Sunglasses Ron

This made me laugh...

It doesn’t work that way in reality. As a minimum, I would say that the club would need to provide proof that he was provided with some kind of ethics training that specifically covered the requirement not to observe training less than 72 hours before a game. Even then, you have to question how logical it is that their Line Manager wouldn’t have been aware of a lengthy trip to Middlesbrough. If the above could be proved then there would be a fair argument to say that the club made all reasonable steps and that the employee effectively went rogue.

Remember Jamie Vardy's terrible, intentional, tackle that crocked van Dijk and cost him a place in the League Cup final (and I believe ultimately lead to him deciding he wanted to leave Saints)? That event was very costly for us, but again, it was impossible to prove the consequence of it (not that he got into any trouble for it).

This is very true. And the one thing they all seem to be missing is PERSPECTIVE! Currently, it’s like someone nicking a bag of sweets and demanding the death penalty in return.

That's enough internet for me today. I'm out.

Don’t forget the Van Dijk tapping up, something that had a very real consequence.

They’re all now focused on the imaginary playoff final that their team will start training for in a few days.

Haha take that you bunch of fucking fannies!

He certainly seems to have changed his tune since yesterday!

love this from a Middlesbrough fan: “That they do not retire from the play offs just shows how little regard they have for the industry they are in, which is supposed to still have sporting principles (though we all know it is totally money driven). Hopefully Boro will win tonight but if not Southampton should be fined a sum that negates the full financial benefit they derive from winning (including the millions they receive if they win the play off final).” So we should either pull out of the playoffs now, or accept a £200m+ fine.

Yup, just because there's now a rule about observing a training session, doesn't mean that the fine will be any more than what Leeds had. In fact, and by rights, if we're only pulled up on this one infraction then you could argue that we should be fined less. All that's changed is that they don't have to pigeon-hole a charge into the vague rule that Leeds got done under. I'm still a little unsure why we've also been charged with breaking the old rule though, as surely the new one supersedes that. A total guess from my side, but I reckon we're on for a £500k fine.

Yes, I’ve been thinking about this. Whilst there wasn’t an explicit rule back then, they were simply charged (and fined) under a more general one, which oddly is also being applied this time round. There is little precedent here though as they were fined for multiple admitted breaches, whereas ours could literally be one act by a rogue employee. So we could end up with a slap on the wrists and a sacked analyst to a £500k fine and possibly even points deducted.

I expect what might help is if the club can demonstrate an appropriate ‘Code of Conduct’ that their staff have received and agreed to. A well run club should have something like this in place that suitably captures some of the key rules that apply to them. if this was the case then it would almost certainly help to mitigate some of the repercussions as it would be viewed more about rogue employee behaviour rather than a condoned culture.

Were we even ‘spying’? It sounds like we were merely observing (albeit some hours after we’re technically allowed to do so). I also question why we have two charges, as surely the one relating to observing trumps the woolly one about treating fellow clubs fairly. Also, can anyone remind me what Liverpool’s punishment was when they blatantly tapped up Virgil van Dijk and effectively ended his Southampton career a few months before he eventually moved?

You can see it now... A Boro player takes a blatant dive in the box under a nothing challenge. Penalty given. Peretz saves it (because he knew where to go right?), but a Boro player bundles in the rebound using his hand. A glorious victory for the beautiful game. Integrity restored.