🚨 Dragan Solak on the #SaintsFC squad:
"We have contracts for players and are sorting some for others. If nobody's leaving, I have a full team. But we need somebody able to play at the level of Finn at his position, although the problem is Finn insists on playing every minute."
[via @AlfieHouseEcho]
🚨💣🧵
Some staggering details taken from @TeleFootball’s piece on Southampton’s alleged Middlesbrough spying mission…
• The ‘spy’ had professional surveillance equipment, complete with a microphone to record voices and technology to livestream the footage back to someone watching remotely. It is claimed the man filming the session had professional filming equipment, complete with a microphone powerful enough to pick up the voice of manager Kim Hellberg and his coaching staff as they issued training instructions.
• Middlesbrough have since been told by whistleblowers that this is not the first time a member of Southampton’s analyst team has been sent to record opposition training sessions this season.
• Middlesbrough have informed the English Football League that they view this as a clear and obvious case of cheating and are seeking the *harshest possible punishment*. A wide range of action is possible when dealing with cases such as these, including points deductions, fines and *potential expulsion from the play-offs*.
• With that in mind, the club feel they are already at a big disadvantage heading into the two-legged tie and *they believe their opponents are already aware of their starting XI for the first leg*. If they change it, they would not be picking the manager’s first-choice side.
• The deadline for those observations to be returned to the EFL was set at 1pm on Friday but *Southampton are accused of missing it.* Middlesbrough suspect their Championship rivals are playing for time and hope to avoid admitting any wrongdoing until after the game on Saturday.
• Middlesbrough privately believe a fine would not be much of a deterrent in this case given the benefits of gaining an unfair advantage ahead of a game of this magnitude.
• They will push for the harshest possible sanction with owner *Steve Gibson probably set to raise the matter directly with his Southampton counterparts in the Riverside boardroom on Saturday*.
#Boro | #UTB | #SaintsFC
That point is only papering over the cracks. We need a big second half of the season to even think about the playoffs, as we are way off it right now #SaintsFc
Championship side Southampton are interested in Daniel Peretz. Bayern are looking for a new loan destination for Peretz after the HSV move didn't go as the club and the goalkeeper were hoping [@cfbayern]
@charlie_ruby@SaintsExtra Can’t play in a midfield two, better as an 8 in a midfield three, tidy with the ball at his feet but just not physical enough. Local lad and was a massive part of our last promotion, but sadly not good enough anymore. Hopefully Alex Neil utilises him well