Southampton remain the butt of the joke with Spygate as the fixtures come out

Southampton fans will enter into the new Championship season with optimism firmly on side.

Of course, the dark cloud of Spygate still hangs over proceedings; there's no getting away from that, with Tonda Eckert's FA punishment yet to be revealed, while the Saints will further enter into the first game of the 2025/26 campaign with a four -point deduction next to their name.

Still, despite all these glaring negatives, there is a feel-good buzz around St. Mary's, with Southampton managing to keep Cyle Larin, Daniel Peretz, and James Bree, when many predicted a mass exodus was going to be on the cards.

Unfortunately, while the South Coast titans will be looking to firmly put Spygate in the past as a costly error, and get on with securing wins from the get-go, plenty of their fellow Championship clubs aren't going to let their antics slide...

Southampton remain the butt of the joke

At this point, it's a cheap joke at Southampton's expense, but that didn't stop second -tier clubs from rubbing salt into the wound when they announced all their upcoming fixtures.

Indeed, Birmingham City would amass a crazy 8,000 likes when referring to Spygate, by stating that their league tie with the Saints on the 1st of September is "one of the other key fixtures to keep an eye on..."

With a binocular graphic also used, it's clear who the butt of the joke here was, and that was Eckert and Co.

It wasn't just the Blues in isolation, though, as Wrexham generated 6,000 likes, too, when noting that, on the 17th of September, they need to "check training ground" as they play Southampton two days later.

With the Southampton badge comically photoshopped, as well, to add a figure behind a tree, it's clear that the Saints will be constantly reminded, when the new season gets underway, of their prying ways.

Middlesbrough, who were the main other party in the whole debacle, didn't give into any social media tomfoolery themselves, as Kim Hellberg and Co. won't want to be reminded of that ordeal, either.

Southampton will hope they can let their football do the talking, despite all these social media hijinks, with a fast start out of the blocks needed.

Hopefully, the football can do the talking

If the Saints enter the new campaign and pick up instant wins, it will show Eckert off in a positive light as a clever tactician, rather than a serial spy.

Wiping away the points deduction swiftly will also mean the bad taste doesn't linger, with two home games to close out August giving them a great opportunity to get back into positive digits.

There will be various outside voices plotting for Southampton's downfall, no doubt, so it will be intriguing to see what impact Spygate has had on the playing personnel, and whether they'll be bothered by chants or boos being aimed their way by opposition supporters.

For Southampton's sake, the aim will be to block out any hecklers or dissenters and let their football do the talking, with more social media mentions of Spygate batted away without any thought.

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