Football

[DarloRich]

Although I can't for the life of me figure out why the suggestion is that the play-off final now kicks off an hour earlier.

No trains north of York this weekend. If the final kicked off at 1630 and went to extra time and penalties I think there are only 2 or 3 trains available for the journey back north and there would then be terrible pressure on the rail replacement buses between Darlington and Middlesbrough.

PLUS alternate routes are disrupted.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 May 2026 ==

I feel sorry for Hull City as they have been preparing to play Southampton, then find out that it’s Middlesbrough instead & the time of the match has been brung forward.

by one hour which actually means their fans have a slightly les troubled journey home by rail. I also note the Hull owner has said he reserves the right to sue the FL if Hull lose!

 

[AlterEgo]

The matches we know about. It’s difficult to believe that they only chose to do it for 3 matches.

The other two matches they admitted to were ones they lost, so as not to suffer retrospective points deductions which might have de facto kicked them out of the playoffs anyway. They probably do it every week.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 May 2026 ==

Well done to Aston Villa for winning the Europa League, the first half was pretty tight until the opening goal but afterwards Aston Villa dominated the game

Two stunning goals from Villa worthy of any final, though Freiburg were complicit both times in allowing a ridiculous amount of space.

 

[Trackman]

Every copper in E London will be praying the Hammers stay up......

Wont matter to them with overtime going

 

[Haywain]

The other two matches they admitted to were ones they lost,

I'm guessing there was already some available evidence of those. Unlike others.

 

[SuspectUsual]

There are reports that the spying on Ipswich was before the game at St Mary’s, when Ipswich trained at Eastleigh’s ground, and the Southampton spy was wearing Eastleigh training kit. If that’s true - big if until/unless the EFL publish their findings - it takes the subterfuge to a new level

 

[REVUpminster]

Wont matter to them with overtime going

The police should be able to handle Zimmer frames, although I seem to remember the British Transport Police allowing a crate of tortoises to escape from Waterloo station because they were too quick for them.

 

[Haywain]

There are reports that the spying on Ipswich was before the game at St Mary’s, when Ipswich trained at Eastleigh’s ground, and the Southampton spy was wearing Eastleigh training kit. If that’s true - big if until/unless the EFL publish their findings - it takes the subterfuge to a new level

It is true. Apparently an expense claim was submitted for the purchase of the Eastleigh shirt!

 

[Iskra]

Henry and Pires are players you'd pay to watch if they were turning up in the Sunday League. There is almost no modern footballer worth the admission price alone these days, the game has significantly diminished in terms of aesthetic appeal. Not just an Arsenal problem and they didn't start it either.

As much as I despise Liverpool, Salah was impressive to watch until relatively recently.

Well done to Arsenal for winning the Premier League, it enables the focus of the final day to be on who goes down between Tottenham & West Ham.

There is also the battle to avoid bottom spot, with Burnley & Wolves going head to head.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 May 2026 ==

No trains north of York this weekend. If the final kicked off at 1630 and went to extra time and penalties I think there are only 2 or 3 trains available for the journey back north and there would then be terrible pressure on the rail replacement buses between Darlington and Middlesbrough.

PLUS alternate routes are disrupted.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 May 2026 ==


by one hour which actually means their fans have a slightly les troubled journey home by rail. I also note the Hull owner has said he reserves the right to sue the FL if Hull lose!

Are West Coast stepping in with some football specials, or is it too short notice?

 

[Bantamzen]

This Southampton SpyGate thing is getting hilarious, they sound like something out of a Monty Python sketch, with spies hiding behind trees and dressing up as non-league footballers. I wonder how much advantage it actually them though? In a era of every game being streamed / recorded, with more statistical analysis than ever, not to mention AI being used to enhance the stats, what did the bloke behind the tree learn from watching an end of season training session? Did 'Boro really hold back some tactics or set pieces that they've never tried before? That's not to say that they didn't break the rules, and were rightly punished. It just seems a bit, well weird. And if you really, really wanted to keep an eye on training sessions, there's plenty of ways of doing so without some bloke behind foliage or dressing up.

