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It has been a case of ‘so far, so good’ for Wanderers in the world of mid-pandemic football but Ian Evatt knows chaos could be just around the corner.
This week, Scunthorpe United have placed 18 players into self-isolation and called off their next three games after eight positive tests for coronavirus in the squad.
In League One, Accrington Stanley had 19 positive tests, forcing the postponement of four games in total.
Oxford United have had no fewer than three games called off because of Covid issues with their opponents – and there have been suggestions in some quarters that a winter ‘pause’ in the league schedule could be called in order to allow the national situation to calm.
Wanderers have had relatively few causes for concern thus far, with youngsters Sonny Graham, Callum King-Harmes and George Thomason the only cases of players being forced into self-isolation that have hit the public domain after positive tests at Atherton Colls and Bamber Bridge, respectively.
Evatt freely admits his concern.
“if I could have CCTV on every single one of them, 24-seven, I would,” he told The Bolton News. “Unfortunately I am not allowed to and I can’t. They have to use some common sense and abide by the social distancing guidelines and if they can avoid going out of their own home to the shops or the Trafford Centre, or anywhere that it’s possible they could pick up the virus then they have to do that because we need them to as a club, as a squad, we need people available at all times with the fixture list we have got in front of us.”
Even with his players adhering to Covid guidelines and strict protocols in place at the stadium, hotel and training ground, Evatt accepts there is no fool-proof way to avoid his squad being affected somewhere down the line.
“Players have to use their own common sense and play by the rules, which they will do,” he said. “We then have to hope we get a bit of luck and the rub of the green because the issue moving forwards is not necessarily down to the players, it could be wives, girlfriends, partners, family members in their bubble, and it means they might have to self-isolate for two weeks.
“Even though they might not have it themselves it is a straight two-week isolation, which at the moment it’s four games with the condensed nature of this fixture list.
“It’s tough, but it’s tough for everybody at the moment. No excuses, we’ll adapt and overcome.
Postponing games for Covid outbreaks at clubs is currently a discretionary matter for the league but Bradford City are among those who have called for more definitive and transparent rules, suggesting ‘walkover’ victories could apply in some cases.
Others have gone a step further, arguing that the competition itself is being skewed in a way that could only be solved by another football lockdown.
Evatt is desperate to prevent what would be considered a worst case scenario for the game.
“I hope we don’t. we have to avoid that at all costs, to be honest,” he said.
“It is the same for everybody, which makes it fairer, but there would always be a grey area where if it were to happen to our best three players, would we want to continue? The answer is definitely not.
“That’s just us being honest and using common sense.
“It’s the same argument with the supporters.
“I see certain theme parks still being open and how they have looking outdoors and there are thousands of people’s footfall in the Trafford Centre indoors, touching escalators and lifts, clothing, so why we can’t have socially distanced fans in stadia is beyond me.
“Football needs it. It’s a game for everyone and fans need to see it. The quicker we get back to some sort of reality the better but at the moment, everyone’s safety and health is important.
“We can’t stop football again, though, because it would be very difficult to come back from.”
Source
This week, Scunthorpe United have placed 18 players into self-isolation and called off their next three games after eight positive tests for coronavirus in the squad.
In League One, Accrington Stanley had 19 positive tests, forcing the postponement of four games in total.
Oxford United have had no fewer than three games called off because of Covid issues with their opponents – and there have been suggestions in some quarters that a winter ‘pause’ in the league schedule could be called in order to allow the national situation to calm.
Wanderers have had relatively few causes for concern thus far, with youngsters Sonny Graham, Callum King-Harmes and George Thomason the only cases of players being forced into self-isolation that have hit the public domain after positive tests at Atherton Colls and Bamber Bridge, respectively.
Evatt freely admits his concern.
“if I could have CCTV on every single one of them, 24-seven, I would,” he told The Bolton News. “Unfortunately I am not allowed to and I can’t. They have to use some common sense and abide by the social distancing guidelines and if they can avoid going out of their own home to the shops or the Trafford Centre, or anywhere that it’s possible they could pick up the virus then they have to do that because we need them to as a club, as a squad, we need people available at all times with the fixture list we have got in front of us.”
Even with his players adhering to Covid guidelines and strict protocols in place at the stadium, hotel and training ground, Evatt accepts there is no fool-proof way to avoid his squad being affected somewhere down the line.
“Players have to use their own common sense and play by the rules, which they will do,” he said. “We then have to hope we get a bit of luck and the rub of the green because the issue moving forwards is not necessarily down to the players, it could be wives, girlfriends, partners, family members in their bubble, and it means they might have to self-isolate for two weeks.
“Even though they might not have it themselves it is a straight two-week isolation, which at the moment it’s four games with the condensed nature of this fixture list.
“It’s tough, but it’s tough for everybody at the moment. No excuses, we’ll adapt and overcome.
Postponing games for Covid outbreaks at clubs is currently a discretionary matter for the league but Bradford City are among those who have called for more definitive and transparent rules, suggesting ‘walkover’ victories could apply in some cases.
Others have gone a step further, arguing that the competition itself is being skewed in a way that could only be solved by another football lockdown.
Evatt is desperate to prevent what would be considered a worst case scenario for the game.
“I hope we don’t. we have to avoid that at all costs, to be honest,” he said.
“It is the same for everybody, which makes it fairer, but there would always be a grey area where if it were to happen to our best three players, would we want to continue? The answer is definitely not.
“That’s just us being honest and using common sense.
“It’s the same argument with the supporters.
“I see certain theme parks still being open and how they have looking outdoors and there are thousands of people’s footfall in the Trafford Centre indoors, touching escalators and lifts, clothing, so why we can’t have socially distanced fans in stadia is beyond me.
“Football needs it. It’s a game for everyone and fans need to see it. The quicker we get back to some sort of reality the better but at the moment, everyone’s safety and health is important.
“We can’t stop football again, though, because it would be very difficult to come back from.”
Source