A junior analyst intern was sent to Oxford’s training ground for two days before the teams met on 26 December. Their opponents had changed manager, sacking Gary Rowett, and Eckert wanted to know what formation they would play under caretaker Craig Short.
In his evidence, the junior analyst intern said: “I didn’t really have an option and wasn’t provided an opportunity to say no. I was an intern and was doing what I was told.”
It was added that another analyst had lost their job earlier in the season, and this added pressure to perform tasks they might be uncomfortable with.
The intern sent updates, photographs and videos to the Southampton coaching staff.
From his observation, he knew Oxford were going to play with a back four, not a back five. A predicted Oxford line-up was prepared on the basis of the observations made by the junior analyst intern.
The same predicted team sheet was sent to Eckert, which included a section entitled “key messages”, which appear to be gleaned from the junior analyst intern’s observations.
The junior analyst intern then had a telephone conversation with Eckert to discuss what he had seen.
During his evidence, Eckert denied viewing the footage and insisted the information had no impact on the match preparation.
But a WhatsApp message sent from an analyst to the junior analyst intern read: “Try and make out as much as you can please. You legend. Manager loved it.”