Southampton Banter Mobile

23 May 2026 16:10:46
Efl released the details of the hearing.

I posted the link and bullet points of it.

It's on the Southampton Rumours section.

23 May 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Zephi2 has posted a new article entitled, Replacing Slot Is Not Liverpool's Real Fix

22 May 2026 20:20:07
If Guernsyboy is right, then the independent panel was anything but independent and as such, would have influenced what many people consider to be a perverse judgement.

I've been quite impressed with Simon Jordan's take on things likening it to an execution for shoplifting.

Not quite Simon but the other point he made, which I agree with, is that if you asked all 24 clubs at the beginning of the season whether a team caught cheating should be kicked out, they would all of have said yes.

Our problem is that we did not know the level of sanction and therefore took on what turned out to be a catastrophic risk.

I don't know about you guys, but tomorrow afternoon I will be nowhere near the telly.

I suppose Hull is most people's preferred winners.

22 May 2026 07:39:02
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22 May 2026 10:03:05
Initially I thought the punishment was excessive for the reported offences. Since then more information is coming out suggesting much more serious breaches of EFL rules and Employment law.
I am still going to wait until all is revealed before throwing Tonda under the bus. If the evidence proves that Spors Tonda and others were complicit on all counts then they have to be sacked for gross misconduct and receive no compensation in accordance with UK employment law.


I am extremely concerned that some players will now seek release from their contracts and become free agents. I expect Peretz and Larin to join other clubs, Saints will activate Stewart's 1 year extension on his contract but Bree will not sign a new contract.
It's a mess and could, if not handled in the correct manner cause the club to free fall into an abyss.

22 May 2026 11:37:09
Good point. My concern is we have had a points deduction for spying on 2 clubs (third was different competition apparently) and got 4 points (reduced from 6). So 3 points per game if you have not admitted to it.

If another 4/5 clubs come forward with evidence, where does it end as we would not have been punished for those offences.

Potential to be 12/15 or more points to come

21 May 2026 09:47:05
I have zero complaints. We've admitted to some things, but I think it'll come out that we've been doing this all year. We've cheated, and are lucky to stay in the league. Tonda has to go. Players will go. Board may go.

But I think this goes higher up. How long were we complaining about the ownership? Then suddenly we start winning, complaints subside, they earn money.

In the four full seasons they've been here, we've been relegated in last place, promoted through play-offs, relegated in last place, accused of cheating and expelled from play-offs. Arguably our three worst seasons in the last 16 have come in the last four.

I feel like administration beckons. This club will start to rot, we might head the way of Wednesday. So deeply upsetting. And enraging.

20 May 2026 22:13:27
Appeal lost. Championship football next season it is.

I think the appeal was based on solid ground and the wider footballing community seems to agree, that we didn't benefit from what we admitted to.


However I can only think like I said, that it has to be that we spied on more than the teams we admitted to, even if it was just once more and both panels had a feeling about that.

Why else would we continue to do something that failed for such a high risk.

Only time will tell how deep it/long it went on for.

I feel slightly bad for the actual interns/analysts.from what I read it seems they gave statements that they were instructed/forced to go out and do the spying.

Maybe that's just the naivety of Tonda who doesn't think it's that bad. It is hard to determine just how much extra you can learn from observing training that any and every team doesn't already guess/assume anyway.

But then again we did it on multiple occasions and most likely the majority of the season with Tonda, so it must've been something he wanted/needed.

Does he stay or go?

Can he repeat what he did this season, next season of he stays with what will most likely be a weaker team and the absence of a spying advantage?

Man how I wish Ryan & Rob or someone likewise would come and buy us out, we need the Libhier feel good hierarchy at the club again.

Everything stems from that.

20 May 2026 23:19:36
Lesleeee
We've not always seen eye to eye. well actually never! But let's discuss this reasonably.
so we send an intern to watch Middlesbrough train. we use someone that is clearly shown in saints staff photos, he is stood in full view, no attempt to hide, using an iPhone

That makes no sense!! Not even covert or decent video equipment???

Secondly we have a great squad, goalscorers from everywhere, a fantastic goalkeeper and defence.

Playing excellent football

So we send a student out with an iPhone to film the opponents and in full view!!

Madness

20 May 2026 23:37:02
There are some fundamental flaws in what has happened and the short version is that the EFL process has completely disregarded the process of 'natural justice' in the name of expedience.

