Woking Boss Rant

Is he right?

Angry Woking boss blasts 'selfish' unvaccinated players who have 'cost club thousands' due to postponements

Alan Dowson revealed in hindsight he would not have signed unvaccinated players and thinks there should be an industry ruling.

Angry Alan Dowson has branded some of his Woking players, “selfish” following the postponement of two of the club’s matches against Bromley and Chesterfield because of a Covid-19 case in the squad.

As he prepares his men for a return to action at Eastleigh, tomorrow, followed by the rearranged game against Chesterfield next Tuesday, the Cards boss made his feelings clear about certain players – said to be around five or six – not having been double-jabbed with the Covid-19 vaccine.

It meant a 10-day period of isolation for those players and games called off.

Angry Alan Dowson has branded some of his Woking players, “selfish” following the postponement of two of the club’s matches against Bromley and Chesterfield because of a Covid-19 case in the squad.

As he prepares his men for a return to action at Eastleigh, tomorrow, followed by the rearranged game against Chesterfield next Tuesday, the Cards boss made his feelings clear about certain players – said to be around five or six – not having been double-jabbed with the Covid-19 vaccine.

It meant a 10-day period of isolation for those players and games called off.

Dowson has even gone so far as to say he regrets signing certain individuals because of the issue and reckons there should be a rule insisting that all footballers should be vaccinated if they are to be involved in sport rather than it being down to the individual, because of the financial implications to clubs.

“I have tried to put it across to the players how important it is to have the jabs because of the industry we are in,” said Dowson. “They are being selfish. They have to think about the club and the team, rather than us losing £20,000 or £30,000 a game. They’ve got to get the jabs it’s as simple as that. Some of them are saying it’s about pleasing families but the families aren’t paying their wages, we are.

“They are off for 10 days and they still want paying. I think there should be a rule in football that if they won’t have a jab, they shouldn’t play.

“I’m usually a fair man but I don’t believe footballers should get paid if they can’t be double-jabbed. They are putting everybody at risk. They are only thinking about themselves.

“Chesterfield would have brought 1,000 fans down on a Saturday at £20 and that’s £20,000 before you start, instead of bringing 200 or 300 down next Tuesday. The players have cost the club money.”

He added: “We have put everything on for them. The club have got the training ground spot on, they’ve got the food spot on, they’ve doubled the budget to make it so we can have more of a go, they have done absolutely everything to provide for the players.

“And this happens. And it can happen again. I wish I had known at the start of the season because I would never have signed a player again who hasn’t had the vaccine.”

The last time the Cards played competitively was in the 1-0 defeat at Wrexham two weeks ago and Dowson was denied the chance to bounce straight back against Bromley.

“We are 10 days behind with training and matches,” he said. “It’s not down to the club, it’s not down to the government, it’s down to players.

“Let’s get the cards on the table. There’s not a lot more the club can do. There’s not a lot more I as a manager can do. The players have to take full responsibility for their actions.”

He added: “For away games they [those without vaccination] will have to make their own way to games, they are not going to be allowed on the coach, they will be a group by themselves. If they are going to be selfish in their own little world, they can do their own thing. What choice have I got?

“The club did all the right things with putting players on furlough last season. In the summer I didn’t have one day off and got 13 players in to get in a position to have a go. Everything is done right. And then you have the wind kicked out of you because of people being ignorant and not buying into what I want to manage.

“I won’t back down on it. Someone needs to make a stand for football about sportsmen missing games and still wanting to get paid when they are costing their clubs thousands of pounds. Maybe it’s just that some of them might like the 10 days off and get full pay.”

The Cards are 14th in the National League table but three games behind most of the top clubs having played just four.

I guess Woking is somewhere Danny Rose won't be going then.

Seems like a perfectly reasonable rant to me.  

Players have the right to not get the jab, but if they want to be a Pro / semi-pro (?) footballer they also have responsibilites to the club that employs them and the people they work with.

It is not exactly an office job where you can work remotely if you get covid.

Quoted from The Yard Dog

Is he right?

Angry Woking boss blasts 'selfish' unvaccinated players who have 'cost club thousands' due to postponements

Alan Dowson revealed in hindsight he would not have signed unvaccinated players and thinks there should be an industry ruling.

Angry Alan Dowson has branded some of his Woking players, “selfish” following the postponement of two of the club’s matches against Bromley and Chesterfield because of a Covid-19 case in the squad.

As he prepares his men for a return to action at Eastleigh, tomorrow, followed by the rearranged game against Chesterfield next Tuesday, the Cards boss made his feelings clear about certain players – said to be around five or six – not having been double-jabbed with the Covid-19 vaccine.

It meant a 10-day period of isolation for those players and games called off.

Angry Alan Dowson has branded some of his Woking players, “selfish” following the postponement of two of the club’s matches against Bromley and Chesterfield because of a Covid-19 case in the squad.

As he prepares his men for a return to action at Eastleigh, tomorrow, followed by the rearranged game against Chesterfield next Tuesday, the Cards boss made his feelings clear about certain players – said to be around five or six – not having been double-jabbed with the Covid-19 vaccine.

