How long will Southampton have to wait until Tonda Eckert's future in the Saints' dug-out becomes clearer?
When Marcelo Bielsa was investigated in 2019 for his own Spygate scandal, while in charge of Leeds United, it took the FA five weeks to come to a decision, with the eccentric boss evading a banning order.
We are around the three week mark when it comes to Eckert, so a decision should hopefully arrive at Southampton's door in the coming weeks, to bring the drama of Spygate to a close, once and for all.
Dragan Solak, despite his club being dragged through the mud, has backed the German to stay in charge of the South Coast outfit heading into next season, with it clear that the 33-year-old is a very popular figure among the playing personnel too at St. Mary's.
After all, the crazy 19-game unbeaten run he took his side on during the latter stages of the season wasn't all down to espionage, with Eckert standing out as a talented head coach, who got caught up in some nefarious dark arts.
Iain Dowie has made a very interesting point, though, when it comes to the Berlin-born manager's longevity on the South Coast, if he escapes a banning order, like Bielsa before him...
Dowie's interesting point about Eckert
Managing various clubs up and down the EFL, alongside becoming a pundit post-management, Dowie is actually mostly remembered at Southampton for his playing days.
The Northern Irishman would line up for the Saints a mammoth 138 times, scoring and assisting 47 goals along the way.
Fast forwarding to the present, past his Premier League career in the 1990's, Dowie has now weighed in with his thoughts on Eckert, with the 61-year-old reckoning the German will be under immense pressure to succeed next campaign, as he tries to live up to his unbelievable run of form last season that saw him go 19 games unbeaten with the Saints in the regular season.
He said, when speaking to Betano Casino, about Spygate and Eckert as a manager: "Some might call it cheating, others would say it's trying to be clever. I think it’s something that will haunt him for a while, which will be difficult.
"He’ll have to start well. If he doesn’t, things will change. But what he did, turning around a difficult situation and going 21 unbeaten, it’s remarkable.
"That’s the reason he’s still in the post."
Dowie makes some illuminating points here, as the weight of Spygate could hold Eckert back, as he tries to get back into the groove of management next season.
If he doesn't start well and fails to live up to his previous hype, Solak won't hesitate to pull the trigger, considering his patience has been worn thin already when the allegations first came to light.
Ultimately, though, next season rests on what the FA decide a fair punishment is, as Southampton play the waiting game once more.
His future remains up in the air
The hope will be that the punishment of being expelled from the playoffs, and being handed a four point deduction to kick off next season is deemed enough.
But, the decision to expel the Saints from the playoffs was a sign that the powers that be were holding no prisoners, with Eckert perhaps being banned another decision that shows they're not messing around.
If he does remain in charge, he will be desperate to let his managerial promise do the talking again.
But, if Southampton are slow out of the traps with Eckert remaining in his job post, Dowie's prediction of the tide turning quickly on the controversial boss could come true.
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