Hawks boss Doswell: It’s a flip of the coin decision as to whether we complete our National League South season

The 66 National League clubs are currently voting on whether to continue the season in the wake of the funding crisis.

The Government’s decision to stop awarding grants and instead hand out low interest, long-term loans has angered most clubs.

But opinion seems firmly split on whether to curtail the season as a result.

Hawks’ nine-strong board of directors met virtually on Saturday morning and unanimously agreed to vote for carrying on playing.

They are the 10th South club - out of 21 - to publicly state they want the season to continue.

Dartford, Dorking, Hungerford, Eastbourne, Ebbsfleet, Chelmsford, Hemel and Welling had previously voiced similar views.

In addition, Concord Rangers also now appear to be keen to carry on.

After initially putting their name to a statement asking the league to curtail the season, the Essex-based club have staged a U-turn.

Though they called off their weekend game against Hemel, chairman Ant Smith said his club are definitely planning to resume league action on Tuesday.

On the basis Concord are now a ‘yes’ to playing on, the South only need one more club to support the motion to carry on for it to be passed on a divisional basis – providing the majority vote for each league to decide their own fate.

The majority view in the North tier, though, seems to be in favour of stopping the season now and declaring it null and void.

The National League will face a tough decision, therefore, if the North vote to stop playing and the South vote to carry on.

‘We’ve made our position clear,’ said Doswell.

‘We want to carry on.

‘We think it’s a lot safer now.

‘Players want to carry on playing, and managers want to manage.

‘It’s been a very strange season – the strangest I’ve known – and playing without fans has been like a second best option. But it’s still better than not playing at all.

Asked what his gut feeling was on the season progressing to its natural conclusion, the boss added: ‘It’s a flip of a coin.

‘I would say it’s more likely to be ‘no’ than ‘yes’, but is it right that the North dictates to the South that we can’t play on?’

A reasonable answer to that question would be ‘no’, but it applies the other way as well. Why should North clubs play on - with no grant money coming in - just because the likes of Dorking have been so vocal in wanting to continue?

The word ‘integrity’ is often tossed around like confetti with regards to both playing on or deciding to stop. Where is the league’s integrity if one sixth tier division carries on and the other doesn’t? How does that work in terms of promotion and relegation?

Dorking boss Marc White says it’s important for the league’s ‘integrity’ for the South season to finish, even if some clubs decide to opt out. But how can a league start with 21 clubs and end up a few short? Where’s the ‘integrity’ in that?

At the weekend, Billericay fielded mainly an under-23 team as a cost-saving measure. At least they’re carrying on playing, but where’s the ‘integrity’ in a league where some clubs are having to play a bunch of rookie teenagers against men?

This sorry saga/shambles/farce - delete as applicable - has run for a few weeks so far, and it is easy to see it carrying on for quite a while longer yet.

At present, Hawks are set to return to league action at Hemel on Tuesday before welcoming Ebbsfleet next weekend. Both those clubs are keen to continue.

The first problem, then, could come the following Tuesday, February 16, with a scheduled trip to Chippenham.

The Wiltshire club were one of five South clubs to join 12 from the North in putting their names to last week’s statement.

‘Clubs who are unable to commit to fixtures should continue to have their season held in suspense by the league and do so without fear of sanctions,’ the statement said.

Bath, Concord, Slough and Dulwich Hamlet were the other four South clubs to sign it. Though Concord have since back-tracked, Tonbridge Angels publicly added their name to the list. The Kent club, though, DID honour their weekend game with Hampton & Richmond Borough.

Elsewhere, Slough and Bath called off their league games against Chelmsford and Ebbsfleet respectively, and Concord postponed theirs against Hemel, who subsequently rearranged a game against Dorking.

The feeling in the North against carrying on is far stronger. In the South, none of the top clubs have so far voted to stop - but in the North, second-placed Chester are among those calling for a null and void. Due to that depth of feeling, only one game took place in the North on Saturday - Brackley v Chorley.

Hawks had two big concerns about carrying on. One, in line with virtually every other club, was financial; the other - not necessarily in line with the others! - was health related.

No other club across the National League have been so badly affected by Covid-19 as Hawks - the chairman, the CEO, numerous players and backroom staff have been struck down by the virus.

The number of Hawks games postponed due to the pandemic is easily into double figures, and the club has three times entered a 10-day period of self-isolation.

Doswell had been vocal in calling for mandatory testing to be introduced in the South division. At least once a week, he told The News recently, but ideally twice. Hawks, for their part, have tested twice a week for the last fortnight.

Within minutes of Saturday’s FA Trophy loss to Notts County, he got what he wanted.

An email had pinged into secretary Trevor Brock’s inbox from the National League’s Covid officer, Colin Peake, saying the organisation, as from next Monday, would be paying for all clubs to undergo lateral testing twice a week.

Had such an email been sent out a fortnight or even a week earlier, it might have made a difference to the views at some of the clubs calling for null and void.

It might well be too late, but it is a step in the right direction. After all, the 2020/21 NL season had started in early October with no mandatory testing in any of the divisions.

Prior to the first games, all NL top flight clubs had been given £20,000 to help make their stadiums as Covid secure as possible, with all South and North clubs banking £15,000. Almost certainly most of that cash would have gone on deep cleaning and hand sanitizing, not testing.

Those might sound large sums of money, but they don’t go very far when you have to deep clean a football ground.

Clubs will initially be asked to test ‘first team players, team management and those staff who will travel to matches’ as the evidence of infection ‘is at greater risk where travel and accommodation is paramount in fulfilling fixtures.’

Testing must be undertaken on a twice weekly basis and tests should ideally be undertaken the day before a matchday.

The league believe that ‘each round of testing should not cover more than 30 individuals’ but that will be subject to the advice of the club’s medical officer.

Clubs can purchase additional tests if they want.

Lateral testing results - via nasopharyngeal swabs - should be available within 15 minutes of the test.