There has never been a judicial process convened to arbitrate on a conviction within less than 24 hours. If someone was destined for the gallows, it takes many years to reach that point on appeal. This judicial process has been rushed without due regard for 'normal process'.

One must question also the independent status of the panel all of whom were paid fees of circa £15k for their role in presiding over the appeal debacle.

They were under pressure to follow the EFL representations. I am familiar with this legal territory and my argument would have been that they were not truly independent. It is simply not polssibel to convene an independent panel in less than 12 hours.

Notwithstanding this, and as I have previously reported, the club's response is hugely embarassing - basically we are sorry and will work with the EFL to make sure it doesn't happen again.

That is so pathetic it's painful. Of course this will have been guided by lawyers who incidentally will have prospered enormously from our demise.

I cannot begin to describe how every day it feels like living a walk of shame.

We 'march on' many of you say, but I'm not sure I can. I am and always have been a passionate supporter but I no longer recognise this club. Shame on them.

21 May 2026 00:20:50
I agree Southhants, I see your olive branch and I'll extend mine.

I'm on the fence as to whether the training actually helped or it didn't. It clearly didn't give us an edge in the Middlesbourgh game and subsequently the games that we admitted to/know of, so why do it?

The more I read/look into in it seems that in places like Germany, although frowned upon, its more seen as an ugly side of the game there, a bit like over here when managers employ "the dark arts" such turning water off in the away changing rooms, or if the opposition has a throwin specialists and so moving the touchline a few inches ect but not worth the criminal outrage that it has earned over here.

With that in mind I think maybe Tonda was just naive.

But then that thinking only works for one or two occasions, it's a bit of a lame excuse for something that was most likely occurring for the majority of the season for Tonda to say, he "simply didn't know". I find it hard to believe no one called him out on it, especially the interns who said in the hearing they were instructed/forced to do it.

To me though the second part of your post does make sense. I'm not looking for an argument and I know you will refuse to believe me, but that talented squad you mentioned, was all put in place by Will Still. Even the signings that came after he was sacked were ones already in motion i'd say, as they were key positional signings (decent goalkeeper/strong physical striker) that I/we have all established on here for a long while.

I think the elephant in the room here is that Tonda really wasn't that great and potentially, extremely out of his depth. It's plausible he managed to pull off the greatest con in football history by both playing and utilitising a team (even tactics) that weren't his and through spying.

Sure I'm going out on a bit of a limb there and time will tell (if he stays) but the out of depth/con man theory fits more in place then anything else now that this spying story is out in the open and the more we know about it.
Ironically I'm probably one of the few people who wants Tonda to stay on, not because I'm playing devils advocate (I am guilty of that) but because I/we have a right to know what he's made of and wether this season was built on lies.

I don't buy into this fan logic of it being filmed on an iPhone so less quality, apple famously advertise the filming of whole massive budget premier movies with just their iPhones, so I'm sure the capturing of any footage was good enough to view.

21 May 2026 17:16:19
I have considerable doubt that the cheating is what is behind Tonda's tactical abilities.
As we all suspect, he is definitely "on the spectrum". a classic of this is obsession and I actually think he is obsessed with game plans, winning, tactics
My understanding is are used to spend hours and hours and hours studying videos of the opponents
It's no different to the young boy obsessed with video games, a classic spectrum symptom.


I still can't get my head around the fact that they used an intern in full view, without A Car in the world. That would tie in with his comment that he didn't know it was banned.


All that effort and all about winning streak and those amazing performances over months, wasted It's back to square one


Sadly, I think we will lose the backbone of the team, especially the goalkeeper who has been amazing


It's back to the drawing board


I believe totally in the manager


While I understand your points about cheating


Our performance is against Arsenal and Manchester City were fantastic


That was excellent football management
Under all the Cloak and Dagger is an excellent manager

21 May 2026 21:24:24
But now for the good of the club and the fans surely he had to be sacked. What will the world think of us if he survived. The pressurising of the young interns in the written reasons is sickening.

We have to cleanse now and start over. I don't understand why it has not already happened. Put Adam in charge and try and move on. Tonga will be banned anyway in due course so might as well get on with it now

20 May 2026 10:51:28
Well, Eds, that's a cleaner version of the one I wrote 😉

I do believe my post started with,

Tonda's a tactical genius.

