money out of this, so all the posturing has been about getting sympathy, full stopped by a strongly worded press release. He was going to sue us from the get go

I don't think he ever expected us to get thrown out. That's my reasoning anyway

[AlexLaw76]

7 minutes ago, Toadhall Saint said:

I just think the whole thing is a bit strange.

- timing just before our first leg play off 

- allegedly all clubs do it

- ex Boro/saints analyst 

- the actual picture of Will Salt

- not sure if there are any more junior roles than an intern role

- the feeding of info to journalists

- the expectation that they would get a seat at the hearing where they can produce further evidence in regard to us doing this all the time. 
 

etc etc

other than it being a bit shabby of us it really doesn’t smell right.

No no no, Saints are rotten to the core and are a disgusting Zionist club, and this is all Tonda's fault for no other reason than being a Nonce

[Cuddles]

20 minutes ago, benjii said:

The more I think about it, the apparent instant emergence of a whistleblower with links to Middlesbrough is quite odd.

Wouldn't surprise me if he somehow induced our chap to be there.

"Yeah, mate, it's open land. People stand there and watch all the time.  They aren't bothered. You can park at the golf club and walk round. Let's catch up for a beer after."

 

Had the same thought last night. Boro fans will think we're clutching at straws, but the whole thing feels odd and the Linkedin deletions surely must be related. It's too coincidental.

If this WAS the case, you can understand Tonda's frustration and wanting to say something.

[Mr X]

17 hours ago, Sunglasses Ron said:

It doesn’t work that way in reality.

As a minimum, I would say that the club would need to provide proof that he was provided with some kind of ethics training that specifically covered the requirement not to observe training less than 72 hours before a game.

Even then, you have to question how logical it is that their Line Manager wouldn’t have been aware of a lengthy trip to Middlesbrough.

If the above could be proved then there would be a fair argument to say that the club made all reasonable steps and that the employee effectively went rogue.

 

Good explanation cheers 👍

[Harry_SFC]

Probably wearing rose tinted spectacles but IF Boro have essentially set this up in any way, then that's pretty serious.

[hypochondriac]

1 minute ago, Harry_SFC said:

Probably wearing rose tinted spectacles but IF Boro have essentially set this up in any way, then that's pretty serious.

Boro haven't set this up that's completely far fetched. Maybe this ex intern had a hand in setting the guy up but even that feels quite unlikely to me. 

[sfc4prem]

9 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

 

The appeal board in Everton, when considering Derby, went on to clarify that punishment is far less important than maintaining the integrity of the competition and the sport of football, with deterrence being an important overlapping aim (paragraph 199)"

 

Point 4 is the key one here. They will want to make sure that any punishment isn't seen as a token one with us basically completely getting away with it. 

No, we're almost certainly not getting thrown out - although it is clear that they aren't ruling that option out - but it won't be just a fine or a token points deduction either, it will be a sporting sanction which is significant enough to act as a serious deterrent and satisfy outside observers that we've been punished accordingly.

Hmmmm. I wonder if they could ban us from using data analysts for an entire season? That's a pretty fucking big sporting sanction right there.

[Mr X]

Looking forward to see how the club are going to spin it in their statement if we are found guilty 😂 I'm sure they will acknowledge they've let fans down 😜

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

I could get onboard with this notion of a stitch-up. That ex boro/ex SFC analyst link is murky. Gobby-Gibbo has got history, probably didn't rate their chances of beating us over two legs and had a sniff of £millions in compo.

Be a nice twist if anything in it and there's evidence in the background yet to come out.

[EssEffCee]

5 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Boro haven't set this up that's completely far fetched. Maybe this ex intern had a hand in setting the guy up but even that feels quite unlikely to me. 

Yeah all the conspiracy stuff is pretty mental tbh and as bad as some of the stuff Boro fans are spouting.

I think the most likely thing is that we've sent him to do it. Probably not the first time I'd say too.

 

[egg]

Jeez, and now the conspiracy theories have started! Give your heads a wobble.

[Cuddles]

4 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Boro haven't set this up that's completely far fetched. Maybe this ex intern had a hand in setting the guy up but even that feels quite unlikely to me. 

The ex-employee staging it is the more likely scenario, as it would come back to Boro eventually otherwise.

All seems incredibly unlikely but the Linkedin thing is weird unless the ex-employee found out immediately and deleted their profile to avoid being wrongly accused in the press (although you'd think Linkedin would show them as no longer employed by us anyway).

[AlexLaw76]

Come on, we are going to get a points deduction and a fine at best. We all know it, with lots of carefully worded statements coming thereafter 

[Toadhall Saint]

1 minute ago, egg said:

Jeez, and now the conspiracy theories have started! Give your heads a wobble.

I’m not one for conspiracy theories to be honest. Just pointing out some things I find strange. 

[egg]

3 minutes ago, EssEffCee said:

Yeah all the conspiracy stuff is pretty mental tbh and as bad as some of the stuff Boro fans are spouting.

