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New is irrelevant,but yep, there was a rule. There's also the trivial matter of us trying to cheat in the play off first leg to give us a chance to sew up the tie. I'm not sure Bielsa did that.

Heard a rumour the punishment will be litter picking for Tonda around Rockliffe Park November 26th AM. Just reporting what i've been told.

The 70 mph example wasn't mine. I disagree that the EFL could be expected to set out sanctions for every breach...who would reasonably foresee that a club would be so stupid as to do this prior to a play off game and set a sanction just in case someone is so daft? If it was 3 games mid season the outcome would be very different. Sometimes offences need to be taken on their own facts and circumstances.

I don’t think he was the head, was he? Just a senior analyst who was recruited earlier in the year. Certainly there must be a big chance the things are related though.

They have a lot you could criticise them for , I'm not sure this is one of them . Despite the often refrain that sport is above politics this is not actually the case. The Olympics is a fine example of how dodgy regimes want to claim their regime is the best . Starts with dragooning hundreds of infants to spend every day doing impossible exercises just in case they turn out to be medal winning gymnasts . Plus drug regimes on an industrial scale . You could write pages and pages about this , Israel is a particularly sensitive case at the moment due to their declared aim of ridding Palestine of all Palestinians / Arabs , this of course is not in any way condoning the lunatic behaviour of Hamas that kicked it all off for the umpteenth time . It kind of goes back to post WW2 when terrorists , on both sides wanted British rule to end . After the 1948 war over 70 % of Palestinians were ejected or fled the war . When the war was over the new Israeli Govt let by their terrorist group leaders , refused any Palestinians from returning to Palestine , so they became refugees in neighbouring countries and low and behold bred numerous terrorist cells etc.

There is? Surprised we haven't heard more about it.

"Coz there's a new EFL rule, innit?"

With the docking of 6 points (reduced to 4) for the two league games, they’ve set something of a precedent. Though, given the season was over and reversing those results against Oxford and Ipswich would have made no difference whatsoever to our playoff status, perhaps there’s room in future for a 3-0 if the spying is identified straight away.

Yep, I've always wondered that too... Maybe that's something the FA could pursue retrospectively, once they've sanctioned the 'ringleader'...?

If the EFL were serious about deterring, post Bielsa, observation of training sessions they should have set out the sanctions in clear terms alongside the new rule, for those that are unable to think through the consequences of their actions, as they do for other serious breaches of the rules. In your example earlier, if we all know that driving at over 70mph brings a life term we don’t do it. The EFL didn’t set out the sanctions so it’s a moot point but they are not blameless in this. Secondly, points deductions are sporting sanctions (as are fines if they are sufficiently hefty in relation to the wealth of the club). They could have imposed a points deduction and large fine for the Middlesborough offence as there is now provision to apply these in the PL in the event that Saints were promoted.

Yes, agree... It was something the EFL could've instigated between the legs, but they chose not to...

New Roger Taylor album Violence Insane in a Beautiful World

Yes, but thats already been covered by the EFL's separate punishments... i.e. chucked out of the play off semi-final for the Middlesbrough spying, and docked 2 points each (carried forward to this season) for the Oxford and Ipswich spying. I'm simply saying that (in my opinion) a more proportionate 'sporting sanction' option was available for the play off semi-final (i.e. forfeit the first leg 3-0 instead of outright explusion)

Didn't the head of the scouting and analysis team leave the club immediately after we were kicked out? I would say the rot was significantly within that team regardless - they weren't all junior interns and they have all been in the English game long enough to know the rules. Those messages that were leaked were all internal to the analysis team - "nice one mate, the boss loved it" were internal communications showing their own team instructing Salt end of the day.

Just finished Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds and now on to Slow Gods by Claire North. Have got the 2 follow ups to Revelation Space arriving today. Looking forward to those.

The Bielsa incident is the last time that the FA dealt with a manager who arranged spying on another team. In what way is that not relevant?

Usual chunk of seats blocked out for players Comps / supporters clubs?

Definitely takes an edge off the day for sure. Previously you could feel something in the air almost when out around the city even hours before KO, the calm before the storm almost. That's completely gone now.

Look if we do have to have the bubble can we at least have a 12 bus pile up on the M27 with no survivors, at least that'll make it worthwhile. I know we got lucky with Knight recently but a few more gone would be great

I’ve said this before. The analysis team should have the autonomy to say “we’re not doing that, it’s not allowed in the laws of the game”. Whether Tonda demanded it of them, or they just simply acquiesced, is irrelevant. The analysis management who sent Salt up there are equally culpable. In fact probably more so, they should know for certain what the laws of the game are regarding analysis and should never, ever knowingly break those laws.

aren't they the fans that threw a military flash bang at us but couldn't do that right and hit there own ball boy,I for the life of me do not know why they didn't get a heavy punishment for that.

I said at the time they probably should have delayed the second leg to give themselves time to have that as an option. Couldn't really happen after it had been played in my view. I do wonder though if they consider a two legged tie as a single entity but that's just speculation on my part and not necessarily my opinion.

That's on the EFL though. They knew about this before the first leg, they proposed throwing us out, why the hell did they let both matches happen?

Parsons stitched us up by the way he’s handled spygate from the moment news 1st broke. The prick is still at it, he’s going on like we are the victims when in fact we are the accused- and a guilty one at that.

One thing I don't understand, why is it only Tonda who has been charged? Surely the head of the scouting department is as responsible? Probably more so as the direct line manager of Salt. It feels like they just went for the headline-grabbing charge.