Should Saints sack Tonda?

[SNSUN]

Ok, we'd have never beaten Hull so I reverse my decision until such a point as the EFL or further incriminating evidence is presented.

Tonda is our king! 😏

But seriously...

Still yes. Culture bad. Reputation bad. Fresh start.

[St. Ciervo]

17 minutes ago, Saint Fen said:

I’m surprised it is so close a vote. 
I’ve always said depends on the players. Fans are always here so win lots of games get us promoted everyone forgets.

Exactly right. Everyone has given valid points here. If the players can handle it, and if TE doesn't get hit with a massive ban, then I could be convinced to use it as fuel. Also... he should coach for room-and-board levels of compensation...

My great fear is that we piss about for so long with no resolution that we have to panic-hire right at the start of the season. That would be the only unacceptable outcome for me. SR will surely go down this path. 

[wild-saint]

Keep him.

[CamberwellSaint]

hi Saints fans, long time reader, occasional poster here.

[last match I was at was the 0-2 vs PNE in Still's last game, so maybe I'm a sign of brighter days to come..  ]

We broke the rules, and under pressure from Gibson and football's frothing moralisers, we got penalised very harshly. Our hapless board failed abjectly to either play hardball [deny, deflect, delay] or game the disciplinary process smartly [get a reptilian reputational management consultancy and KC Pannick on board early doors].

The EFL are quietly ignoring their own rules in punishing us ['the play off final will be contested by the winners of the semi finals']. All those clutching their pearls about the sanctity of the competition and the sacred rules of the game can get f*cked, unless their clubs routinely offer to forfeit points every time a dive wins their club a game changing penalty. 

As others have said: If the players [or any that are likely to be here next season] are with him, Eckert should stay. Spying on oppo training is a stupid thing to do- not primarily because its against the rules, but because you don't find out anything that you can't from video analysis of the oppo results and the first 5 minutes of the game. As long as TE doesn't do it again, he's likely better than anyone else we're going to get, and perhaps this club need to embrace being disliked for a while.

The screw-you to the rest of the division and the EFL might actually bring the club and fans together. Anyone trust this board to appoint a new manager who's likely to mastermind 21-game unbeaten runs?

Answers on a postcard..

[Eire Saint]

9 hours ago, Cabrone said:

If he didn't know about the 72 hour rule then I'd give him a chance of redemption. He's a baby in management terms, was parachuted into a difficult situation and did a fantastic job.

The board get paid to be the wise heads that make sure everyone understands the rules. If their 1st  team coach didn't know something as fundamental as this I'd be asking why? They could have booked a day out somewhere, taken all the staff and spent the day going through the rules. They failed.

Also let's be real, if SR reappoint it will be another dodgy experiment. No thanks I'd rather have a contrite Tonda. If we let him go he'll be snapped up somewhere else.

I hope he stays and takes the stick, I'd respect him for that.

However it may be out of our hands.

Agree. Can't afford the risk of another rubbish appointment. His entire career is on the line here. He knows how to get results. 

Next seasons championship is going to be spicy. Probably the strongest lineup in quite a while. We need to be out of the blocks quick, normally takes the relegated sides a bit of time to adjust, we'll already be 4 points down so no room for messing about with a new manager tinkering. Get the squad settled early in pre season and get at them. 

[Starksj1995]

Tonda should be sacked why hasn’t he Been sacked yet 

[Harry_SFC]

I am another who initially thought he has to be sacked. The more I think about it the more I'm changing my mind. Can't see a way in which he isn't banned though. 

He won't have any issues getting a job elsewhere though. Probably the Bundesliga. 

[whelk]

Less angry now esp as Boro got done. Everyone fucks up so I’d forgive and keep

[ChristopheVAFC]

Hello everyone, here's my opinion on whether we should keep Tonda or not:

Keep Tonda:

- He has restored hope and implemented a more attractive style of play, and is currently on an impressive 19-game unbeaten run.

- He's a young coach with several convincing past experiences.

- He's been with the club for several years and knows how it operates well. If he stays, he'll understand what's needed to rebuild a team for next season.

- He could have a second chance provided he signs a code of ethics with the club and is supervised by management.

Don't keep Tonda:

- He has, seemingly, been the ringleader and has forced some people attached to the video analysis department to do things they didn't want him to do.

- He claims not to know the rule, but I'm still surprised no one has told him.

- Tonda will be booed on the bench all season, whether at home or away.

- For several months, he will be associated with the "Spygate" scandal, and this will further damage the club's reputation.

What do you think, dear friends?

[Saint86]

1 hour ago, Harry_SFC said:

I am another who initially thought he has to be sacked. The more I think about it the more I'm changing my mind. Can't see a way in which he isn't banned though. 

He won't have any issues getting a job elsewhere though. Probably the Bundesliga. 

Bielsa did the exact same thing as Eckert. Nothing has materially changed in 7years from the fa's perspective.

