The ex-Charlton Athletic man who could become vital to Southampton after Tonda Eckert, Spygate result | OneFootball

Ben Garner could provide internal stability if Eckert receives the worst possible punishment

Southampton's 2026/27 Championship season is already at a crossroads, as the wider footballing public await the verdict of Tonda Eckert's highly-anticipated hearing from the Football Association.

The German's immediate future has been in doubt ever since Saints were expelled from last season's play-off final in place of Middlesbrough due to the Spygate scandal.

The Hampshire club were also found guilty of the unauthorised filming of training sessions involving Oxford United and Ipswich Town, as well as Kim Hellberg's outfit, which also led the EFL to sanction a four-point deduction at the beginning of the current campaign.

Such a deficit has already been wiped out, with Southampton already on a total of 10 points from their first eight games whilst scoring 19 goals in the process, but the aforementioned hearing's final outcome remains to be seen, which could leave the likes of Dragan Solak, Phil Parsons and Johannes Spors within the St Mary's hierarchy weighing up a whole host of options.

Southampton are fearing the worst over Tonda Eckert's looming FA hearing verdict

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As well as Southampton's overall punishment, Eckert was initially charged by the FA with three counts of misconduct in July against the governing body's E3.1 rule.

Despite this, the 33-year-old was given no further pre-season punishment as the Championship side began their league campaign against Watford at Vicarage Road on August 16th, and would be positioned in fifth at present if their four-point deduction was not applied.

Solak admitted in June that he was willing to hand Eckert a "second chance," whilst Parsons believes the club have "taken enough" brickbats as a result of their prior misdemeanours, which were green-lighted by the head coach.

However, it has since emerged that the higher-ups are fearing the worst possible punishment, even if Solak previously claimed that he would appeal any potential ban which comes Eckert's way.

Ben Garner could be Southampton's ideal replacement for Tonda Eckert

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Although the final decision could leave the Southampton hierarchy to potentially search for an experienced successor currently on the outside to replace Eckert, an ideal solution to the problem could come from within.

The current head coach had previously worked his way up the coaching ladder, including assistant roles at Barnsley and Genoa, before initially becoming Saints' Under-21s boss and later being handed the main role at St Mary's, but his 'number two', Ben Garner, isn't short of managerial experience in the EFL.

Garner, 46, assisted Ian Holloway in Crystal Palace's play-off winning campaign of 2012/13, and after further spells as an assistant, including at West Bromwich Albion, became a manager for the first time at Bristol Rovers in 2019.

It was his work at Swindon Town, though, which gathered plenty of attention, with the Wiltshire side severely lacking in squad depth and operating under a transfer embargo for the 2021/22 campaign, but Garner was still able to guide them into the League Two play-offs, where they were defeated agonisingly on penalties at the hands of Port Vale.

A spell at Charlton Athletic then followed, and despite winning six of his 14 matches in charge, he was dismissed just months into a three-year contract at The Valley as the Addicks sat 17th in League One, even though he also guided the club to an EFL Cup quarter-final.

Southampton have already trialed Ben Garner managerial method amid Tonda Eckert uncertainty

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Garner then spent a short time at Colchester United in 2023, but was back on the EFL scene in January when he was appointed as Eckert's assistant as part of a new-look backroom team.

Said appointment also coincided with a remarkable upsurge in form for the newly-relegated side as they ended the campaign with just one defeat in 26 matches across all competitions, before the initial Spygate punishments came their way.

At a time of uncertainty, Garner clearly knows how the current squad at St Mary's operates, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, and in pre-season, was handed the main role on the touchline in a friendly against Preussen Munster as Eckert watched on from the stands.