By Graham Hiley.
Saints seem to be adopting a siege mentality after finally breaking their silence over the “Spygate” scandal.
After 12 days of nothing, chairman and owner Dragan Solak has at last come out and said he has no intention of sacking manager Tonda Eckert who has now said sorry to fans after the club were expelled from the Play-off final for spying on their semi-final opponents Middlesbrough.
For almost two weeks, fans who had their hearts broken and dreams shattered were left in limbo waiting for some kind of apology… an explanation… any kind of meaningful communication other than where to buy drinks at the Take That concerts.
When it finally came last night, a tone-deaf and defensive club statement proved to be a bizarre and belated bleat which offered nothing to those debating whether to renew their season tickets.
But club statements seem to be like London buses. You wait ages for one then three come along at once! It was followed up this morning with two long-overdue videos – one from Eckert who authorised the reconnaissance missions and one from Solak backing the boss.
In an eight-minute polished piece to camera, the German coach expressed sincere regret and remorse for his actions which cost the club a shot at promotion to the Premier League via the richest game in world football.
He came across well as he accepted the blame and apologised to the supporters and the players who have suffered so much as a result of what he claimed he genuinely believed to be normal practice here as it is on the continent.
That was despite the objections of the intern who was detailed to undertake the spying and who has reportedly now been offered a full-time role at the club.
It was a welcome and fulsome mea culpa from Eckert – albeit a little too corporately packaged and around 10 days too late. But it was timed to coincide with a brief and rare message from Solak who also gave a revealing interview to the BBC.
There were still elements of him failing to read the room with blame deflection but he made it clear that he believes the talented young coach represents the club’s best hope of winning promotion next season – despite the four-point handicap. And he promised the supporters an exciting campaign is in store.
That may yet prove to be a tactic to try and get fans back on side ahead of season tickets going on sale – hopefully at a discounted rate. A price increase would be unthinkable despite the club’s difficult financial position.
But it does look as though they are ready to tough this one out in the face of flak from the national media who, with an ironic lack of self-awareness, are determined to take the moral high ground! Similarly, fans of other clubs have been quick to pile on an issue which does not concern them.
Of course, the FA may yet take the matter out of the club’s hands if they impose a lengthy ban on Eckert as though the club really haven’t really been penalised enough already!
Given Saints’ recent track record of appointing and swiftly sacking their managers, a change now could see them face a season of struggle. They might restore their reputation but suffer long-lasting financial difficulties in the process.
Looking at the bookies’ odds for Eckert’s replacement, it is easy to see why there is a growing groundswell of opinion that they are unlikely to find better than the man who masterminded the remarkable run to the Play-off final.
Among the front-runners are Scott Parker, Slaven Bilic and the current favourite (incredibly) Pompey boss John Mousinho. Do you want to be shot, hung or shot and hung?
Instead, Saints look set to close ranks and show faith in the man who is probably their best hope of sticking two fingers up at the EFL by winning the Championship next season even with a four-point deduction.
Keep the manager. Keep the players. We go again. No-one likes us, we don’t care! That’s the latest marketing slogan sorted!
But that will mean significant further investment from the owner to appease the players who are said to be furious at losing their shot at the big-time through no fault of their own.
And it will require a massive charm offensive to win back those supporters sickened by the underhand (and inept) spying missions and resentful at being left severely out of pocket after booking non-refundable travel and hotels for the final.
Today’s direct communications were a start and a definite improvement on last night’s statement which continued to ooze resentment at a punishment that far outweighed the crime and penalised the wrong people.
It did, belatedly, raise very valid questions about the composition of the Football League panel which included David Winnie who played one game for Middlesbrough while on loan 33 years ago but who has said any suggestion he could be influenced is “wholly without foundation”.
Also on the disciplinary body was barrister Lydia Banerjee from Littleton Chambers, a firm which had previously represented the Teesside club. And Boro CEO Neil Bausor is on the EFL board.
Although there is no direct suggestion of bias, Saints had every right to voice their concerns – especially as sporting integrity is clearly so important to the EFL! But that needed to be done much earlier – maybe before the hearing? Just a thought!
They should probably also have added a paragraph to say: “We trust that all future breaches of sporting integrity by any other clubs – financial or otherwise – will be punished with equal severity.”
This statement should have been released 10 or 11 days earlier but then Saints have been slow off the mark in every aspect of the “Spygate” saga. Even accepting they were in the wrong, they allowed Boro to drive the narrative from the moment they spotted a reluctant intern hiding behind a tree.
Right from Day One, the north-east and national media were running stories demanding Southampton be kicked out. Points deductions or heavy fines were barely mentioned as a possibility; it was always expulsion.
Details and then pictures were leaked to maintain the pressure while Boro boss Kim Hellberg pointedly said he would keep his players in training just in case! That worked so well for them!
This is in no way exonerating or excusing Eckert, just a recognition that Middlesbrough skilfully used a relatively minor misdemeanour to massive and disproportionate advantage.
By the time the panel sat – well after Boro had lost to Saints – exclusion became almost a fait accompli in everyone’s minds except – it seems – the Southampton board who appeared to be blindsided and naively took a blunt knife to a gunfight!
Going forward they need to be much more on top of things from ensuring they stick rigidly to the rule book (and call out all those others who don’t) to improving communication with the people who are the lifeblood of the club.
Saints continually preach how much the fans matter to them, now they have to prove it with proper redress to the people they have failed and who they will need so much if they are to rebuild and recover and restore their reputation.
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