Southampton find a ‘super-talented’ reason to stick with Tonda Eckert

TOMORROW NEVER SPIES

Southampton don’t have an official club motto. But at the start of next season, as they try to leave behind the spying scandal that devastated their 2025-26 campaign, they could borrow a phrase from the poetry of Alexander Pope: to err is human; to forgive, divine. The club’s owner Dragan Solak has confirmed that their German head coach, Tonda Eckert, will not be sacked for his part in the fiasco that led to Southampton being kicked out of the playoff final. “I think he deserves a second chance and I would give it to him,” soothed Solak. “My full support would be behind him actually, because I think he’s a super-talented manager.”

While Football Daily agrees wholeheartedly with giving human beings a second chance – even the pieces of work on social media disgraces who think Eckert should get the Wicker Man treatment – the last part of Solak’s comment feels the most important. Football is one big marriage of convenience, so Southampton were always likely to stick with a manager as talented as Eckert – just as Leeds did with Marcelo Bielsa after a not-dissimilar binoculars-based fiasco in the 2018-19 season. Leeds were promoted to the Premier League the following season.

Bielsa was loved by most neutrals, never mind Leeds fans, and did not receive anywhere near as much opprobrium as Eckert. Perhaps there is a simple reason for the contrasting reactions. Eckert has a face similar to that of a brilliant Hollywood villain – just look at the main image. The Saints boss took full responsibility for the mess in an eight-minute video released by Southampton today. “For everything that has happened I want to apologise,” he cooed. “I hold my hands up because as a head coach I am responsible. I am devastated that … the season has come to an end, an end that couldn’t have left us in a worse place than we are in right now. I am a young coach, I have made a mistake, and I take full responsibility.”

Eckert, who says he had no idea he was breaking any rules, will spend the summer ingesting the EFL handbook. “I told him: ‘You almost broke my heart,’” said Solak. “‘You do it again, you’ll kill me. The next time I see you in July, if you don’t know the EFL book of rules by heart, you can’t work for me. Because, we can’t have another mistake.’ I truly hope that he will learn from this experience and he will achieve an incredible career.” Whatever happens, all eyes will be on Southampton in August.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“People do treat players like meat. As soon as you get a bit stale, they start getting rid of you” – Michail Antonio talks to Jacob Steinberg about West Ham’s decline, the benefits of therapy and always being asked about his car crash.

double quotation markDon’t worry about your version of the Tim Payne tune, Andy Korman (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). If he heard it, he’d probably know the song was about him. He is probably walking into the dressing room like he was walking on to a yacht, with all this attention. The Phoenix kit could conceivably be called Apricot. Oh god, I’ll stop” – Jon Millard (and no other AOR enthusiasts).

double quotation markBen Fisher reckons Andoni Iraola can ‘bring the swagger back to Arsenal’ (yesterday’s Still Want Mores, full email edition). Well, yes, but maybe that’s just a little too on-the-nose for Liverpool fans hoping for a resurgence at Anfield” – Mark Rae (and 1,056 others)

If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day is … Rollover. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.

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LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

Like a long-haired layabout lad in his mid-20s, Davide Ancelotti has accepted the easiest way to earn an honest crust is to dutifully follow dad into the family business. Except, this is football management, so rather than skiving about at the back of a factory somewhere while the older fellas do all the work, little Davide is now on his own at the sharp end of Ligue 1. The 36-year-old has taken the leap to Lille after a short spell in charge of Botafogo in Brazil. It’s a far cry from sitting safely on Carlo’s backroom staff. And while nobody is suggesting there is nepotism at play – after all, young Dave has served as the assistant manager of Bayern Munich, Everton, Napoli and Real Madrid (how did he get those jobs?!) – it will be rather interesting to see how he fares away from his dad’s warm embrace. From Nigel Clough to Darren Ferguson, there are a few examples of sons following their fathers into management with mitigated success.

NEWS, BITS AND BOBS

Newcastle legend Kevin Keegan has said he has stage four cancer, updating fans on his health during a theatre appearance on Tyneside.

Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish has revealed that he is receiving treatment for cancer. The 75-year-old confirmed the diagnosis on Tuesday, having mistakenly posted about his treatment earlier in the day. “As my inadvertent social media post has indicated, I am currently undergoing treatment … unlike my mobile phone use, the treatment is going well,” he said. “Ideally, this would have remained private because that’s the way it should be, but my useless technology skills have forced my hand. I did not mean to make this matter public so I would appreciate it if the privacy of my family and myself are respected.”

Liverpool have opened formal talks with Andoni Iraola over succeeding Arne Slot, with the ex-Bournemouth coach the clear frontrunner to occupy the Anfield hot seat next season. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have switched their focus from Iraola to Lens boss Pierre Sage.

London City Lionesses are about to snap up Mary Earps and Mapi León on free transfers in an effort to boost the independent club’s fanbase. Oh, and to try to win some trophies.

Also in the WSL, left-back Katie McCabe has completed her switch from Arsenal to Chelsea on a free. The Republic of Ireland skipper has inked a three-year contract with Sonia Bompastor’s side. “I’m really excited show the Chelsea fans how ready I am to perform for the badge,” she cheered.

Plymouth Argyle insist they “did not take lightly” their decision to slash their women’s team budget and tell the squad via email their contracts were not being renewed for 2026-27. A club statement parped that Argyle “recognise concerns regarding the way this news was communicated, internally and externally, and will review this”.

Billy Gilmour admits he has “not got the words to describe how I’m feeling right now” after being forced to drop out of Scotland’s Geopolitics World Cup squad with knee-knack, suffered in the recent friendly win over Curaçao.

Rodri will wait until after the GWC to address his future, as Real Madrid rumours continue to swirl. “I’m very calm, I know exactly where I stand... perhaps if there hadn’t been a [Geopolitics] World Cup, things might be different now,” parped the Manchester City man, rather cryptically.

Pelé’s iconic blue No 10 shirt from the 1958 World Cup final is expected to become one of the most expensive football artefacts ever sold after being put up for auction. It’s expected to fetch an eyewatering £4.5m.

And a giant statue of Lionel Messi, erected in Kolkata to mark his visit to India last year, has been hauled down after “swaying in the wind”. The 70ft monument will be re-erected in an as-yet undisclosed location.

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STILL WANT MORE?

Has the GWC really landed in its host countries yet? As we approach the tournament’s kick-off in Mexico City, it doesn’t feel like the thing is here yet, writes Leander Schaerlaeckens.

Roll up, roll up for more GWC team guides! Nerd up on Germany, Ecuador and Curaçao.

Meanwhile, Jack Snape has analysed Tony Popovic’s Australia GWC squad.

And PSG are rightly marvelled at, but the origins of their largesse and the effect it’s had on their domestic game cannot be ignored, states Jonathan Wilson.

MEMORY LANE

22 April 2002: Anticipation for the big dance is building steadily, so allow us to whisk you back to April 2002 and England’s official World Cup suit launch before their trip to Japan and South Korea. After guiding the Three Lions to automatic qualification for the finals, Sven-Göran Eriksson took centre stage at the headquarters of suit-makers Burton, in Leeds. Sadly for Sven at the time he was facing endless questions about his private life. A solid suit, though.

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