Former Southampton striker weighs in with his own uncensored thoughts on Spygate

If you have an opinion currently, when it comes to the topic of Spygate 2.0, it appears as if you will gain a platform to discuss your thoughts.

Indeed, so many former footballers have piped up with their thoughts now on Southampton's controversy surrounding an analyst going to spy on Middlesbrough training, ahead of the Championship playoff semi-finals kicking off, with the likes of ex-Reading winger, turned pundit, Jobi McAnuff branding the incident as "cheating."

Even James Corden - who is a well-recognised actor - has been vocal about his thoughts on the bizarre unfolding story, with the comedian stating on TalkSPORT that a "severe and heavy price" must be paid by the Saints.

The situation has been perfect for sensationalised soundbites, with former Southampton striker Charlie Austin also joining in with all the exaggerated reactions recently.

Austin's thoughts on Spygate

Austin had an up-and-down career on the South Coast, with his entire time with the Saints riddled by injury.

When he did feature, he did show off his goalscoring prowess, with a very impressive six goals collected during the 2015/16 season, despite only being fit enough to play 15 Premier League games.

In total, the journeyman striker would go on to bag a middle-of-the-road 20 goals for the Saints from 81 overall appearances, with the 36-year-old still currently active for his local side Hungerford Town in the depths of non-league football.

When he isn't playing for his hometown club, he is also chiming in with his thoughts on all things football on his podcast "Chaz Kicks Off" and the latest episode saw him give an uncensored take on his ex-club's Spygate shenanigans.

He said: "Let's be very clear. What has happened is a disgrace!"

The neutral might well expect Austin to be a little more filtered with his views, considering his past connections to the club.

However, this take on the situation won't really shock the Saints masses, as the 36-year-old left St. Mary's on bad terms, which might have partly influenced his outspoken comments.

His remarks are hardly a shock...

Austin would leave Southampton back in the summer of 2019 in very messy circumstances.

After only scoring two goals across 25 Premier League games during the 2018/19 season, the nomadic striker would be left out of the Saints' pre-season tour that summer and was made to train with the youth squad.

Clearly, the relationship between Austin and the Saints had become fractured, and he would leave for West Bromwich Albion with a lot of bad blood attached to the South Coast club.

Stating at the time that he felt he deserved more 'respect' at St. Mary's, there is surely an element of this ill feeling towards his ex employers still present, when he has branded the spying allegations as a "disgrace."

Of course, he is entitled to his opinion, and it does go without saying that Southampton's spying tactics are unsportsmanlike.

But, it does feel as if Austin is just jumping on the bandwagon with an ulterior motive in play, which is to fire one more jab at the club that discarded him without much thought.

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