Tag: Tonda

Cyle Larin is best Championship striker, says Southampton boss Tonda Eckert
21 August 2026 Off

Cyle Larin is best Championship striker, says Southampton boss Tonda Eckert

By Total Football News

Tonda Eckert says Southampton’s Cyle Larin is the best striker in the Championship and looks in “amazing” form after his World Cup adventure.

The 31-year-old made four appearances for host nation Canada on their run to the last-16 in the summer, scoring twice, having made his loan move to Saints from Mallorca permanent in June.

He had scored eight goals in 16 Championship appearances in the second half of last

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Tonda Eckert: Southampton boss says Spygate reports ‘far from truth’
7 August 2026 Off

Tonda Eckert: Southampton boss says Spygate reports ‘far from truth’

By Total Football News

The German accused sections of the media of making him look worse than reality, but thanked Southampton’s owner Dragan Solak for not being “swayed by public opinion”.

Solak said in June he would not sack Eckert and the businessman was pictured in Germany with the squad during a pre-season training camp at the end of last month.

“There has been a lot out in the media and I haven’t done

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Southampton Spygate: Is spying as common in Germany as Tonda Eckert says?
3 June 2026 Off

Southampton Spygate: Is spying as common in Germany as Tonda Eckert says?

By Total Football News

When describing his past experiences of spying in Germany and Italy, where he worked as assistant manager to Patrick Vieira at Genoa, Eckert said: “I don’t want to say this to excuse anything we have done, I just want to give you context of the football world I grew up in.”

Indeed, the Southampton scandal is not the first spying case in which teams Eckert has worked for have been

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Spygate: Southampton owner Dragan Solak will not sack head coach Tonda Eckert
1 June 2026 Off

Spygate: Southampton owner Dragan Solak will not sack head coach Tonda Eckert

By Total Football News

The EFL’s commission said it was “deplorable” of the club to have used junior staff members to “conduct the clandestine observations”.

Solak admitted that such a culture was “unacceptable”, but he blamed “a huge amount of misunderstanding, ignorance and arrogance, we have dysfunctions in the club, but we will actually make an effort for people to understand that whoever orders them to do something, that is putting them out of

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Spygate: Who is Tonda Eckert and can he keep his Southampton job?
22 May 2026 Off

Spygate: Who is Tonda Eckert and can he keep his Southampton job?

By Total Football News

When Will Still was sacked by Southampton on 2 November, Saints were in 21st place – three points outside the Championship relegation zone with one win in 13 games.

That is when the club turned to Eckert, who had only arrived at St Mary’s in July 2025 when he replaced a Chelsea-bound Calum McFarlane and took charge of the club’s under-21 team.

He appeared perfect for that academy job.

Eckert’s

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Spygate: Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert authorised spying, panel says
21 May 2026 Off

Spygate: Southampton head coach Tonda Eckert authorised spying, panel says

By Total Football News

The most damning section for the Southampton head coach comes in the second determination of the judgement.

This states the German not only knew about the spying, but also had given his blessing.

Eckert was shown to have approved spying on Oxford to discover their formation after they had just changed manager.

In the case of Middlesbrough, he wanted to find out about the availability of a certain player –

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James Bree: Southampton defender on return to Tonda Eckert’s side
8 May 2026 Off

James Bree: Southampton defender on return to Tonda Eckert’s side

By Total Football News

Southampton defender James Bree has been discussing the upcoming Championship play-off semi-final games against Middlesbrough and his return to the side.

The 28-year-old left the club on loan at the start of the campaign but since returning in January he is yet to lose a league game.

Bree sat down with BBC South Today’s Lewis Coombes.

This article was originally posted on https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cwy2qx5z4eqo

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Tonda Eckert: Southampton head coach on squad fitness
7 May 2026 Off

Tonda Eckert: Southampton head coach on squad fitness

By Total Football News

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert hopes his squad will be at “full strength” for their upcoming Championship play-off matches.

The Saints head coach said that he is “quite positive” defender Jack Stephens and midfielder Kuryu Matsuki will be available alongside a full squad for their games against Middlesbrough and a potential play-off final.

Club captain Stephens has not been available since April’s clash against Bristol City, and when asked if Matsuki

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Tonda Eckert: Southampton boss says side face ‘test of maturity’ against Ipswich
26 April 2026 Off

Tonda Eckert: Southampton boss says side face ‘test of maturity’ against Ipswich

By Total Football News

Southampton boss Tonda Eckert says the vital game against promotion rivals Ipswich is a “big test of maturity” for his side following their FA Cup semi-final defeat against Manchester City.

The Saints led 1-0 at Wembley before late goals from Jeremy Doku and Nico Gonzalez took City through to the final.

The focus now shifts to Tuesday, when a win against second-placed Ipswich would mean Southampton would go into the

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Tonda Eckert: Southampton boss wins Championship manager of the month award
13 March 2026 Off

Tonda Eckert: Southampton boss wins Championship manager of the month award

By Total Football News

Southampton’s Tonda Eckert has won the Championship’s manager of the month award for February.

Saints took 13 points from a possible 15 as they went unbeaten last month, finishing with successive wins over QPR and Sheffield Wednesday to move into play-off contention.

Eckert was appointed Southampton’s permanent head coach in December having been in interim charge when Will Still was sacked at the start of November.

He has won 12

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