Sports Republics response to “Spygate”

[sadoldgit]

40 minutes ago, LGTL said:

Yes, he is, and he should absolutely be sacked for his role (or complete non-role) in the media fallout of all this. 

Maybe Dragan told him to keep quiet? It seems very odd that there was so little from our side. A Head of Comms, you would assume, would have been gagging to respond.

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

1 hour ago, Livewire said:

Agree 💯. SPB are a good law firm. Kate Gallafent knows her stuff. They came on the scene likely when it was too late. Which is why I am zeroing in on the initial response. They had to instruct SPB straight away. That would have increased the likelihood of getting ahead of things and reacting appropriately. As it was, the initial reaction was... inadequate. It sealed our punishment.

Interesting insight. I've probably been hasty in saying the lawyers were rubbish. Seems like in general Saints dug their own grave more than anything. 

[East Kent Saint]

You have to remember people are appointed who are mates or do good presentations are often useless when it comes to making actual decisions or know what is going on . 

[LegalEagle]

5 minutes ago, JohnnyShearer2.0 said:

Interesting insight. I've probably been hasty in saying the lawyers were rubbish. Seems like in general Saints dug their own grave more than anything. 

SPB are a good firm. What did for us here - if it is correct so we do have to caveat this - is Parsons getting on his knees to Gibson in the Boro boardroom on the day of the first leg. Can anyone remember where that story came from? Or was it just internet Chinese whispers?

[Gloucester Saint]

Just now, LegalEagle said:

SPB are a good firm. What did for us here - if it is correct so we do have to caveat this - is Parsons getting on his knees to Gibson in the Boro boardroom on the day of the first leg. Can anyone remember where that story came from? Or was it just internet Chinese whispers?

Was in the Daily Telegraph IIRC

[Holmes_and_Watson]

3 hours ago, Toussaint said:

I was was fixated on the pepper grinder?!?

Well, 'boro have failed to grind out results in the league... the semi finals... the final...

[Toussaint]

1 minute ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

Well, 'boro have failed to grind out results in the league... the semi finals... the final...

Ok, this is your fault, but this is where my brain went…(abridged version)

pepper

salt and pepper 

squid 

tentacles 

testicles 

balls

ballsup 

= Biggest ever balls up. 
 

Seemed obvious 

 

 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

2 hours ago, Livewire said:

I am an in-house solicitor in a relatively large commercial company and am commenting from that perspective. Saints' initial response was brutally and stunningly inept. The tribunal as good as concluded that we lied to them at the outset by saying it was isolated and by making light of it. Who marshalled that initial response? Who gathered the facts? An in-house lawyer stops everything, speaks to everyone relevant and gets to the bottom of it. Was that done? If so, were any lies told to whoever asked the questions? Like someone said above, we had to get on top of the truth internally ASAP, which would have enabled us to formulate an appropriate response. I imagine no one legal was involved until it was too late - which is stunning. Parsons having that informal chat to Gibson at their place - was he advised to do so? By whom? The club were found to run the operation from the top - does that mean Tonda or the management? If a regulator comes after you, collaborate (unless you are Man City) and look like you mean it. We looked like we had something to hide. Not to mention the PR angle, where we were immediately treated like war criminals. There was no response to that. I don't blame the people running the appeal - by then it was too late. 

Agreed. There's quite a few on this board, who work in industries where the above requirements from legal/compliance would be standard, and well ingrained, processes. There's an incident and the wheels immediately begin turning.

If persons have hidden, misled or outright lied during that process there will be hell to pay. That's sending people out there to lie to police, courts and regulators, and we may see some of that in the FA in estivation results.

@ChristopheVAFC makes the good point, that silence may be part of the club conducting a full internal investigation, not just into the spying itself, but into the information that was known and shared throughout the club.

If you can't rely on the veracity of the information, then there won't be a press release with any detail.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

13 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

Ok, this is your fault, but this is where my brain went…(abridged version)

pepper

salt and pepper 

squid 

tentacles 

testicles 

balls

ballsup 

= Biggest ever balls up. 
 

Seemed obvious 

 

 

It does. Hard to think of THB using anything other than this, the most straightforward, reasoning.

[Midfield_General]

1 hour ago, LegalEagle said:

SPB are a good firm. What did for us here - if it is correct so we do have to caveat this - is Parsons getting on his knees to Gibson in the Boro boardroom on the day of the first leg. Can anyone remember where that story came from? Or was it just internet Chinese whispers?

