Due to a change of arrangements, I've got 2 Adult and 1 Child train tickets available if anyone is interested. This is for the Hull Trains Special direct to Kings Cross which leaves at 7:34am on Saturday and departs back from Kings Cross at 8:15pm. The total cost for all 3 tickets is £197.75. They were bought with Family and Friends railcard which you will need with you on the train (if you don't already have one they cost £35/year). If anyone's interested please dm me
Match Day Thread Play Off Final. Hull City v Boro
- Thread starter Chazz Rheinhold
- Start date
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There are so many things that cant be done, its madness.
Eg, lanyards for hospitally cant be printed, city's shirts cant be embroidered with the date, opposition etc.
But on a positive note half and half scarf sellers have either had to take a huge risk or best of all couldnt get an order in!
Cheers ive decided to drive. The upside is less time travelling and cant be drinking so dont have to pay stupid London prices for beer.
Just booked some parking on someones drive in Stanmore and will tube the last bit
To be honest mate I dont see the Guard checking tickets on that service so if it were me I'd save the £35 for lunch and take a risk on the rail card!! It's going to be rammed all the way to Hull, guard wont pass through unless there is trouble.
There is a new market for the half and half scarf sellers. Half Southampton half Middlesbrough
Could make third-third-third scarves with each end detachable.
Yes probably Jim, but I just wanted to make sure everyone knew the eligibilty criteria of the tickets before buying the tickets off me. However, if anyone wants to buy them and use without a railcard that's fine by me, you don't even have to take a child with you if you haven't got one!
Just pushed my train back another 30 mins to be sure I can see everything including pens if required. Another £24. I’m £190 in already. Ah well how could I miss this.
Another AI take:
It is a complete operational and philosophical nightmare for the EFL and the Independent Disciplinary Commission because **every single choice available directly undermines the validity of the competition.**
The situation is a classic Mexican standoff of sports law, where every party has a loaded argument ready to fire:
### 1. The Middlesbrough Legal Threat (Delaying the Final)
Middlesbrough’s stance is clear: they have already labeled expulsion as the "only appropriate response." If the commission leaves Southampton in the final on Tuesday, May 19, Boro have every grounds to appeal the decision or seek a High Court injunction to halt the Wembley match.
* **The Nightmare:** An injunction would postpone the final at the absolute eleventh hour. It would leave the EFL facing astronomical compensation claims from broadcasters, Wembley Stadium, and thousands of fans—some of whom have traveled from as far as Australia and Peru—who would be left holding useless train and plane tickets.
### 2. The Hull City Trap (The Default Demand)
If the EFL tries to split the difference—forcing Southampton to play but saddling them with a heavy penalty clause or a massive points deduction for next season—they walk straight into a trap set by Hull City. Hull can quite rightly argue: *"Why should we risk our entire multi-million-pound future playing against a team that has already been legally deemed untrustworthy/cheating in this very tournament?"*
* **The Nightmare:** Hull could play the final "under protest" or refuse to take the pitch, demanding a default promotion. If they play and lose to a penalized Southampton, Hull’s legal team will tie the Premier League and the EFL in knots all summer, arguing that a compromised team took their top-flight spot.
### 3. The "Ghost Promotion" Paradox (Loss of Integrity)
If Southampton plays under a future points penalty and wins promotion, the Premier League inherits a radioactive product. A team starting the 2026–27 Premier League season on -12 points because of an EFL cheating scandal destroys the integrity of the top flight before a ball is even kicked. It punishes the Premier League for an EFL failure.
### The EFL's Self-Inflicted Wound
Making matters worse, Middlesbrough's statement highlighted a catastrophic administrative error: **the EFL apparently failed to properly publish the specific guidelines and tariffs for a "spying" breach beforehand.**
Because the EFL didn't have a clear, pre-written "Spygate = Expulsion" rule in the handbook, any radical punishment the commission hands down right now will look like they are making up the law on the fly. Southampton’s lawyers would dismantle that on appeal in minutes.
