U18 TRIALS
Our Sunday side, competing in the @HantsCombLeague u18 East (at present) are on the lookout for new talent!
Please note, Summer training may move to Swanmore College until late August!
Someone take AI away from these non league sides 🤮
Just pure laziness, whip something up on canva, it'll look 1 million times better and more original.
There's plenty of volunteers who will do you a decent match poster free of charge.
It's getting embarrassing.
Spence, Burn, Quansah & Toney ahead of Colwill, Maguire, Hall & Palmer feels absolutely criminal...
Gibbs-White, Wharton & even the likes of Welbeck/DCL must wonder what more they could have done after the seasons they've had...
With that said, time to back the 26 selected!
🚨🎙️Thierry Henry on Southampton expelled for spying drama against Middlesbrough:
“I have to be honest, this is a difficult one. Spying on another team’s training is wrong. Full stop. It crosses a line, it undermines the trust that should exist between clubs, and I understand why Middlesbrough are furious and why the EFL felt they had to act strongly. Integrity matters in this game.
At the same time, I find myself questioning whether expulsion from the play-offs is the right punishment. It feels… heavy. Almost like using a sledgehammer when a precise scalpel was needed.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t match-fixing or doping. It was analysts pushing boundaries for tactical information, something that, sadly, has happened in different forms across the game for years.
Marcelo Bielsa did it openly at Derby and Leeds, admitted it, and people called him a genius, not a criminal. Drones, analysts in trees, whatever, in the modern game with data and marginal gains everywhere, clubs push boundaries.
Southampton admitted it, yes, and they deserve punishment. A heavy fine, points deduction, maybe even a ban for the staff involved. But kicking the entire club out after they earned their place on the pitch? That punishes players, coaches, and fans who had nothing to do with one or two analysts doing something stupid.
What troubles me most is the collateral damage. The players who battled through a tough Championship season after relegation, who went to extra time and scored that late goal to beat Middlesbrough on the pitch, they earned their place in the final through merit.
Now that achievement is being erased because of actions taken by a small number of staff members. That feels disproportionate to me. A significant fine, a points deduction for next season, and sanctions against the individuals responsible, those would be strong, meaningful punishments that address the breach without nullifying an entire season’s competitive work.
Sport has to balance two things: protecting fairness and recognising that human error and ambition sometimes lead people astray. If every rules breach in high-stakes moments leads to rewriting results, we risk turning the disciplinary process into something more powerful than the football itself. I’ve sat in dressing rooms where we prepared meticulously for opponents. Everyone does. The difference is getting caught.
I hope Southampton appeal and that the final decision finds a better equilibrium. Middlesbrough deserve respect, they were wronged but the players of Southampton also deserve not to have their legitimate efforts wiped away. Football is emotional, passionate, and imperfect.
The response to this should reflect wisdom as much as outrage. We need clearer rules going forward so incidents like this become rare, but we must be careful not to let one mistake destroy what was built legitimately on the grass.
@rory1anderson 60 secs to make a call. If they can't see anything clear and obvious to overturn a decision in that time, the on-field decision stands.
Can't be having these 5-minute waits whilst every angle is scrutinised in slow motion...
NEXT (AND FINAL) MATCH
🆚️ @locksheathfc
🗓 04-05-26
🕑 15:00
📍 Priory Park
🏆 @HantsLeague
Join us for the last time this season, as we host the newly-crowned champions for what should be an entertaining game to end on! ⚡️
Man of the Match - Ollie O’Mahony |
First 1st team start ✅
Goal inside 4 minutes ✅
Full 90 minutes completed ✅
A brilliant performance showing exactly what he’s capable of — and there’s plenty more still to come. 💪🔥
#UpThePurps 💜⚽️