I'm a madman.

Apparently.

At least now we know where that 'genius' was coming from. Too many were too readily to accept it.

I even said I would take Still back early into Tonda's reign and I was laughed at for that too. At least he had integrity and was trying to build something from the ground up, Tonda literally stood on his shoulders and benefited from everything he was creating.

The irony of the whole cheating thing though is that we got caught with 3 games of the season left to go 😅

I don't think our appeal will be accepted. If it was a one off I could see us still being in the final, as any neutrals can see it didn't give us a edge in that game. But I feel the multiple occurrences has led the panel to seeing that the spying has been a factor in propelling us into a playoff place that we potentially wouldn't have been in, without. I'm sure they agree there must have been at least one other occasion where it did benefit us (a win) otherwise why would we carry it on.

Saintggg/Southants, I hope the bump on the head isn't too big from that fall of yours.

☕🍵

We're all saintsfans at the end of the day and want what's best for the club.

On a side note - I am now interested to see wether Tonda stays and wether the spying thing was genuinely something he couldn't succeed without or wether it was naivety and pressures of being a new young manager being trusted into the limelight. If he does stay, next season will be interesting and it's where we'll get to judge him going forward, which is what I've been constantly saying all season we should be doing anyway.

20 May 2026 12:45:10
Lesleee, now's not the time

20 May 2026 13:35:11
It is, because we move on.

I seem to be one of the only few who was prepared for this outcome/saw it building throughout the season but couldn't put my finger on it.

I'm not gloating, just suppose I mean I was more emotionally/logically ready for it.

I could say there's vindication in being called a madman 🤷

Alas all that matters is like what the club always say, we march on.

The main thing is damage control for me. Forget the playoffs, forget Tonda and his team if necessary, but do everything possible to keep ALL the players we have. If that means meeting whatever demands they have meet them.

It's hard enough to keep hold of a team/players when your having success but now that job is going to be nye on impossible.

The board will gain back some respect from me if they're able to achieve that.

20 May 2026 15:34:37
Miller you are a gent sir.

Leslee I admit I was wrong about my prediction but I maintain we were right to await the outcome (and the appeal). But let's not fool around, this does not mean that suddenly we were better off with Will Still. You talk utter nonsense for 90% of the time.

That said I think the appeal has some legs, it is totally disproportionate. Although taking everything into account I think we should own it and only fight the points.

20 May 2026 16:57:48
Thank you SaintGGG - I've not often had that accolade lol!

I'm disappointed with the limp wristed, half baked apology from the CEO, Phil Parsons. To say we as fans "deserved better of the club" doesn't begin to touch the sides. Hopefully, there will be more affirmative action.

As the hour of truth approaches, my mood has swung from one of pessimism to a ray of light. Our old gaffer Harry Redknapp feels it is OTT (I suppose he would wouldn't he!) and Gary Lineker has said much the same.

The only problem is, neither of them are sitting in judgement.

20 May 2026 17:12:11
No, I've spoke the same thing I've spoke all season and the things I say have merit and end up having validation.

If Will Still had cheated like Tonda did, who knows where he would have taken us 🤷

20 May 2026 17:54:53
Based on his points per game, probably relegation. Luckily this does nothing to amend his points per game ration, that's set in stone in history. I will accept your reluctance to accept Tonda turned out to be on point - that part was obviously on the 10% side of that you say

I agree with miller about the ray of hope. Although the apology was poor there are some decent facts about past cases of punishment. Not because of Harry though, I don't believe he has ever erm taken advantage of anything

20 May 2026 18:25:55
Leslee, what I tried to say tactfullly is that you need to read the room. This is not the time for "I told you so ." platitudes.

We're all hurting and Will Still is an unwelcome irrelevance right now.

SaintGGG - I was hoping for Harry, Sam Allardice and possibly Bruce Grobbelar to form the panel.

Sorry, humour sometimes helps!

20 May 2026 20:20:56
Hahaha

20 May 2026 21:04:05
I do read the room Miller.

Like it's ok for to me say the writings on the wall and get called a madman for it, thiugh no one was reading the room than 🙃 😎

We're all big boys and die by sword of the words we say.

20 May 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Aston Villa v Liverpool - A Not So Quick Liverpool Perspective