Greg
I totally agree with this. It does leave a sour taste in the throat.
I can see the point of view that there were only three infringements and that these would have not be relevant had they been better timed. Those arguing that we have been too heavily punished have a point albeit I believe yesterday's statement really sent out the wrong message. I would have expected the club either to say nothing or publish a statement when the FA enquiry as published it's conclusions (bit appreciate that this could take some time.)
I think it is good that the club backed it's employees when they are innocent yet this is demonstrably not the case in this instance. If you want to put things bluntly, we cheated in a situation that any benefit would have put us in a money-earning appearance at Wembley where the possibility of success would have increased our income by circa £200 million. I get that this is all about chance and how things work out on the pitch and that success was not guaranteed. Given the sums of money at stake, I do feel it was a serious matter with Boro' (probably not so with Ipswich and certainly not with Oxford) and the penalty does, in my opinion, seem appropriate. The position post-appeal by the club should have been one of contrition yet the message being put out was that it was a genuine error for which Tonda has apologised and which the staff appear to have been exonerated with the exception of the intern who should have reported his concerns earlier !
I am a little surprised that more people on here are not incensed by Solak's statement. It is not at all appropriate and strongly suggests that there is no regret. It is a case of carry on as usual - other than not spying on other teams again. This statement shows that we are not taking the matter seriously. I would have thought that the tone would have been totally different. It does not suggest that we have learned our lesson and maybe is demonstrative that the morals of our owners are out of sync with how most people in the game regard cheating. In my view, the statement has made things worse and just underscores that the club culture is unacceptable for a significant proportion of fans.
Everyone and his wife has an opinion on the penalty and what is fair or unfair. Yesterday's statement was suggestive that the football club does not understand why so many fans are angry. The issue of ticket sales for both semis and finals is just one element where the club does not comprehend that mealy words given in press statements is not solving the problems for the FA and, more importantly, the supporters.