I think the most likely thing is that we've sent him to do it. Probably not the first time I'd say too.

 

Yep. Nonsense like this makes us look almost as bad as the Boro fans. 

[egg]

2 minutes ago, Toadhall Saint said:

I’m not one for conspiracy theories to be honest. Just pointing out some things I find strange. 

What's strange is our lad standing behind a tree and waving his phone at the Boro training pitches. That's the focus, no pun intended.

What possessed or persuaded him to do that makes a wee bit of difference, and I'd prefer it to be naivety than instructions from our end, but even if a mate with Boro connections encouraged him, he still did it. 

[hypochondriac]

11 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Come on, we are going to get a points deduction and a fine at best. We all know it, with lots of carefully worded statements coming thereafter 

Weren't you wetting you knickers yesterday about being kicked out? 

Edited 3 hours ago by hypochondriac

[AlexLaw76]

Just now, hypochondriac said:

Weren't you wetting you knockers yesterday about being kicked out? 

yeah, for about an hour. 

[Costa del Solent]

7 hours ago, swannymere said:

 How about we play Boro again and the winner goes to the final?

We actually already did that. Beat them 2-1. Shea scored the winner. 

[CB Fry]

2 minutes ago, Mr X said:

Looking forward to see how the club are going to spin it in their statement if we are found guilty 😂 I'm sure they will acknowledge they've let fans down 😜

Well, we are going to be found guilty and to be honest you can pretty much write the statement now.

Apologies to league, Middlesborough, our fans / we have fallen below our own high standards / we've done a comprehensive review of our processes and procedures / reassurances this won't happen again / acknowledgement that this has tarnished our achievements this season / we remain committed to the high standards and integrity of the competitions we participate in

and so on.

[Toadhall Saint]

3 minutes ago, egg said:

What's strange is our lad standing behind a tree and waving his phone at the Boro training pitches. That's the focus, no pun intended.

What possessed or persuaded him to do that makes a wee bit of difference, and I'd prefer it to be naivety than instructions from our end, but even if a mate with Boro connections encouraged him, he still did it. 

Yep I get all that and either way it’s pretty idiotic. 

[Hawkswood]

30 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Boro haven't set this up that's completely far fetched. Maybe this ex intern had a hand in setting the guy up but even that feels quite unlikely to me. 

Yeah, I tend to agree. Would be fucking hilarious but does feel, as you say, a bit far fetched.

[badgerx16]

40 minutes ago, James G said:

It's about money 💰 

I think Gibson has figured out from an early stage that they can get money out of this, .......

He would have got a whole lot more by winning the semi final.

[Hawkswood]

23 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Come on, we are going to get a points deduction and a fine at best. We all know it, with lots of carefully worded statements coming thereafter 

Probably right. Fine defo, but if the points deduction is too high ie, similar to Leicester which it shouldn't be, we'll contest it over the next few weeks, which will probably then be reduced. They'll still want the final to go ahead with us I think. Kicking us out leads into very very choppy water.

[Crab Lungs]

[Willo of Whiteley]

Jake Taylor (bitter ex-employee who was let go from Southampton) entices analyst intern Will Salt to the north east.

”Yeah it’ll be fine mate, we’ll have a drink later”.

Not entirely implausible.

[Willo of Whiteley]

I think this’ll all be wrapped up by later afternoon on Monday.

[trousers]

1 hour ago, benjii said:

The more I think about it, the apparent instant emergence of a whistleblower with links to Middlesbrough is quite odd.

Wouldn't surprise me if he somehow induced our chap to be there.

"Yeah, mate, it's open land. People stand there and watch all the time.  They aren't bothered. You can park at the golf club and walk round. Let's catch up for a beer after."

 

 

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

That’s what I think happened. Naive intern set up by former colleague who then grasses him up to get back at Saints for Giving him the boot 

I know this "whistleblower set a trap" notion is conspiracy theory territory, and that kind of thinking inevitably attracts the wrath of the forum thought police but, to me, the alternative reality - that we willing sent a junior analyst to stand in plain sight to video a training session knowing that it was breaking the 72 hour rule and knowing that it could lead to us being thrown out of the competition - seems even more bizarre than some of the 'conspiracy theories' to me.... Are we really stupid and naive enough to have done that...?

If it is a simple case of us knowingly breaking the rules, at Tonda's level or above, then we deserve to be chucked out of the competition. 

All I'll say is that the emergence of a whistleblower that just happened to work for both clubs in recent times seems a tad convenient (from Middlesbrough's perspective) to me... 

Edited 2 hours ago by trousers

[LegalEagle]

1 minute ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

Jake Taylor (bitter ex-employee who was let go from Southampton) entices analyst intern Will Salt to the north east.

”Yeah it’ll be fine mate, we’ll have a drink later”.

Not entirely implausible.

Not implausible at all and if it is anywhere near the truth young Salt will spill the beans. Salt is the only one who knows fully what went on here and I’m assuming he has given a statement to the EFL. That could cut two ways of course……..