Sports Republics response to “Spygate”

[SteveGc]

On 24/05/2026 at 14:50, Toussaint said:

Bedwetters, really, that’s the best you have, insult nearly everyone here because you somehow think they have it handled, based on… ?  The layers that have guided them, was it legal aid lawyers or first year law students? 

Not intended have removed  the comment and apologies,  was having a crappy day being sick lol 

Edited yesterday at 13:59 by SteveGc

[CamberwellSaint]

On 23/05/2026 at 21:00, 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
 

This is brilliantly written, thank you. 

The point about the Premier League [through what route?] having warned Russell that his approach would have to change is shocking [insofar as the club was blandly willing to let him continue without either a back-up tactical plan  or 5 new high quality players].  The fact that the Board didn't think it necessary to replace Jason Wilcox speaks volumes.

I disagree that Tonda has to go, but the quality of decision making certainly has to improve dramatically, and those hiring need to get much better at Bullshit Bingo.

[Toussaint]

7 hours ago, SteveGc said:

Not intended have removed  the comment and apologies,  was having a crappy day being sick lol 

Don’t worry about it, emotions are charged. 

[chiknsmack]

3 hours ago, CamberwellSaint said:

The point about the Premier League [through what route?] having warned Russell that his approach would have to change is shocking

It's not true. The article linked to says that "Southampton's board agreed on certain aspects of the side that needed to improve as they returned to the Premier League, with their displays defensively one key area that was addressed."

[kitch]

On 23/05/2026 at 21:00, 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
 

Great read, that.

[manji]

On 24/05/2026 at 09:58, S-Clarke said:

That is an amazing read, really enjoyed it. Thank you for posting it, you've nailed every point.

It should be published and circulated around the media! I still feel SR get off lightly with all of this.

It’s an appalling rant. All over the place looking for scapegoats. No mention of Katrina rejoining the board, nothing about Dragans major court cases he has won. The complete lack of perspective and the omission of at least four potentially major developments says it all. A crap snowflake whinge fluffed up by crap AI. Get back in your box. 

 

 

 

 

[Willo of Whiteley]

Expecting this day to be the same as yesterday 

Tumbleweed

The Sport Republic Way

[AlexLaw76]

5 hours ago, manji said:

It’s an appalling rant. All over the place looking for scapegoats. No mention of Katrina rejoining the board, nothing about Dragans major court cases he has won. The complete lack of perspective and the omission of at least four potentially major developments says it all. A crap snowflake whinge fluffed up by crap AI. Get back in your box. 

 

 

 

 

I know you are a sports republic sycophant, but come on

[Sheaf Saint]

13 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

I know you are a sports republic sycophant, but come on

"Greatest era in our history" 

[S-Clarke]

6 hours ago, manji said:

It’s an appalling rant. All over the place looking for scapegoats. No mention of Katrina rejoining the board, nothing about Dragans major court cases he has won. The complete lack of perspective and the omission of at least four potentially major developments says it all. A crap snowflake whinge fluffed up by crap AI. Get back in your box. 

 

 

 

 

You're losing your head Manji.

[Sheaf Saint]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

You're losing your head Manji.

All day drinking on a sweltering hot bank holiday is never a good idea.

[Osvaldorama]

6 hours ago, manji said:

It’s an appalling rant. All over the place looking for scapegoats. No mention of Katrina rejoining the board, nothing about Dragans major court cases he has won. The complete lack of perspective and the omission of at least four potentially major developments says it all. A crap snowflake whinge fluffed up by crap AI. Get back in your box. 

 

 

 

 

Which part do you disagree with?

 

I agree with almost every word 

[manji]

46 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

You're losing your head Manji.

It’s the heat.

[leesaint88]

It's been a bit of a PR nightmare from the club, but let's hope lessons are learnt....

* Use a proper PR company

* Use proper lawyers from the start

* Give a new manager a proper induction as to the laws of the English game..

[S-Clarke]

4 minutes ago, leesaint88 said:

It's been a bit of a PR nightmare from the club, but let's hope lessons are learnt....

* Use a proper PR company

* Use proper lawyers from the start

* Give a new manager a proper induction as to the laws of the English game..

Lessons are never learnt by SR, hence the absolute deafening silence for the last week.

The same PR disaster is ensuing in front of our eyes.

Edited 12 hours ago by S-Clarke

[manji]

1 hour ago, Sheaf Saint said:

All day drinking on a sweltering hot bank holiday is never a good idea.

Thankfully an unknown benefactor has offered me a villa on the Black Sea coast. Sozopol , Bulgaria all expenses paid. Much cooler there. Wonder who that is ? 

 

Edited 12 hours ago by manji

[Whitey Grandad]

50 minutes ago, manji said:

Thankfully an unknown benefactor has offered me a villa on the Black Sea coast. Sozopol , Bulgaria all expenses paid. Much cooler there. Wonder who that is ? 

 

Best not to ask.

[Midfield_General]

1 hour ago, leesaint88 said:

It's been a bit of a PR nightmare from the club, but let's hope lessons are learnt....

* Use a proper PR company

* Use proper lawyers from the start

* Give a new manager a proper induction as to the laws of the English game..

