My brother has just advised there are not any trains on Saturday between Boro and York so travelling even more difficult. 😎
My brother has just advised there are not any trains on Saturday between Boro and York so travelling even more difficult. 😎
Are there trains from Darlington?
Over the moon with the outcome! I can barely believe it.
What I can’t believe, however, is that Sinners have decided to appeal because they think the punishment is disproportionate!!! You cheating b# ******* have spied on 3 clubs and you think it’s disproportionate! I can’t help thinking almost every football fan will think they’ve got their just desserts, apart from their fans, obviously. Saints, eh? Who are they kidding?
@clive-hurren I wonder if they’re hoping to avoid the points deduction for next season. Obviously they’re guilty, so it’s only the level of punishment they can appeal. Surely there can’t be further changes to the Final at this stage.
@martin-bellamy. I don’t believe so its a bus service to York.
A friend of Steve has said he will drive to Leeds and pick up a train from there. 😎
@clive-hurren. If they have appealed then increase the punishment I say. 😎
@k-p-in-spain Sorry - I meant from Darlo to London.
@boro-beckys-dad - We WILL deserve to be in the Premier League IF we beat Hull City, which is not a given as Hull has a decent team and Boro will have a threadbare squad.
@k-p-in-spain - "We find this to be a frivolous appeal and therefore the penalty will be increased to...."
@martin-bellamy - well the EFL have said that there may still be changes to the game and that the KO time is TBA. All very odd and I still would not be surprised if there is another twist in the tale.
WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT !!
Well I never saw that decision coming. I’m amazed.
I assume Southampton can appeal but don’t know the timescale etc.
I feel sorry for Conway who will be a big miss for the physical effort he puts in.
On the plus side, I’d love to see Hackney get some time on the pitch.
So we all have another game to look forward to , although in a strange kind of way, it seems like a bit of an anticlimax - possibly because Boro lost the playoffs and so the season was then over.
philip of Huddersfield 👍😁
@martin-bellamy. Not sure. Is there a separate line to York avoiding Darlo?
In my day I always had to go via Darlo but that was light years ago. 😎
Just found this:
- The Route Affected: Engineering work will block train lines between York and Northallerton.
- Replacement Transport: Replacement buses will operate between Darlington and York, and between Redcar Central and York, stopping at the individual stations.
- Travel Advice: You should expect extended journey times and potential crowding on replacement services. [1, 2, 3]
Hope it helps to clarify. 😎
No, there’s just the main line.
I agree with you that Soton should have their punishment increased. As Dormo said, there are precedents for mounting a ‘frivolous’ challenge. Aliadière, anyone?
Just found this:
Yes, major engineering works will affect the Middlesbrough to York line this weekend. [1]Due to track and signaling upgrades closing the lines between York and Northallerton, replacement buses will run in place of trains for portions of the journey. [1]Key Service Disruptions & Changes:
- The Route Affected: Engineering work will block train lines between York and Northallerton.
- Replacement Transport: Replacement buses will operate between Darlington and York, and between Redcar Central and York, stopping at the individual stations.
- Travel Advice: You should expect extended journey times and potential crowding on replacement services. [1, 2, 3]
Hope it helps to clarify. 😎
What a mess. Every bus in the north east will be driving to London. Charter flights to Luton would be the best way to go. The club could help out.
I’m still pinching myself that we have finally got a decision in our favour.
UTB
Do we know if Hackney has been in training?
Contribution all the way from a fan in Melbourne to the Beeb's live text commentary on the Chelski-Spurs match (which Spurs lost):
Which division will Southampton be playing Spurs in next season?
(I'm a North Londoner by adoption, but would prefer to see the Hammers stay up.)
Discussion of the Disciplinary Commission's verdict sharing top spot with Arsenal's triumph in the Prem on ITV News at Ten just now! Unbelievable!
