The Kraken

For the same reason that we received minus ten in league one, and not when it happened. Receiving the points deduction the previous season would have been no punishment whatsoever. As I said before, one can argue all they like with the severity of punishment, that part is subjective. The method of punishment is very cut and dried in comparison.

I don’t think it was particularly odd to explain why it happened. We were thrown out of the playoffs as it was deemed a separate knockout competition to the league campaign, and we had admitted to breaking the rules in the build up to said knockout game with Boro. That punishment is similar to fielding an illegible player in a cup competition, the punishment is being ejected from that competition and the other team progresses instead. Putting Wrexham into the final would have been absolutely mental. Simply no way can that have been allowed to happen. The closest you could get would have been to have been to dock Saints points 10 or 11 points from the league season, from which the only (right) outcome could have been that the semi final was restarted but between Boro and Wrexham. But we were docked 6 points reduced to 4 for the league transgressions, so Wrexham wouldn’t have made it with that punishment.

Its also utterly irrelevant and trying to portray Saints as the victims. Whatever one thinks of the severity of the punishment, its a simple fact that we broke some explicit rules and owned up to doing so on 3 occasions, including for an upcoming match. Trying to claim we're the ones who got stitched up is laughable.

Why would anyone need to question Boro? They suspected they were about to be spied on, they were right, and they put plans in place to capture evidence of it. Its absolutely barking mad to think they need to answer anything about why they were soi prepared to catch another team attempting to cheat. Crazy.

Dave Challinor is out of work. Incredible record of getting to the playoffs with teams in the lower leagues.

Yep, I was on holiday a couple of weeks back with pals and had a few poolside chats with a beer with them, they're not Saints fans. All agreed it was a bloody stupid thing to do and required some form of punishment, which we've had, and enough is enough. I agree with you though, I fear the worst and I think it'll be a long ban. Your notion of a touchline ban not being appropriate probably makes sense too. I don't see how they could/will say "you're banned from football for 6 weeks". Just can't see it. It's months IMO, and I can definitely see a ban to the end of the season being what they will push for. Interesting to hear Tonda say that the hearing is on Thursday, but he's already sat with the FA for hours before now to make his case. AFAIK the hearing is not just an opportunity for the FA to pass down judgement, so interesting to thinkl what is still to come.

At this stage I've got no idea what the FA will hand down. I go from suspended ban to season long ban, back and forth every day. I tend to think it'll be on the longer side of things, FA have a chance to look tough on a smaller club. However, if Tonda does cop a long ban, I'm not sure how other senior figures in the club aren't culpable too and should get the same. Tonda doesn't have direct control of the analysis team; so the Analysis team management are surely as culpable (if not more culpable, as they should have the autonomy to refuse a request from team management that is outside the bounds of football rules).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cmp30p934g4lo FFS, can someone in the club get Parsons to shut his fucking trap. Fine to get ahead of the story if you're going to say something sensible like Tonda is able to do. Parsons is incapable of that, says 'we're not the victims' while the rest of his narrative makes out that we are, and basically makes a horlicks of trying to put across a balanced point of view. The bloke is a walking disaster.

Chelsea’s punishment was also reduced after they appealed the initial verdict (which itself was never initially reported but included a points fine). Here’s the google AI summary: Background and Discovery The Takeover: Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital uncovered incomplete financial records during their due diligence prior to completing the club's purchase. Immediate Action: The new hierarchy promptly reported the irregularities to the FA, Premier League, and UEFA, providing full access to historical files and data. Scope of Breaches: The hidden payments involved unregistered agents and third-party transactions spanning from 2009 to 2022. Sanctions and Outcomes FA Penalties: Following an independent investigation, the FA issued a £10 million fine and a suspended two-window transfer ban that runs until June 30, 2027. Points Deduction Avoided: An initial penalty featuring a suspended six-point deduction was successfully appealed and replaced by the transfer ban. Regulatory Leniency: Regulators cut potential financial fines in half because of the club's exceptional cooperation and proactive self-reporting. The entire process—including the initial six-point deduction and Chelsea's successful appeal—was kept strictly confidential and only announced to the public at the very end. The public did not know the points deduction had even been threatened until July 31, 2026, when the Football Association (FA) officially released the final conclusions of both the Regulatory Commission and the Appeal Board simultaneously.

Yeah it’s an awful way to think. I don’t think I’ve met anyone in real life who says anything other than “these people are here illegally, they should be collected and sent straight back immediately”. I’m yet to meet someone in real life who is a “let them drown” merchant, but given the dregs who have uttered that on here, I don’t much want to.

I’m definitely coming down on the side that if he gets a 6-8 game touchline ban, that would ok compared to what the FA might/could do. The fact it has taken so long is an absolute disgrace though. And nothing would surprise in what they eventually serve down. If he does get a sanction, I wonder if any of the senior analyst team get a subsequent charge. Would’ve thought we’d have heard before by now but wouldn’t rule it out. And I wonder if the analyst leaving in the summer was something to do with it all, odds must be high that it was/is.

Not really. Cyle Larin has been a great signing but if anyone is suggesting that our transfer logic in the striking department since then has left us with equal or better than the end of last season, they’re making things up.

I genuinely can’t understand how any fans’ group can consider themselves representative when they have utterly failed to communicate with the largest SFC forum. Seemingly ever. Good luck in the vote, but I can’t help but have a massive mistrust of an “organisation” that claims to represent the fans and does nothing of the sort. If you get elected I hope the first thing you do is to open it up.

Sounds like Tonda expects him to stay and maybe play for the U21s until at least January. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c9v9elp98gro

Talksport saying it could be that, but could be part of a homegrown rule and he lost out due to numbers allowed. Why is Harwood-Bellis not included? UEFA squads must include at least eight 'homegrown' players, although four must be trained by the club, meaning Unai Emery faced a numerical dilemma. Villa only have two players who spent three years or more in their academy between the ages of 15 to 21 (goalkeeper James Wright and defender Lamare Bogarde). As a result, the Villans did not fill all four mandatory club-trained spots, which reduces their total List A capacity from 25 down to 23 players. There are also some suggestions Harwood-Bellis may have completed his deadline day move too late to meet UEFA's deadline for squad submissions.