You are spot on on all three.

But the fact that those utterly fundamental basics are things that our incredibly highly-paid Executive Board 'need to learn' says all you need to know about why we are in this situation.

These are all things I'd expect any half-decent Business graduate to be able to identify straight of college. The fact that no-one on our Board considered these basic measures until it was way too late and the irreversible damage had been done says everything.

Putting aside the actual cheating and focusing on how the fall-out was handled, the people running the club simply don't have the skills, knowledge, experience or expertise to do it competently. Whatever fancy job titles they love to give themselves, they're just not qualified.

Dragan, Parsons, Sibley - they literally don't know what they're doing. 

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

On 23/05/2026 at 21:00, 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
 

I’m mostly giving the football a swerve at the mo so only just read this. That’s a very good summary imo.

I’ve said before that it feels like we’ve been used as a bit of an experiment whilst they try to reinvent football but constantly fail. I know he’s the chairman and the buck ultimately stops with him but I believe Dragan Solak is mostly guilty of putting too much trust in the laps of chancers, he stepped up and took action after the Will Steel debacle and it finally looked to be working but those chancers have now fucked up all the good stuff.

What a shitshow.

[cambsaint]

Sometimes a period of quiet reflection is called for rather than making hasty knee jerk reactions.

Also in the case of Spygate I think that it would be best to remember the words of Jesus-

"Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."

Perspective has been lost in a media frenzy (possibly encouraged by certain PR  advisers but I have no proof of this )

[Dirkdiggler]

Makes you wonder how we have got to this point from being the shining glory of running a club from 8 years ago?

We were the blueprint then of how a smaller club should be run which was copied to a degree by other clubs, Bournemouth and Brighton spring to mind? Look at how those 2 have progressed in the same time. Southampton have gone backwards. 

[Miltonaggro]

2 hours ago, manji said:

Thankfully an unknown benefactor has offered me a villa on the Black Sea coast. Sozopol , Bulgaria all expenses paid. Much cooler there. Wonder who that is ? 

 

Louis Spence?

[Midfield_General]

So when do we think we'll hear something, and what do we think it will be?

Let's start the betting...

I'm going for 4pm this Friday, with a two-line statement that says that they are currently working with the FA on an investigation and cannot comment further at this time.

Followed by two more weeks of radio silence, continuing an information vacuum that gets filled with more wild speculation and rumour. 

[Midfield_General]

1 hour ago, Dirkdiggler said:

Makes you wonder how we have got to this point from being the shining glory of running a club from 8 years ago?

We were the blueprint then of how a smaller club should be run which was copied to a degree by other clubs, Bournemouth and Brighton spring to mind? Look at how those 2 have progressed in the same time. Southampton have gone backwards. 

Don't forget Brentford

And Palace 

And Fulham

All similar sized clubs to ours, all now disappearing over the horizon with consistently solid Prem finishes / European challenges / proper silverware. 

[maxi_sopez]

Maybe that’s it - the club has shuttered and will never hear from them again lol. Must be a record for days with no post on X/Twitter

[Miltonaggro]

4 minutes ago, maxi_sopez said:

Maybe that’s it - the club has shuttered and will never hear from them again lol. Must be a record for days with no post on X/Twitter

With a bit of luck all of the meat puppets have been dropped into Dragan's shark tank below the boardroom and he his currently awaiting his showdown with Bond whilst the semtex wrapped MacBook attached to Ankersen's ballbag counts down. 

[Saint Fan CaM]

Damned if you do and damned if don’t. I think under the circumstances of previous comms, SR are probably playing the smart game by working with the FA to reach ‘common ground’ before making knee-jerk statements. It’s in the best interests of the club and the business to take careful measured approach now.

[tdmickey3]

10 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Damned if you do and damned if don’t. I think under the circumstances of previous comms, SR are probably playing the smart game by working with the FA to reach ‘common ground’ before making knee-jerk statements. It’s in the best interests of the club and the business to take careful measured approach now.

Stop being rational FFS, no place for that on here 😉

[Dirkdiggler]

26 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Damned if you do and damned if don’t. I think under the circumstances of previous comms, SR are probably playing the smart game by working with the FA to reach ‘common ground’ before making knee-jerk statements. It’s in the best interests of the club and the business to take careful measured approach now.

Ah but you’re thinking this is an ownership who know what thier doing but unfortunately last week has proven that this is miles from being correct 

[Saint Fan CaM]

57 minutes ago, Dirkdiggler said:

Ah but you’re thinking this is an ownership who know what thier doing but unfortunately last week has proven that this is miles from being correct 

Ownership or CEO? Unless Dragan is somehow personally implicated directly in the matter I’m not sure it’s fair to tar him with the same brush as Parsons who single-handedly handed Gibbo, the EFL and the baying media everything they needed on a plate.

[Midfield_General]

.

Edited 6 hours ago by Midfield_General
Rubbish joke

[saintant]

Just now, Midfield_General said:

At last!

Breaking news on BBC and Sky...

