Woking FC Manager Alan Dowson has certainly had a troubled and apprehensive past few weeks.
Around three weeks ago the Woking gaffer encountered the coronavirus and spent some anxious time in a local hospital.
“It was at the Dagenham game that I had a bit of a cough and I thought it would be a bit of flu, but it got worse and worse with a headache starting and the sweats starting and before I knew it I walked down the stairs and I was in an ambulance and was in St. Peters hospital for oxygen, but I’m all right now and ready to crack on.”
Only this week the National League announced that clubs had voted to end the regular season at its current point, with promotion and relegation outcomes under careful consideration.
Dowson agreed with the Leagues decision. “We could be in the play-offs, but I do believe it is the right decision as a whole.” he said. “I do think the clubs being going as well as anybody out there, as we haven’t got the millions pound of debt that other clubs have got out there, so I do think we are in a good state.”
“We would have wanted the league to go ahead” he added, “let the league go ahead, but the more this is going on in the last three weeks I feel they have made the right call in general”.
Dowson went on to say that financially Woking are very stable. “I think we should put our hat in the ring a bit, I bet we are the only club in the top ten in our league and the only club in the bottom ten of the football league who haven’t got loads of debts.” he added. “If the League starts tomorrow, I’m not so sure how many clubs in the bottom ten of the football league and top ten of our league could actually survive the football league, we certainly could”.
“Have a look at the blinking books and see how well the club is run.” he went on to say. “You wouldn’t want to be going into the football league with 1.5 million debt.”
“For the last thirty years the club has done nowt, it’s up to us now to try and push this club on”.
Dowson was quick to praise everybody at the club and what they have achieved this season. “I feel they[the players] have been the most achieving in the world” he said. “We’ve got a great football club here, how about having a crack at the football league. “ We are planning now for the future every single day from the directors to everybody else in the club from the players, myself and management, because they know that whatever happens Woking will have a future, but I’m not so sure other clubs will”.
As regards the likely possibility of playing games behind closed doors at some point in the future Dowson feels this is feasible.
“If it’s got to be played behind closed doors then surely supporters can pay the normal price and watch it at home, but at this minute nobody in football has got this nailed, but whatever happens we will be ready when the time comes.”