Phil Bird

@JustSaints_ It’s really disappointing but thank god our club is not in an absolute mess. We’re just a small town in Yorkshire. Hopefully you can get us out your head and focus on the long list of things you need to sort

Imagine having to do the journey back to Middlesbrough after losing your clubs biggest game in the last decade, in the last minute, twice in 10 days. 😂

@talkSAINTS I think you’ve a lot more to worry about than the Boro’s fortunes. Your club is in a mess

And justice is served #Boro! Congrats on being the first team to lose both the semi-final, and final.. Looking forward to another Kim Hellberg whimpering post-match interview 😂 #Saintsfc

@REEDYSFC I’m getting the train pal

FUCK EVERY SINGLE BORO FAN. Enjoy that long drive home, cunts.

@derrickallottk1 Learn what the word ‘literally’ means and how to use it

Literally the trampiest club.

@lifelongsaint83 Not as embarrassed as being caught spying on Oxford and still not beating them

If Boro win they should be embarrassed, lost the game that counted (That wasn't spied on) and have had many more days to prepare for Hull than Hull have had to prepare for them! Don't deserve to be in the final and have an unfair advantage (not that they care about that)

@sportingintel As a Boro fan I feel for your fans as this probably comes down to the manager and his analysts only. It’s a stain that will take a long while to wipe clean and means you’ll probably need to sack all the culprits to truly start afresh

Correct me if I'm wrong (and this platform always does), but I think the vast majority of Saints fans, me included, have accepted, from the start, that if we broke the rules then we deserve what we get. And as someone who writes about this stuff routinely, I think that's rare?

@SaintsDanSFC What, because you cheated? Sounds like someone can’t take the consequence of their actions

I'm very slowly starting to hate Middlesbrough FC on the same level as I hate Portsmouth Football Club. #SaintsFC

@richardajkeys So cheating should only be punished if it gets you an advantage?

Are we really suggesting Spygate in any way affected the outcome of the s/f? Behave.

@jonsopel I expected you to grasp the finer point of ‘breaking a rule’ is ‘breaking a rule’. There is no hierarchy to it. Plus, Boro’s top performer was/is injured and they will definitely have been looking for signs of him returning as that would directly impact how they line up.

Is the outrage over Spygate understandable? An act of crass stupidity, I’ll grant you. But this is less Philby and Burgess and more Laurel and Hardy. Some hapless intern is sent to film from 400M on his smart phone the Middlesbrough team kicking footballs. What searing insights would the Southampton side have got? ‘Ok boss they’re kicking the ball with both their left and right feet. Sometimes they’re heading it.’ It’s all so silly. Southampton look like a right bunch of Charlies. But in the pantheon of great sporting scandals, this is pimple sized

@Puel_Out I think all this does is explain clearly why Nicky Butt is not involved in coaching at any level.

Always liked Nicky Butt #SaintsFC

@AdamSaintJames1 @DanSFC94 Read the rules - it’s cheating. Doesn’t matter what he used

I do feel for him. Genuinely. His points here are completely fair. BUT He is projecting his late-season failures onto one single thing. They’ve literally only won 2 in 13 and completely bottled automatic promotion. #SaintsFC had nothing to do with that.

@jammer_1987 Yes you could, but not if you work for Southampton football club and you’re less than 72 hours from playing us, as the league you compete in specifically says this. I’m allowed to drink beer at 10am, but not at my work desk or else I broke their rules.

Could walk my dog past there and have a look, how open is that 😂😂

@Sam__SFC You only have to cheat once to be a cheater you know mate. And you don’t have to cheat on a perceived high level. Cheating is cheating. And this photo is evidence of cheating. Simple as that

Some Boro fans have seen this and think it's worthy of a sporting sanction btw #SaintsFC

@SaintRob__ It’s terrible, way worse than sending an analyst to video training 2 days before a semi-final when our best player is approaching a return from injury which would massively influence how you set up to play against us.

@JamesCarr02 Surprising how much cheating gets people annoyed isn’t it. I bet these type of people get mad at injustice, lying and other silly little things that just don’t matter to people without a moral compass

I need to take a break from this app. Honestly, I've never seen a reaction like it! The whole world are acting like we've bribed officials and paid off our opponents. I stand by the fact that if it was the other way round, we would laugh it off. Worlds gone nuts #saintsfc

@sportingintel I’m not sure punishment of cheating can be based on the impact of the act you were caught doing. That would be impossible to conclude surely? As this is unprecedented, what punishment do you feel is likely?

@phil_birdos They broke the rules and should be punished, proportionately according to how an independent panel find their cheating influenced the outcome of two football matches.

I'm a Saints fan, and remain embarrassed & mortified that a Saints intern spied on Boro. Pointless. Self-defeating. Cringe. But today's "bombshell" utterly subverts the totally fake news narrative of sophisticated spyware tech, live feeds to HQ etc. It's a kid. With an iphone.

@AlfieHouseEcho Just Gary pallister casually arriving at the same time as their bus

🎥 Full video as Saints bus arrives at Boro to chants of ‘cheating bastards’. #SaintsFC