### The Bottom Line
The Commission is trapped in a room with no good exits:
* If they **expel** Southampton, they face a structural collapse of the playoffs, a logistical war, and a furious Hull City fan base left in limbo.
* If they **fine/penalize** Southampton, they admit the competition was corrupted but let it proceed anyway, completely destroying the concept of sporting integrity.
It is a disaster of epic proportions. The EFL is essentially praying for a miracle on Tuesday, but no matter what the commission recommends, the 2026 Championship Playoff Final will go down in history as the most legally compromised match English football has ever seen.
It is a complete operational and philosophical nightmare for the EFL and the Independent Disciplinary Commission because **every single choice available directly undermines the validity of the competition.**
The situation is a classic Mexican standoff of sports law, where every party has a loaded argument ready to fire:
### 1. The Middlesbrough Legal Threat (Delaying the Final)
Middlesbrough’s stance is clear: they have already labeled expulsion as the "only appropriate response." If the commission leaves Southampton in the final on Tuesday, May 19, Boro have every grounds to appeal the decision or seek a High Court injunction to halt the Wembley match.
* **The Nightmare:** An injunction would postpone the final at the absolute eleventh hour. It would leave the EFL facing astronomical compensation claims from broadcasters, Wembley Stadium, and thousands of fans—some of whom have traveled from as far as Australia and Peru—who would be left holding useless train and plane tickets.
### 2. The Hull City Trap (The Default Demand)
If the EFL tries to split the difference—forcing Southampton to play but saddling them with a heavy penalty clause or a massive points deduction for next season—they walk straight into a trap set by Hull City. Hull can quite rightly argue: *"Why should we risk our entire multi-million-pound future playing against a team that has already been legally deemed untrustworthy/cheating in this very tournament?"*
* **The Nightmare:** Hull could play the final "under protest" or refuse to take the pitch, demanding a default promotion. If they play and lose to a penalized Southampton, Hull’s legal team will tie the Premier League and the EFL in knots all summer, arguing that a compromised team took their top-flight spot.
### 3. The "Ghost Promotion" Paradox (Loss of Integrity)
If Southampton plays under a future points penalty and wins promotion, the Premier League inherits a radioactive product. A team starting the 2026–27 Premier League season on -12 points because of an EFL cheating scandal destroys the integrity of the top flight before a ball is even kicked. It punishes the Premier League for an EFL failure.
### The EFL's Self-Inflicted Wound
Making matters worse, Middlesbrough's statement highlighted a catastrophic administrative error: **the EFL apparently failed to properly publish the specific guidelines and tariffs for a "spying" breach beforehand.**
Because the EFL didn't have a clear, pre-written "Spygate = Expulsion" rule in the handbook, any radical punishment the commission hands down right now will look like they are making up the law on the fly. Southampton’s lawyers would dismantle that on appeal in minutes.
### The Bottom Line
The Commission is trapped in a room with no good exits:
* If they **expel** Southampton, they face a structural collapse of the playoffs, a logistical war, and a furious Hull City fan base left in limbo.
* If they **fine/penalize** Southampton, they admit the competition was corrupted but let it proceed anyway, completely destroying the concept of sporting integrity.
It is a disaster of epic proportions. The EFL is essentially praying for a miracle on Tuesday, but no matter what the commission recommends, the 2026 Championship Playoff Final will go down in history as the most legally compromised match English football has ever seen.
I'll just stick with one half Hull and one half City.
Drive to rugby just off the M1. Park all weekend for £3.50. Open return £25 with a railcard, trains running til after midnight. Under an hour on the train.
Genuinely could be we get a walkover here due the the legal reasons. Reading above lawyers of 3 clubs are on standby.
I've decided to go with tiger travel.
I know I'm gonna get a right old banger of a coach.
I know I'm gonna get a right old banger of a coach.
Lawyers will be probably be the only winners out of this situation. They love a fee...
you might be lucky and get a Wilfreda Beehive ...
Speaking of beer at Wembley. Need to watch from about 1:50. Yum!
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I'm just going off my past limited experience of using them.
Just adds to the excitement of the day. Will people be pissing in bottles or a toilet.