It was the Daily Telegraph, 19th May. Written by Luke Edwards, who is of course their 'Northern Football Writer', so this whole account would have been briefed to him by Gibson's team. 

 

Excerpt below, link to full article at the bottom. Read it, weep, and consider how Parsons is apparently still somehow in a fucking job: 

The extraordinary messages and pictures that damned Southampton in ‘spygate’ scandal

From an intern hiding behind a tree to expulsion from the play-off final, here is the inside story of club’s costly operation

"Middlesbrough were so angry that they considered banning Southampton’s board members from the game at the Riverside, but decided it was better to face them.

 

Observers kept a close eye on Gibson and Southampton chief executive Phil Parsons, ready for fireworks when the two spoke. Eyewitnesses* told Telegraph Sport that it was Parsons who instigated a conversation, grabbing Gibson gently by the arm and asking if they could go somewhere quieter for a chat.

 

It was then, in front of senior figures at the EFL, that Parsons admitted what had happened, apologised and said the club would launch a full investigation to find out who was responsible. It was hinted that Salt may have acted alone, but they would protect the young man and would do everything they could to determine whether anyone had instructed him to travel to Teesside to record the training session.

 

Parsons is then understood to have told Gibson that they would accept the punishment and pay the fine.

 

The suggestion provoked the previously calm Gibson. His whole demeanour changed and the conversation became more barbed. Gibson made it clear that would not be acceptable to him and Middlesbrough would be seeking the toughest possible sporting sanction, which would mean Southampton’s expulsion from the play-offs. The atmosphere inside the boardroom darkened and worsened after Middlesbrough were held to a goalless draw in front of an angry and hostile Riverside crowd."

 

Full article (it's meant to be behind a paywall, but it's the Telegraph, so fuck them):

https://archive.ph/ZB2Gc#selection-3691.0-3711.471 

 

(* Eyewitnesses who were in the Middlesbrough boardroom, I wonder who that could possibly have been) 

 

 

 

Edited 14 hours ago by Midfield_General

[Midfield_General]

1 hour ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

Silence may be part of the club conducting a full internal investigation

If it is, then the very least they need to do is go public and say that.

It would be the first step to getting a few people back onside, if they knew that someone was at least trying to hold people to account. 

But for as long as this silence goes on, and no-one knows what's happening (or not happening), the more it creates a vacuum which people fill with their own interpretations/ guesses/ rumours/ anger, and that means that the damage being done just keeps piling up. 

Where the fuck Sibley has been throughout this and what he is doing now I just do not know. 

It's not just amateur hour, it's amateur millennium. 

Edited 13 hours ago by Midfield_General

[Miltonaggro]

I think that at this point our interpretation of ‘Dragan is furious’ provided by the club fluffers means that he has had a couple of Teams calls with Phil and the gang, and have agreed to wait and see if the FA ban Eckhert before deciding whether to sack him. I am sure that Phil and Rasmus have reassured that the furore with the idiot fans will ‘blow over’ in time for season ticket and new kit sales, just like it has in the past when there have been avoidable debacles.  As a bare minimum, given what the idiots DO know, you’d like to think a genuine club would have refunded wembley and semi final (retrospectively two meaningless friendlies) expenses by now. Shower of shit!

Edited 13 hours ago by Miltonaggro

[John B]

15 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

If it is, then the very least they need to do is go public and say that.

It would be the first step to getting a few people back onside, if they knew that someone was at least trying to hold people to account. 

But for as long as this silence goes on, and no-one knows what's happening (or not happening), the more it creates a vacuum which people fill with their own interpretations/ guesses/ rumours/ anger, and that means that the damage being done just keeps piling up. 

Where the fuck Sibley has been throughout this and what he is doing I just do not know. 

It's not just amateur hour, it's amateur millennium. 