I can see situations in future where fans go to opposition training grounds just to spook them....

 

[Haywain]

Are West Coast stepping in with some football specials, or is it too short notice?

I don't see how that could help when the East Coast is disrupted north of York.

 

[DarloRich]

Are West Coast stepping in with some football specials, or is it too short notice?

Not sure they can. Unless they have a rail replacement option. Perhaps some old Leyland double deckers with doors that don't work

Surprised there isn't anything from Hull as there was more time to set that up. Perhaps some LNER extras?

 

[Tetchytyke]

One of the more embarrassing parts is that the matches that they spied for, the immediate one after they didn’t win.

Those are the matches they admitted spying on. I imagine it was a tactical admission- "yeah, we did it, but it didn't help us win!"

I wonder how much advantage it actually them though? In a era of every game being streamed / recorded, with more statistical analysis than ever, not to mention AI being used to enhance the stats, what did the bloke behind the tree learn from watching an end of season training session? Did 'Boro really hold back some tactics or set pieces that they've never tried before?

Southampton have admitted doing is as long ago as Christmas.

If they didn't think it gave them an advantage they would have stopped doing it.

The fact they carried on means they obviously felt it gave them an advantage.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to the individuals involved. When Canada did it in the Olympics the individuals involved were banned from all football for a year.

 

[Drogba11CFC]

The Daily Echo's front page story, meanwhile, is of a child crying at school because of Southampton being kicked out.

 

[Bantamzen]

Southampton have admitted doing is as long ago as Christmas.

If they didn't think it gave them an advantage they would have stopped doing it.

The fact they carried on means they obviously felt it gave them an advantage.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to the individuals involved. When Canada did it in the Olympics the individuals involved were banned from all football for a year.

I'm still not all that convinced it would give them much of an advantage these days, with games so heavily scrutinised and AI available to detect even the slightest changes in tactics & formations across a season. You only need to look at the array of devices many benches deploy during games to know that clubs have every last potential formation set into their planning.

 

[Twingo37175]

Not sure they can. Unless they have a rail replacement option. Perhaps some old Leyland double deckers with doors that don't work

Surprised there isn't anything from Hull as there was more time to set that up. Perhaps some LNER extras?

I believe 2 extra from Hull (using "First group resources"). 1 direct with Hull trains non-stop to London, the second working with Hull trains and LUMO, firstly HT to Doncaster and then changing to a LUMO train at Donny (which I think they have done before).

Edited to add, looks like LNER are running a 9 car as against the standard 5 (and is sold out as well)

 

[Meole]

No extra trains to Teeside Airport

 

[Kite159]

All that talk about Southampton being caught spying, makes me wonder how many other clubs are up to similar tactics and simply haven't been caught?

 

[Haywain]

All that talk about Southampton being caught spying, makes me wonder how many other clubs are up to similar tactics and simply haven't been caught?

I think that's a very fair question. At least the punishment that Southampton have received will cause any that are doing so to consider whether it is worth the risk.

 

[Harvester]

The England World Cup squad is due to be named tomorrow. Noticeable omissions are going to Foden and Maguire, who have been informed they have not made the cut.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The England World Cup squad is due to be named tomorrow. Noticeable omissions are going to Foden and Maguire, who have been informed they have not made the cut.

Was Cole Palmer also excluded, from what rumours this week were circulating stated?

 

[Haywain]

Was Cole Palmer also excluded, from what rumours this week were circulating stated?

We'll find out tomorrow when the squad is announced.

 

[Harvester]

Was Cole Palmer also excluded, from what rumours this week were circulating stated?

Yes he has, according to the BBC website.

