Ryan confident teams can play through lockdown
Ryan Upward believes National League sides can safely play through the current lockdown and says teams that are calling for the season to be suspended are probably doing so because they’re not going so well in the league.
Last week Maidenhead’s near neighbours Slough Town called on the league and FA to consider temporarily suspending the campaign to come up with some solutions to protect players and club staff from catching the virus.
However, while Upward accepts it’s a horrible virus and wouldn’t want to be responsible for passing it on to a more vulnerable loved one or member of the public, he believes the right protocols are in place for matches to be played safely.
He also believes football is a much-needed escape for people at a difficult time.
“I suspect the teams that want to call it off are probably not doing so well in their league,” he said. “I’m assuming that’s why they want to call off matches, because if they’re flying they won’t want to.
“It’s a horrible virus and it’s not great if you’ve got health conditions or are elderly, but I feel fit, healthy and my immune system is good. I’m not worried about catching the virus myself, but there’s a chance you could pass it on to the ones you love.
“There was a lockdown and cases continued to rise, now we’re in another lockdown and cases still rise.
“I think it’s something we’re just going to have to learn to live with until the vaccine is up and running and everyone’s had their two doses, which could still be some way off.
“But If I didn’t have my football, I don’t know what I’d do with myself.
“And for a lot of people football is their escape. It’s something they look forward to, even if they’re just following their team’s results. As long as we’re being safe and following the guidelines then I don’t see why football shouldn’t carry on.”
Despite the protocols in place across elite football there have been outbreaks of the virus at many clubs, including at Premier League level. Maidenhead have so far managed to avoid anyone in the squad or club catching COVID-19 and Upward says that’s testament to how closely they’ve followed the safety measures put in place for clubs.
He said: “I was speaking to
Max Kilman at Wolves the other day about this, and it’s very safe in the Premier League with all the things they do, but there are still outbreaks.
“There hasn’t been one death linked to football yet and, yes, it can be a dangerous thing if you’ve got health issues, but a very high percentage of people overcome the virus.
“We’ve had zero cases and that’s credit to us for being safe and following the protocols that are in place. If teams do this, I don’t see any reason why football shouldn’t continue.
“We are training in the right way, doing the right things, staying away from loved ones.
I’m just praying the season isn’t suspended again and we have to resolve things on a points-pergame system.
“Let’s be optimistic the season continues and we’re able to get away on holiday afterwards because I’m in need of a holiday.
“With the backlog of games, the season may have to be extended a little, and it’s going to be pretty congested over the next couple of months, but we have a squad that can cope with playing lots of matches.
“It feels like there’s a strength in depth that hasn’t been there in recent seasons. Credit to the club for that, I don’t know if the budgets gone up but we do seem to have been able to attract players.
“They’re a good bunch and I feel like we need to take advantage of that.
“We’ve probably got two teams who could play in two totally different formations and we’d still be able to compete.”