It is hardly the end of the world somebody's error of judgement which rightly led to our non attendance at the playoffs,

We just need to be patient and support the club another year in the Championship was always going to be a problem but now we need a new manager as we cannot have someone who has been found guilty of cheating in charge

I remember Bloodgate in Rugby Union where Dean Richards of Harlequins was found guilty of cheating banned for three years but returned and became Director of Rugby at Newcastle for ten years

[Midfield_General]

1 hour ago, John B said:

It is hardly the end of the world somebody's error of judgement which rightly led to our non attendance at the playoffs,

We just need to be patient and support the club another year in the Championship was always going to be a problem but now we need a new manager as we cannot have someone who has been found guilty of cheating in charge

I remember Bloodgate in Rugby Union where Dean Richards of Harlequins was found guilty of cheating banned for three years but returned and became Director of Rugby at Newcastle for ten years

Obviously people's viewpoints will differ on this, but if people are happy just to get on and blindly 'support the club' - i.e. passively accept the disastrous way SR are running the club and just keep pumping their money in as fans regardless - then in my opinion it will just prove that football fans are there to be taken advantage of in the way that SR clearly think we are. 

'The club' right now is Sport Republic. Sport Republic have been catastrophic owners from the outset and now their ineptitude has now not only relegated us but has also cost us our best shot at promotion. That combination of factors could screw us for years to come. 

The only way we move forward as a club is to force them out. The only way we can force them out is to stop going. Don't buy season tickets, don't buy any tickets at all, don't buy merch. Withdraw support until they're gone. 

Reading the different posts on here, it's clear that not everyone shares this viewpoint, and that's fair enough. Everyone should do what they want to do. But for as long as the fans' money keeps flowing in, SR have no reason to hold themselves accountable, improve or move aside for a more competent owner to come in, so nobody should expect anything to change. 

Edited 12 hours ago by Midfield_General

[lambtiss]

@Midfield_General as you say, supporters will have different takes on this debacle and the others that have preceded it.

Personally, much as I think our current owners have been that incompetent that you almost wonder if they have acted out of malice rather than ignorance.

However, I still hope they can get it right, as it seemed they had until Spygate broke, and I will be renewing my season ticket.

Come on you reds, yellows or whatever you run out in.

Edited 12 hours ago by lambtiss

[SaintNate]

2 hours ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

It does. Hard to think of THB using anything other than this, the most straightforward, reasoning.

Or seasoning, as it were. 

[jemanson]

8 hours ago, Toussaint said:

I was was fixated on the pepper grinder?!?

I was trying to check the earlobes 

[Block 5]

3 hours ago, Midfield_General said:

Obviously people's viewpoints will differ on this, but if people are happy just to get on and blindly 'support the club' - i.e. passively accept the disastrous way SR are running the club and just keep pumping their money in as fans regardless - then in my opinion it will just prove that football fans are there to be taken advantage of in the way that SR clearly think we are. 

'The club' right now is Sport Republic. Sport Republic have been catastrophic owners from the outset and now their ineptitude has now not only relegated us but has also cost us our best shot at promotion. That combination of factors could screw us for years to come. 

The only way we move forward as a club is to force them out. The only way we can force them out is to stop going. Don't buy season tickets, don't buy any tickets at all, don't buy merch. Withdraw support until they're gone. 

Reading the different posts on here, it's clear that not everyone shares this viewpoint, and that's fair enough. Everyone should do what they want to do. But for as long as the fans' money keeps flowing in, SR have no reason to hold themselves accountable, improve or move aside for a more competent owner to come in, so nobody should expect anything to change. 

[macca155]

20 hours ago, SaintlyAnd said:

I’ve spent a lot of this week feeling so angry and down about what happened. With people in our club and in particular SR. 

For my own sanity I tried formulating my thoughts on the last few years and how its built up to this. Appreciate its a long read, but was cathartic for me to gather together frustrations.

https://saintsstuff.substack.com/p/too-smart-to-do-the-basics-a-view
 

That is an excellent read, and really nails the main cultural issue at the club.

I fear that we are going to see more of the same. They seem incapable of learning. 

[Nolan]

3 hours ago, Midfield_General said:

Obviously people's viewpoints will differ on this, but if people are happy just to get on and blindly 'support the club' - i.e. passively accept the disastrous way SR are running the club and just keep pumping their money in as fans regardless - then in my opinion it will just prove that football fans are there to be taken advantage of in the way that SR clearly think we are. 

'The club' right now is Sport Republic. Sport Republic have been catastrophic owners from the outset and now their ineptitude has now not only relegated us but has also cost us our best shot at promotion. That combination of factors could screw us for years to come. 

The only way we move forward as a club is to force them out. The only way we can force them out is to stop going. Don't buy season tickets, don't buy any tickets at all, don't buy merch. Withdraw support until they're gone. 