I have been having a snoop at one of the Southampton fans blogs and the tone of the comments on it. Many argue that the punishment is disproportionate which is the argument that Southampton will no doubt put forward at the appeal hearing tomorrow. Despite this, the majority of the fans are very critical of the club and its owners for being so stupid to engage in spying on other teams in the first place. Quite a few are absolutely furious at being badly let down by the club and a few even comment that the club deserves everything it gets for breaking the rules more than once. There is a smattering of vitriol directed at Boro but not much. Overall the views are much more balanced than I expected which shows that most Southampton fans recognise that their club is responsible for what has happened by seriously breaking the rules.
Very surprised by the verdict. Was expecting that Southampton would get a massive fine but not expelled. Heard the news whilst standing waiting to catch a shuttle in Sitka Alaska. Now have to see how I can follow the game on Saturday as we will be in Denali National Park with probably poor internet reception.
@mw-in-darwin - A long way from Darwin up there! Probably not much chance of seeing the game and I have read that mobile phone reception not overly good.
Guessing you are on an Alaska cruise - hope you are enjoying it. I understand the scenery is spectacular.
We are going to be on one out of Vancouver in July - we arrive there on the day of a World Cup game so the one night hotel is a tad expensive.
Thanks for that. It’s very damning. Personally, I don’t think Soton stand a chance of getting the punishment lessened. And I hope Eckert gets a long suspension, even if, as he suggests, he didn’t know he was breaking English rules. There’s no excuse for cheating.
In view of all this, I’d like to give huge credit to Steve Gibson and his staff for taking this all the way and fighting our corner so determinedly and successfully. Once again we owe him a massive vote of thanks.
@eboroacum - WOW. Clearly a well-known conspiracy at the club to spy on others, to the extent a joking picture showing it was shared amongst people at the club. The suggestion players were innocent about this may NOT be true. Nobody suggested to Eckert that this was against the rules? Unbelievable. Thanks for the link.
Whilst we have been delighted with the verdict it is not all that surprising when you take into account the earlier ruling when Swindon were booted out of their cup competition after winning the tie.
In their case it was deemed that the breaches of fielding ineligible players (cheating) was inadvertent as opposed to deliberate cheating by Southampton.
Given this prior ruling the only logical and fair step was to come to the same decision/penalty; my concern was always given the timeframes/ money involved they would fudge it.
Fingers crossed they now do not back track on appeal. 😎
@eboroacum. Thank you what an excellent article which clarifies exactly how this has all unfolded.
Eckert has to go and needs to be banned from English football by the FA for a period. Ignorance of the English rules is no defence.
We will see in due course how upstanding the Directors of Southampton really are. 😎
Thanks for that excellent forensic article and it's hard based on the evidence to see how an appeal could reverse the decision and reinstate Southampton into the final.
Eckert it seems has admitted sanctioning the spying, the board have admitted the club spied and the players were shown covert footage of the opposition training in team meetings.
Knowing all that and now it is public how could the EFL allow Southampton to be in the final and potential gain promotion based on them systematically cheating?
Rather than being an excessive punishment, it almost seems that expulsion from the final and a 4-point deduction next season has seen them get off lightly if it's likely there were many more instances of spying (cheating) before games.
As for the appeals process, if the new panel find in Southampton's favour in reducing the punishment, can the EFL go against it or must they appeal the appeal decision having accepted the punishment of the independent committee? Surely Southampton's argument is only that they would rather just pay a fine!
Woken this morning with a deep sense if forboding the appeal will translate the disqualificaion into 12 points deducted....
Hope my anxiety is mis-placed
@powmillnaemore - Instead of a retired man into his eighth decade, last night (it is 8.16am on Wednesday as I type this) I was transported back to childhood. It was as though I was 8 years old again, and taken back to Christmas Eve. I just couldn't sleep. My mind was racing with excitement about what was to come.
I hope, having been given this lifeline, a patched-up Boro team grabs it with both hands at Wembley on Saturday! That is if it remains listed to play on Saturday afternoon. I realise the logistical issues would make it a nightmare to have to re-arrange the game to another date/time or even a new venue, so clearly the prospects of a move must be small, but if it were to happen that might benefit Boro from the point of view of patching the remaining players up for one last hurrah this season.