 

[SuspectUsual]

https://images.gc.eflservices.co.uk/0a0e87d0-5538-11f1-ab88-f930a57d19ce.pdf

Link here to the EFL's written reasons for the decision made in the Southampton case

 

[Darandio]

https://images.gc.eflservices.co.uk/0a0e87d0-5538-11f1-ab88-f930a57d19ce.pdf

Link here to the EFL's written reasons for the decision made in the Southampton case

Quite damning. If i'm reading it in simple terms it suggests to me there could have been a degree of leniency in the appeal if they had told the whole truth from the onset of the investigation. But they didn't and told a bundle of lies, crazy considering what was at stake.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 May 2026 ==

I'd imagine Herr Eckert will be packing up his stuff ......the buck stops with him.

He'll get a ban, he has to given what's been admitted. He's then useless to them and has to go.

I reckon this is only the tip of the iceberg as well. Charlton were mentioned early on in the investigation, apparently the intern had used a debit card there as well close to a game. It wouldn't surprise me if they watched most of the clubs during their good run. Got a feeling it might not be just Southampton as well.

 

[SuspectUsual]

there could have been a degree of leniency in the appeal if they had told the whole truth from the onset of the investigation

There was. The start point was three points for each game during the league season and that was reduced to two each

He'll get a ban, he has to given what's been admitted. He's then useless to them and has to go

I think only the FA can do this, but they’ve launched their process today

 

[AlterEgo]

https://images.gc.eflservices.co.uk/0a0e87d0-5538-11f1-ab88-f930a57d19ce.pdf

Link here to the EFL's written reasons for the decision made in the Southampton case

The intern here is also a victim - he was on placement and basically put in an impossible position and found his picture all over the news and found himself answering to the EFL in the biggest disciplinary case it's ever had. I see he states he was put under pressure to undertake these "illegal" activities.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Let's focus on the real game here, shall we

Stockport County vs Bolton Wanderers

SCFC!!

 

[Falcon1200]

I'm still not all that convinced it would give them much of an advantage these days

This BBC News page gives more detail on the reasons for the spying;

Spygate: Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert authorised spying, panel says

Southampton's spying was authorised by head coach Tonda Eckert and was a "contrived and determined plan from the top down to gain a competitive advantage", an independent disciplinary panel says.

www.bbc.co.uk

The most damning section for the Southampton head coach comes in the second determination of the judgement.
This states the German not only knew about the spying, but also had given his blessing.
Eckert was shown to have approved spying on Oxford to discover their formation after they had just changed manager.
In the case of Middlesbrough, he wanted to find out about the availability of a certain player - presumably Hayden Hackney, who had been out injured for several weeks.

I recall how, when Eckert was appointed, Southampton, like my club Oxford United, were in the relegation area. One club ended up being relegated, the other in the Championship play-off final! Who knows what more spying might have taken place, and how that might have contributed to their remarkable change of fortune.

Eckert must be sacked, and banned, but IMHO (biased though it is) Southampton should be relegated to League 1 in place of Oxford.

 

[SuspectUsual]

I still don't think the whole Southampton story has come out - it seems very convenient that there was a "reason" for each of the three episodes they got charged for (new manager at Oxford, Ipswich training in Eastleigh, player fitness with the Boro)

And some of what has been revealed doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If the purpose of spying on the smogs was to find out whether or not Hayden Hackney was likely to play (ie was he taking a full part in training) why video the whole session? A simple yes/no would have sufficed, and had the spy kept mooching around rather than standing half hidden by a tree he might've got away with it.

 

[Haywain]

I still don't think the whole Southampton story has come out - it seems very convenient that there was a "reason" for each of the three episodes they got charged for (new manager at Oxford, Ipswich training in Eastleigh, player fitness with the Boro)

And some of what has been revealed doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If the purpose of spying on the smogs was to find out whether or not Hayden Hackney was likely to play (ie was he taking a full part in training) why video the whole session? A simple yes/no would have sufficed, and had the spy kept mooching around rather than standing half hidden by a tree he might've got away with it.

What they achieved is irrelevant, they breached the rules. The rule states that the offence is observing or attempting to, so success doesn't matter.

No club shall directly or indirectly observe (or attempt to observe) another club’s training session