Reading the different posts on here, it's clear that not everyone shares this viewpoint, and that's fair enough. Everyone should do what they want to do. But for as long as the fans' money keeps flowing in, SR have no reason to hold themselves accountable, improve or move aside for a more competent owner to come in, so nobody should expect anything to change. 

the second half of the season was quite enjoyable to be fair, until the tree and the spy stuff.

Arguably, if Ankersen had been more involved, given his years in English football,  it might not have happened.

SR have lots of reason to hold themselves accountable, to conserve the Capital investment in the club.

[hypochondriac]

When do we reckon we will get any further response then? Would be quite amusing if they just said nothing and carried on for as long as possible. I'm going to go with Wednesday.

[bugenhagen]

4 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

When do we reckon we will get any further response then? Would be quite amusing if they just said nothing and carried on for as long as possible. I'm going to go with Wednesday.

None? Is that an option? At least not any kind of response we would want.

We might get a short statement saying that Tonda is on gardening leave/suspended pending the FA investigation.

Or they might wait until the verdict from the FA is official.

And there will be a kit launch and season tickets sale like nothing have happened...

This is what I expect from them (not what I want)

[hypochondriac]

19 minutes ago, bugenhagen said:

None? Is that an option? At least not any kind of response we would want.

We might get a short statement saying that Tonda is on gardening leave/suspended pending the FA investigation.

Or they might wait until the verdict from the FA is official.

And there will be a kit launch and season tickets sale like nothing have happened...

This is what I expect from them (not what I want)

Nah I reckon they will have to say something at some point. It's not sustainable to do nothing. Any PR people would say they will have to demonstrate that they have changed. The longer they go without saying anything though the funnier it is getting.

[maxi_sopez]

Amazing we have just said nothing since the decision.

the PR response from club to entire thing will be studied to show how not to do crisis comms. Been a mess from start to finish.

[bugenhagen]

20 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Nah I reckon they will have to say something at some point. It's not sustainable to do nothing. Any PR people would say they will have to demonstrate that they have changed. The longer they go without saying anything though the funnier it is getting.

 

12 minutes ago, maxi_sopez said:

Amazing we have just said nothing since the decision.

the PR response from club to entire thing will be studied to show how not to do crisis comms. Been a mess from start to finish.

Well, I guess their silence has worked in the sense that there are fewer pitchforks around. We as a fanbase are cooling down a little.

I don't mean this as to say that they are doing it right, just that most people want instant answers and info, often a bit to soon 😉

And that the only statements they can make at this time are the kind of statements that doesn't really say anything (but again, they should be doing that).

In the end I just do not have any confidence in them being on top of this with a good plan. So the silence is just another sign of their incompetence as leaders...

[Willo of Whiteley]

As much as their board/owners are pretty “questionable”, West Ham’s statement to being relegated got me more pumped for them for next season.

[Toussaint]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

When do we reckon we will get any further response then? Would be quite amusing if they just said nothing and carried on for as long as possible. I'm going to go with Wednesday.

I don’t know which day, but I’m sure they are all enjoying the nice weather on this glorious long weekend, do it definitely won’t be before Tuesday. That also gives them plenty of time to delete emails and WhatsApps and set up a sacrificial lamb or two.

[Cuddles]

37 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

As much as their board/owners are pretty “questionable”, West Ham’s statement to being relegated got me more pumped for them for next season.

Sort of read the same as ours to me, except the bit about claret and blue.

[Gloucester Saint]

36 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

As much as their board/owners are pretty “questionable”, West Ham’s statement to being relegated got me more pumped for them for next season.

Got far more guts and get up and go as a fanbase, that’s for sure. Giving it to Sullivan for a couple of years and they really cannot stand the stadium, which will be a millstone around their neck v Lincoln less than half full https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/west-ham-relegation-statement-fan-anger-b1283511.html

The chant of ‘You sold our soul for this shithole’ was powerful. Our lot can’t even decide whether to change a manager who is probably about to banned by the FA. Even Cheltenham Town fans successfully called for Gary Johnson’s head as DoF early season and it’s worked for them. When your fanbase is less ambitious and outspoken than Cheltenham’s, you’ve got existential issues as a football club. 

[Gloucester Saint]

9 minutes ago, Cuddles said:

Sort of read the same as ours to me, except the bit about claret and blue.

Agreed, their fanbase has got x100 more lead in their pencil though.

Imagine the reaction if their club had just fucked up like ours had? Dragan is hardly quaking in his boots. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Gloucester Saint