Right now i'm feeling worse than I did at the end of last season and that is all down to the actions of Tonda.
It feels like a kick in the guts after the feelgood run since January and now I just feel complete disillusionment with the club.
I just want to feel pride in my club and I have strong opinions about cheating in sport especially if it is systemic.
The stories coming out about dressing as Eastleigh FC staff to spy on Ipswich and memes joking about the practise are outrageous and we need a complete reset with the management on the football side of the club imo.
This. We, the fans, will be perceived as guilty by association. I`m a competitive runner, and I`d rather finish last than take an unfair advantage over anyone else. But what really saddens me is this - if we live to be 80, we`ll have lived for around 30k days. Ballpark the same as the capacity of SMS. So around one Saints fan will pass away every day - so before the start of next season there will be around 60 of our number who will have passed, and will have gone through thick and thin with Saints over decades, and who`s last experience of Saints will be the shame and humiliation of this debacle. That`s so sad.
I'd like to ask you both and anyone else who is feeling shame and humiliation over this, would you feel the same if this had been discovered next season? Maybe after we had achieved promotion?
The reason I am asking this is because I believe that you have been sucked into the media storm orchestrated by Steve Gibson.
Bielsa & Leeds faced nowhere near the assault from all angles that we have faced for the same offense. It blew over in pretty quick time and as far as I'm aware very little has been made of it since. Dirty Leeds maybe but not Cheating Leeds. These issues are as big or as small as the media decides and with Gibson's mates at full throttle, a fairly small example of cheating has been made out to be one of the worst sporting scandals of all time. It really isn't. We have no excuse for the offense but IMO, Gibson has manipulated an almost hysterical response from the media and fans of other clubs.
The outcome of the hearing stinks, the old boys network within the football governing bodies has delivered exactly what Gibson was asking for, what a coincidence. So, although I am angry with Saints for putting the club at risk of this happening, my greatest anger is aimed at Gibson and his mates in the EFL. They've used our foolishness to enable them to cheat on a far bigger scale than we ever have. The real shame is with them, not you, me or other Saints supporters.
Going back to how some have made comments such as (paraphrasing) "I'm ashamed to be associated with the club I've supported for 50 years".
I would suggest a bigger scandal has hung over Saints for a lot longer. Bob Higgins sexually abused young boys over a 14 year period, his behaviour was known within the club who turned a blind eye. In the wake of his conviction Saints were found to be complicit in allowing it to continue.
The point I'm making is this; that was a far worse scandal than spying on the opposition, yet fans didn't feel so bad about the club then because the media didn't drive an agenda. It got some coverage for a few days, no-one said they were ashamed and humiliated
and that they wouldn't be renewing their ST's.
You could say that it happened a long time before it became public knowledge and that is why I asked would you still feel ashamed if you didn't find out (about our cheating) until next season? IMO no fans needed to be ashamed about the Bob Higgins scandal then or a much smaller issue now.
So to repeat myself, this spying is a relatively small offense that has been blown out of all proportion by the media and the EFL with an ulterior motive. It is certainly not the crime of the century to burden us for the rest of our lives.
