This looks interesting
Tough on Saints fans but I’m inclined to think that Boro have a point
Absolutely no way spying on opponents is proportionate to a punishment of elimination from play-offs, however wrong it is. Time for EFL to show some balls and say that publicly.
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It’s probably Facebook lies but I read that Southampton have been doing it all season? Peering over a hedge for some Winklemanesque sporting advantage in a play-off is one thing but systematic spying is next level.
I think it’s entirely proportionate in this case. This was a tie that was very tight, to the point where it was decided by a goal deep into extra time in the second leg, and where the information gleaned from Southampton’s explicitly illegal spying might well have made the marginal difference.
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Does spying making any difference whatsoever? I don’t think so. If anything it surely motivated the opposition more.
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If we’d been spied on in training this season, I hope for the their sake they didn’t spend too much time on our set pieces.
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Its a massive overreaction. It seems he didnt even hide. Quite funny.
“They pass it around at the back for a bit, and then their goalkeeper kicks it to the opposition striker”
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Of course. Boro, as it happens, play to a pretty consistent pattern, but Southampton will still have got details of which personnel would be playing where, what approach Boro would be taking to offensive set pieces, how they would be defending attacking set pieces and, by implication, what Boro were expecting from Southampton in all facets, giving Southampton a distinct advantage in being able to adjust their approach. In a tight tie that might well have made all the difference. So the cheats shouldn’t prosper, both for the integrity of this year’s competition and in order to ensure no club risks spying in the future.
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I completely disagree. I don’t think a spy would have got much. Most tactical discussions take place inside anyway.
We should probably be kicked out of the football league for that time the club urged all those people to go spy on that training session at the end of this season. The club even financially profited from it.
Ok, it was our fans watching one of our training sessions but the secrets that could have come from it is unbelievable….
I am of course joking, and spying on other teams training sessions isn’t cricket but I do think it’s being blown out of proportion.
If, after a 46 or whatever game season Southampton didn’t already have a really really good idea on how Middlesbrough would play and what players they have in there squad and what tactics they would
employ, Then they probably needed all the help they could get.
I didn’t watch the games but I bet Middlesbrough didn’t change there entire way of playing for a one off game
I get the marginal gains thing but it just smacks a bit of sour grapes because of the money a team may earn from promotion.
It’s all about tiny margins, as the eventual result proved. The ‘spy’ would have been able to see which players were back from injury, any particular set piece moves etc. It also meant that Boro felt they needed to change things tactically at a day’s notice, which is hardly ideal.
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I don’t buy the change things tactically argument one bit.
They and there manager will have a specific way of wanting to play the game. That will not have changed.
They would have scouting every game Southampton have played this reason and assessed there strengths and weakness and devised ways to exploit those weaknesses and mitigate there strengths.
Those strengths and weaknesses will not have changed.
But let’s just say they will change their entire way of playing for a moment:
Without the spy they would have kicked off in this imaginary new formation and tactical style with one or more players maybe or maybe not back from injury and a competent manager at Southampton would have seen it - full of all the other knowledge they had about strengths and weakness and looked to change what’s going on, within the first 5 or 10 minutes.
I dare say that as soon as the team sheet is announced before kick off, any surprise “back from injury” player news is digested and new instructions given out before the game has kicked off. Teams don’t just rock up to a game with no homework done and no “what if” scenarios around returning players.
If they haven’t don’t that homework they deserve to lose.
The set piece bit as well - sure they may have had a new one up there sleeve but how many times would have have been able to pull it off before Southampton cottoned onto it? Once?
And even then, there’s no guarantee it would have been a successful play. It may have just hit the first defender.
Middlesbrough just sound like they are upset that they didn’t win over two legs. And rather than take responsibility and ownership for that they are look to blame someone else.
I understand why this is considered cheating, and why rules might be put in place to stop it. However, it just opens up a minefield in terms of both enforcement and punishment.
Wouldn’t it be easier, simpler and cleaner if the football authorities just said it is the responsibility of the clubs to ensure the security of their facilities and information?
Obviously if something is criminal (e.g. breaking and entering) versus simple trespass, then the police would need to be involved.
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As I understand it Southampton are in breach of EFL Regulation 127
“no club shall directly or indirectly observe (or attempt to observe) another club’s training session in the period of 72 hours prior to any match”.
That doesn’t appear to be in doubt. The question is what is the appropriate sanction?
My feeling is that they will probably punish the individuals involved
I see the hearing will be on or before 19 May with the EFL warning supporters there could be changes to the fixture. What a mess
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It’s an hopeless statement isn’t it? ‘We’ll deal with it in our own time and it may or may not affect you, the fan.’
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Personally I think it’s all a bit of fun. Everyone loved it when Bielsa did it.
As I understand it, from a previous report, the current rules were put in place as a direct result of what Bielsa did. It’s very telling that Southampton have asked for more time for an internal investigation and haven’t denied the allegations.
With regards to the timings of making a their decision, the disciplinary panel will be working to the timeline as per the EFL rules. If they cut corners, simply because of the the fact that it’s during the play-offs, they’d be open to all sorts of criticism. It has nothing to do with “no thought to the fans” as suggested.
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The EFL HAVE to work according to their rules, which stipulate a timeline for any investigation and when a decision is reached. Has nothing to do with “no thought for the fans” as you suggest.
It’s a shame not all parties appear to have regard for the EFL rules. If anyone has had no regard for the fans it could be argued it was the individual who was spying.