I've only realised that Southampton's badge has a tree in the middle of it.

Rutfest on Sunday. Last band on, Triggerfish.

Thanks for the link Mags - made for interesting reading. Seems the panel took significant umbrage at the fact that the spying was decided/instifated at a senior level but the task was placed on the head of a junior staff member/intern.

Celebration police OI ;) Let them enjoy the win best to do it asap while everyone is still genuinely joyous.

I remember when players kept quite about their inclusion or not in World Cup squads until the official announcement. Now it's straight onto social media to moan if they are left out.

I guess Villa know that they are in the Champions League regardless, so they did it for the fans…

I know Villa can only finish 4th or 5th and Citeh will be 2nd but is having an open top bus parade less than 72 hours before the game, respecting the competition? What was wrong with Monday or Tuesday?

EFL have released the written reasons for expulsion of Southampton [Link]

Southampton might end up with a bigger points deduction at this rate… [Link] 👀

Foden is a miserable git so it’s probably a good thing 😬

Foden also left out, Not happy.

Final one on global population (for now…) - Hans Rosling RIP was a brilliant demographic scientist, and this is one of his presentations that allays some of the fears about the future expansion (or likely otherwise) of the world’s total population - in short, falling birth rates in MEDCs and improved education in LEDCs mean that in the longer term (not our lifetimes I’m afraid), the total will stabilise at a level which the planet can most likely sustain [Link] It’s an hour, so patience is required if you want to learn more… 😌

I hope it’s a cracking final after all this crazy build up. I kinda like the idea of two teams playing each other with no time to prepare in detail how to best nullify their oppo.

It is all a done deal now. Come on you Tigers.

As for Southampton spying, the fact they used disguises surely means they knew the rules and that they were breaking them. They bought and wore Eastleigh training kit to spy on Ipswich when they trained at Eastleigh.

I'm guessing they want some of the Southampton population, since they aren't travelling to London now...😁

If the play off matches between Southampton and Middlesbrough had been put on hold to wait for the outcome of the hearing, and Southampton were thrown out of the playoffs, then Middlesbrough would get a bye into the final.

Sounds about right, particularly at some of the places I've worked Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ | Fortune [Link]

I remember they did special trips to littlehampton to Ryde a few years ago during summer season and to sandown as well

CW - no because they lost to Hull. If a team gets expelled from the FA Cup you do not get a the highest placed team that lost in that round re-instated. It is either the losing team or no-one.

RK - there are smart people who know how to fix this. But we and the politicians need to accept that they are smarter than us and listen to them rather than hold on to our ingrained beliefs.

If Millwall finished 3rd then surely they could claim they have a better case than Middlesbrough

Silk, indeed BUT the transition to lower birth rates, the differences in North v South and the ageing populations, in the north, create both economic and political problems. In so many years, an equilibrium of some sort will be found.

And I have zero sympathy for those cheats Southampton. Maybe for their fans but Boro v Hull is the right final.

It is a good thing that birth rates are shrinking. The estimated population in 1926 was 2 billion. In 2026, just a hundred years later it is about 8 billion. Doesn't anyone see this as a problem?