Southampton fans will have already put the 2025/26 season into a box inside their head.
At one stage, the unfurling Championship campaign looked as if it would end with the ecstasy of promotion via the playoffs, with Tonda Eckert turning the Saints into a Premier League-ready machine.
But, with the horrors of Spygate coming to the surface, the South Coast side were chucked out of the playoffs, with a four point deduction next to their name, heading into the new season.
Yet, with all this bad news mounting up, Southampton supporters do have a lot of reasons to be cheerful ahead of the brand-new campaign, with Daniel Peretz staying for good a clear sign of intent that the Saints won't be languishing at the bottom of the league ladder for long.
The 2026/27 season will also be the last that Trevor Birch is at the EFL helm for, with the 68-year-old leaving his role as CEO.
Safe to say, Southampton fans won't be warmly sending him messages anytime soon, as he played a role in the Saints' severe Spygate sanctions being dished out.
Birch's leaving statement
Before delving deeper into Southampton's outrage involving Birch, the wider footballing world is unlikely to shed too many tears, either, over the CEO's exit from the role he has had since January 2021.
For too long, arguably, the EFL have been inconsistent with their decision making, and their help when clubs are on the brink of going under, with Sheffield Wednesday, who fell to League One just this season gone, another example of a historic club nearly going extinct due to tyrannical owners who were allowed to take control with the EFL turning a blind eye.
In a statement released alongside his departure being confirmed, Birch still acknowledged that it has been a "privilege" to be in such a high-up position for so long, despite testing times along the way.
Trevor Birch, CEO
— EFL Communications (@EFL_Comms) June 4, 2026
Chief Executive Trevor Birch has today informed the Board that he will leave the EFL at the end of the 2026/27 season, having successfully led the organisation through a period of change and sustained growth since taking up the role in January 2021.
Trevor… pic.twitter.com/Y4IbigzwOC
He said: “It has been a privilege to serve as Chief Executive of the EFL. With one more season ahead, my focus is on supporting the League, our Clubs and colleagues, and ensuring a smooth and orderly transition to new leadership.”
Southampton fans will hope the new CEO is more reasonable, as they will feel, as a club, that the EFL, with Birch in charge, were far too harsh when handing out penalties post-Spygate.
Southampton fans won't wish him well
Reading through the comments section below the EFL's X post, Saints fans didn't mince their words with their thoughts on the departing CEO.
The EFL statement, when Southampton's expulsion from the playoffs was confirmed, noted that the playoff semi-finalists' conduct was "deplorable."
While they did act in an unsportsmanlike way and deserved to be punished, the EFL didn't hand out such a severe penalty or lambast Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United in the same way in 2019, as a fine on that occasion sufficed.
It's these inconsistencies that bring the EFL constantly into disrepute, alongside the erratic changing of kick-off times at a moment's notice, irking fans everywhere.
Whoever replaces Birch will have a tough job on their hands, but Southampton will hope their football can primarily do the talking next season as promotion is chased, rather than any more notable feuds sparking into life with one of English football's main governing bodies.
Add us as a preferred source on Google