After the Saints’ 2-1 loss to Watford on opening day, former Southampton manager Alan Pardew called them a “mess” for continuing with Tonda Eckert this offseason.

Southampton’s 21-game winning streak in league and play-off action came to an end on Sunday when they were defeated against Championship opponents for the first time since January 17.

However, the lingering drama surrounding last season’s Spygate fiasco and what will happen to Tonda Eckert’s FA charges partly overshadowed Alessio Dionisi’s team’s victory.

After being found guilty of spying on Middlesbrough’s training session prior to the semi-final match, Southampton was eliminated from the play-offs the previous season. After acknowledging that they had spied on Oxford United and Ipswich Town before to league games the previous season, they were deducted four points to start this year.

After Watford’s defeat, Alan Pardew issues a harsh sentence on Southampton.

After Southampton’s defeat to Watford, former Saints manager Alan Pardew stated on talkSPORT’s Final Word that a new beginning was required in the dugout this summer in an effort to allay some of the criticism surrounding how the previous season concluded.

Owner Dragan Solak supported Tonda Eckert early in the summer, but it’s unclear if the German manager will be permitted to oversee games at St. Mary’s given the FA accusations that followed and are still pending.

“What a mess Southampton is,” Pardew remarked. “I don’t quite understand what the club are doing, if I’m honest.”What’s happening over there? He is the subject of an FA charge. I reasoned that the owner would likely quit and start over if the FA charged him.Every player is under him. “Did he let us down?” they all ask. So, was it me, the manager, or him? Or were we aware of it? And we didn’t.

As Southampton struggles to overcome a points deficit on the first day, Alan Pardew shares his experience.

The 65-year-old believes that Southampton’s performance at Vicarage Road on Sunday was impacted by Tonda Eckert’s presence, although he did have some sympathy for the Saints team and their current disadvantage as a result of the spygate sentence.

With a four-point deduction at the start of the season, Southampton is now seven points away of the top spot in the Championship.

Top 3 and bottom 3 of the 2026–27 Championship

Pos

Club

Points

1. QPR

3

2. Millwall

3

3. Swansea City

3 22.

Portsmouth 0 23. Bristol City 0 24. Southampton -4

However, the Saints have started a season with fewer points than usual. In fact, Pardew managed St Mary’s during the 2009–10 season, which started with a 10-point deduction in League One for finishing the previous season in administration.

It would take the Saints eight games to win their first league game that season, and they wouldn’t reach a positive point total until October. Pardew understands that a point deduction creates pressure of its own and might have resulted in a loss at Watford.He went on, “I started at Southampton with minus ten points in League One.” “And I remember trying to get those ten points was very, very difficult.”In fact, it made things more difficult. There was additional pressure. You had to move it out of the way. They most likely experienced that today.

For Southampton to succeed on the field this season, they must overcome outside noise.

With the outcome of the FA accusations still unknown, there is a great deal of concern regarding Tonda Eckert’s ability to coach Southampton.

There will be memories of spygate in practically every game, especially away from home, even if the German manager is permitted to stay in the St Mary’s dugout.

Both the Hornets’ mascot and many Watford supporters were seen in the crowd doing the binoculars gesture before to the game. Regardless of the outcome of the FA proceedings, it won’t cease, and Southampton will face an additional mental obstacle this season.

A few months into the 2009–10 season, Pardew’s Saints team overcame the administrative turmoil and point deduction. Despite winning the EFL Trophy, they were unable to qualify for the playoffs because of the 10 points they lost before the season began.

They won’t want a similar obstacle preventing them from getting promoted in May, seventeen years later.