There really isn't a leg to stand on for moaning about tonda costing us promotion, we were looking at a relegation scrap before he came in.

It's gonna come down to whether he gets banned as to whether we keep him imo.

Edited 1 hour ago by Saint86

[ooh it's a corner]

There are two stand out reasons why we  must keep Tonda. 1) The EFL want us to sack him. 2) Middlesbrough want us to sack him.

Those two reasons alone is why we should do the opposite.

[Harry_SFC]

3 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

Bielsa did the exact same thing as Eckert. Nothing has materially changed in 7years from the fa's perspective.

There really isn't a leg to stand on for moaning about tonda costing us promotion, we were looking at a relegation scrap before he came in.

It's gonna come down to whether he gets banned as to whether we keep him imo.

I thought we would've beaten Hull in the final but it's impossible to say for sure. But you're right, he did an amazing job getting us to that position in the first place. 

I also laugh at some people (not Saints fans) saying "is he only a good manager because of the spying". Well we beat Fulham, Arsenal and nearly Man City without any of that. Plus the other teams who have secured training grounds. Does make it even more silly that it needed to be done in the first place.

He's obviously been a part of this spying throughout his career, but it's only been a problem this season because of the rule. 

[saintant]

24 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

Bielsa did the exact same thing as Eckert. Nothing has materially changed in 7years from the fa's perspective.

There really isn't a leg to stand on for moaning about tonda costing us promotion, we were looking at a relegation scrap before he came in.

It's gonna come down to whether he gets banned as to whether we keep him imo.

I think you also have to factor in whether his relationship with the players is damaged. He's let them down as well as everyone else.

[LaptopSaint]

Biggest question for me is will the players play for him? Do they think he’s let them down or are they pissed off with the EFL/Gibson/Parsons whoever.
 

if the players are on board for an ‘us against the world’ season then it could work. If the club had any sense - news flash, it doesn’t - it would also be battering down the door at Amazon or Netflix for a fly-on-the-wall doc series on ‘Tonda’s second season: no one likes us, we don’t care’

Great redemptive arc as we walk the league including a spicy 5-0 win on Smogside, and two 3-0 demolitions of Pompey.  

[Matthew Le God]

56 minutes ago, ChristopheVAFC said:

Keep Tonda:

- He's been with the club for several years 

Not true, he has not even been here for 1 year yet! He joined on 11th July 2025.

[Starksj1995]

1 minute ago, LaptopSaint said:

Biggest question for me is will the players play for him? Do they think he’s let them down or are they pissed off with the EFL/Gibson/Parsons whoever.
 

if the players are on board for an ‘us against the world’ season then it could work. If the club had any sense - news flash, it doesn’t - it would also be battering down the door at Amazon or Netflix for a fly-on-the-wall doc series on ‘Tonda’s second season: no one likes us, we don’t care’

Great redemptive arc as we walk the league including a spicy 5-0 win on Smogside, and two 3-0 demolitions of Pompey.  

He’s gone soon not a chance he stays here 

[Matthew Le God]

2 minutes ago, LaptopSaint said:

Biggest question for me is will the players play for him? Do they think he’s let them down or are they pissed off with the EFL/Gibson/Parsons whoever.
 

None of that matters if he is banned by the FA. So 'will he be banned by the FA?' is the biggest question. I think the answer will be... yes.

Edited 39 minutes ago by Matthew Le God

[ChristopheVAFC]

5 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Not true, he has not even been here for 1 year yet! He joined on 11th July 2025.

Thank for the precision 🙏

[S-Clarke]

12 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Not true, he has not even been here for 1 year yet! He joined on 11th July 2025.

That's one of the biggest killers, someone who had not been known to this club or fans this time last year, has orchestrated something which has harmed our club for it's supports for a generation. We can all go on about the proportionate of the sanctions, but what he has instructed is still absolutley dumb as fuck.

He'll end up in Europe in a year, doing some backend analyst role, the whistle-blower will probably end up still employed at Boro, and Salt will still be studying and training. None of those people have any connection with Southampton like the fans.

But we will be here in 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, still suffering from short-term decisions by a cohort of people who will be given the chance to have a clean break. We don't get a chance to have a clean break, as we are the fans and the lifeblood of this club. We now have to take the beatings for their actions.

Edited 29 minutes ago by S-Clarke

[cambsaint]

He may have to take a break  from Saints dependent on FA ban, but Sports Republic have other teams in other leagues and in my opinion thy'd be mad to let him go.Possible destination Turkey if FA ban him from English football.

AS I have said earlier he could return a wiser and even better manager.Somebody in the club must have been aware of the  72 hour rule and should have advised him .

I still cannot see what all the fuss is about, when you consider what Man City have done and the praise heaped upon Pep and his achievements.

I will always consider him a near genius manager whatever the crap certain parts of the media continue to throw on him.