Southampton vs Portsmouth is too big a match for this FA silence to continue
Southampton are preparing to face their South Coast foes Portsmouth this approaching Sunday in Championship action with a gigantic elephant remaining in the room.
Indeed, we are less than a week away from a match of the South Coast Derby's importance kicking off, and yet the Saints aren't any the wiser regarding the short-term future of Tonda Eckert.
He faced an FA hearing towards the end of September for his controversial role in Spygate, with a hope that a punishment would swiftly follow, so a line could finally be drawn under the whole saga.
Unfortunately, the promotion hopefuls haven't been able to move on promptly past this hearing, and the Daily Echo's Alfie House won't have settled any disgruntled Southampton fan down, either, with his thoughts on Monday afternoon.
The latest on Eckert's situation
House has looked deeper into the FA handbook to see how long this radio silence could be drawn out for.
He does report that there is a hope that "news will be delivered this week" before the South Coast Derby kicks off at St Mary's, but you shouldn't be holding your breath over this happening.
He follows that up with the worrying bombshell that the FA handbook, in section 9 of its contents, does state there is no official deadline for reaching a verdict, meaning the wait is indefinite.
It's a frankly laughable situation that never feels like its going to end, with the three week break surely the best possible time to conduct the hearing, and then come to a speedy verdict.
The clash between the two South Coast enemies is being undermined by all this inactivity, as while Saints fans will want to be caught up in the dizzying excitement of playing one of their most hated rivals, the lack of news surrounding Eckert just hangs over proceedings, like a bad smell that won't leave.
Southampton vs Portsmouth is too big a match for this silence to continue
Instead of the likes of House solely reporting on the thrilling build-up to clash at St. Mary's, they have been sucked into writing up more and more reports on the FA's deafening silence on Eckert.
Not knowing what is going to happen with the German is also surely disrupting pre-match preparations, with Eckert unsure whether he will be able to shout orders from the sidelines in such a passion-heavy clash, or whether he will feel detached from the matters on the pitch by being situated in the stands.
He could even be banned outright, so no pressure on whoever will have to temporarily step into the dug-out at the final hour, if the FA decide to finally reveal the verdict in the days leading up to the fierce showdown.
It's just a shambolic situation that appears to have no end, with many Saints fans on social media simply fed up with the sluggish approach from the FA, instead of being engrossed in the latest instalment of such a hot-headed derby encounter.
Hopefully, when the clock does tick over to midday on Sunday, the Saints do their talking on the pitch with a confident and polished display, irrespective of whether Eckert's FA verdict is finally public knowledge, or everyone remains planted in the dark, still.