"Tonda Eckert, Phil Parsons and Jordan Sibley have been sacked and owner Dragan Solak has appointed external legal, sporting, business and PR experts to help guide him as he leads a full, root and branch internal re-structuring of Southampton FC designed to allow the club to learn from past mistakes, re-build it's reputation and set itself up for long-term success."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only joking. They've all still done done and said ABSOLUTELY FUCK ALL

As others have said the club are almost certainly waiting to hear the findings plus any additional punishments once the FA has completed its enquiry into the matter. No idea when this enquiry commenced but, the longer it goes on, the worse will be the outcome for us I would imagine. 

[Midfield_General]

25 minutes ago, saintant said:

As others have said the club are almost certainly waiting to hear the findings plus any additional punishments once the FA has completed its enquiry into the matter. No idea when this enquiry commenced but, the longer it goes on, the worse will be the outcome for us I would imagine. 

I know. It was just a joke because I'm bored. And it was rubbish anyway so I've deleted it. 

But your reply has preserved it in all it's rubbish glory for future generations, so that'll teach me 

Edited 6 hours ago by Midfield_General

[Thripp87]

This radio silence is almost as piss poor as the decision to cheat in the first place. 
The only defence seems to be they might be unable to until the FA investigation finishes. That’s not good enough and the issue of recompense can be done regardless.To offer a 14 day refund on Wembley and official travel is quite frankly pathetic and shows how out of touch these pricks are. 
Any saints fans out of pocket should be up in arms, but as a fanbase we are collectively too passive.

[Toussaint]

28 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

At last!

Breaking news on BBC and Sky...

"Manager Tonda Eckert, CEO Phil Parsons and Group Head of Communications Jordan Sibley have left the club. Owner Dragan Solak has appointed external legal, sporting, business and PR experts to help guide him as he leads a full, root and branch internal re-structuring of Southampton FC designed to allow the club to learn from past mistakes, rebuild its tarnished reputation and put the foundations in place for long-term success. More to follow..."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only joking. They've all still done done and said ABSOLUTELY FUCK ALL

As jokes go that was about as funny as rabies in a guide dogs home !

[Midfield_General]

1 minute ago, Toussaint said:

As jokes go that was about as funny as rabies in a guide dogs home !

Yep fair enough

I resign for being shit

(Note to Parsons: see, not hard is it Phil?)

Edited 6 hours ago by Midfield_General

[Toussaint]

3 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

Yep fair enough

I resign for being shit

(Note to Parsons: see, not hard is it Phil?)

I meant I took it seriously and was left totally deflated when i got to the end, just as well i held back briefly before recirculating it!

[Saint Fan CaM]

BREAKING on SkySports

Ben Chorley (Head of Scouting) has left the club. He joined last year apparently. First head to roll?

[trousers]

1 minute ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

BREAKING on SkySports

Ben Chorley (Head of Scouting) has left the club. He joined last year apparently. First head to roll?

Already discussing that one over here:

👍🏻

 

[saintant]

6 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

BREAKING on SkySports

Ben Chorley (Head of Scouting) has left the club. He joined last year apparently. First head to roll?

Why would the head of scouting roll as a result of spygate? 

[Saint Fan CaM]

Just now, saintant said:

Why would the head of scouting roll as a result of spygate? 

I don’t know in truth, but if you read the guys statement it’s clear it’s not far removed from the analytical section of the organisation, so perhaps he controlled the interns? 🤔

[Saint Fan CaM]

8 minutes ago, trousers said:

Already discussing that one over here:

👍🏻

 

 

[saintant]

6 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

I don’t know in truth, but if you read the guys statement it’s clear it’s not far removed from the analytical section of the organisation, so perhaps he controlled the interns? 🤔

Have read a rumour that Norwich are interested in his services so might just be a case that he's received an offer there that suits him.

[Weston Super Saint]

20 minutes ago, saintant said:

Why would the head of scouting roll as a result of spygate? 

He sanctioned the 'scouting' of the opposition within 72 hours of a game?

[disconnect]

3 hours ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Damned if you do and damned if don’t. I think under the circumstances of previous comms, SR are probably playing the smart game by working with the FA to reach ‘common ground’ before making knee-jerk statements. It’s in the best interests of the club and the business to take careful measured approach now.

I think the whole thing with Boro was that it seemed completely inappropriate and unethical as a major business to be blatently feeding the media continually and creating a circus / witch hunt, but for some reason (I think we know why...) the EFL lapped it up. In the real world, you'd see this kind of behaviour and see them also getting heavy sanctions. It was probably right of us in a normal business situation to not be throwing stuff around the media, but with hindsight and now we know how the dodgy EFL work, we probably should've done things a bit different.

I'm sure any lawyers involved will be telling them not to make any sweeping comments (/ cry / phone in radio shows / write endless newspaper and internet articles) until such time as things have been discussed properly with the authorities.

[Toussaint]

2 hours ago, saintant said:

Why would the head of scouting roll as a result of spygate? 

He recruited spies? 

[Dman]

2 hours ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

I don’t know in truth, but if you read the guys statement it’s clear it’s not far removed from the analytical section of the organisation, so perhaps he controlled the interns? 🤔

They report into Spors.