It meant a 10-day period of isolation for those players and games called off.

Dowson has even gone so far as to say he regrets signing certain individuals because of the issue and reckons there should be a rule insisting that all footballers should be vaccinated if they are to be involved in sport rather than it being down to the individual, because of the financial implications to clubs.

“I have tried to put it across to the players how important it is to have the jabs because of the industry we are in,” said Dowson. “They are being selfish. They have to think about the club and the team, rather than us losing £20,000 or £30,000 a game. They’ve got to get the jabs it’s as simple as that. Some of them are saying it’s about pleasing families but the families aren’t paying their wages, we are.

“They are off for 10 days and they still want paying. I think there should be a rule in football that if they won’t have a jab, they shouldn’t play.

“I’m usually a fair man but I don’t believe footballers should get paid if they can’t be double-jabbed. They are putting everybody at risk. They are only thinking about themselves.

“Chesterfield would have brought 1,000 fans down on a Saturday at £20 and that’s £20,000 before you start, instead of bringing 200 or 300 down next Tuesday. The players have cost the club money.”

He added: “We have put everything on for them. The club have got the training ground spot on, they’ve got the food spot on, they’ve doubled the budget to make it so we can have more of a go, they have done absolutely everything to provide for the players.

“And this happens. And it can happen again. I wish I had known at the start of the season because I would never have signed a player again who hasn’t had the vaccine.”

The last time the Cards played competitively was in the 1-0 defeat at Wrexham two weeks ago and Dowson was denied the chance to bounce straight back against Bromley.

“We are 10 days behind with training and matches,” he said. “It’s not down to the club, it’s not down to the government, it’s down to players.

“Let’s get the cards on the table. There’s not a lot more the club can do. There’s not a lot more I as a manager can do. The players have to take full responsibility for their actions.”

He added: “For away games they [those without vaccination] will have to make their own way to games, they are not going to be allowed on the coach, they will be a group by themselves. If they are going to be selfish in their own little world, they can do their own thing. What choice have I got?

“The club did all the right things with putting players on furlough last season. In the summer I didn’t have one day off and got 13 players in to get in a position to have a go. Everything is done right. And then you have the wind kicked out of you because of people being ignorant and not buying into what I want to manage.

“I won’t back down on it. Someone needs to make a stand for football about sportsmen missing games and still wanting to get paid when they are costing their clubs thousands of pounds. Maybe it’s just that some of them might like the 10 days off and get full pay.”

The Cards are 14th in the National League table but three games behind most of the top clubs having played just four.

No. He's not right is he? Getting vaccinated does not stop you from catching Covid. Jabbed or not, no one is immune. Got double vaxxed myself, but if I were a fit and healthy pro-footballer I'd trust my antibodies far greater than what is a comparatively largely untested new vaccine..

Think the guy must have been watching too much US politics. Far too much disinformation and authoritarian  rhetoric over there. Same with masks too. Very little protection scientifically, but if people feel safer wearing them, even the same ones over and over again out of their pockets, who am I to judge? Freedom of choice still exists right? Especially with our own bodies..

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I guess Woking is somewhere Danny Rose won't be going then.

Where do you get this from? I’ve seen it mentioned a few times on here but I obviously missed the origins of the story…..

Quoted from Heisenberg

Where do you get this from? I’ve seen it mentioned a few times on here but I obviously missed the origins of the story…..

he's anti vax and always going on about conspiracy's and 5G masts etc

Getting double jabbed doesn’t stop you catching it or indeed passing it on. I got my 2nd jab on June 8th and a month later had a positive test.

I’m not sure mandating players have the jab is the right thing to do either, it’s not as though they’re essential workers and exposed to more risk than most people.

Alan Dowson is an experienced coach and I’m surprised he’s called his players out in public as it often results in them downing tools, hopefully in a couple of weeks when we play them 🙂

It’s not that being double-jabbed makes you any more or less susceptible to the virus, it’s that the regulations change for those who have had both jabs.

So if they’d have both jabs, they could’ve played as long as they’d tested negative.

The vaccine is not 100% and only reduces the risk of contracting Covid so even if all his players were double vaccinated there is still a 5% chance there will be a positive test.

The vaccine does mitigate the effects should a person who is double vaccinated contract the virus. This means that upto 15% of double vaccinated people are admitted but of those 15% less than 10% end up in Intensive Care.

Also being double vaccinated reduces transmission by 70% but still means that a player may be positive, shown no signs and pass it on to others.

So is he justified in his rant? No and calling players "selfish" is based on inaccurate information. What would he call a player who is double vaccinated and tests positive ?

Quoted from HertsGTFC

Getting double jabbed doesn’t stop you catching it or indeed passing it on. I got my 2nd jab on June 8th and a month later had a positive test.

I’m not sure mandating players have the jab is the right thing to do either, it’s not as though they’re essential workers and exposed to more risk than most people.

Alan Dowson is an experienced coach and I’m surprised he’s called his players out in public as it often results in them downing tools, hopefully in a couple of weeks when we play them 🙂

If you follow the scientific theory correctly, you're more likely to pass the virus on as you're also more likely to be asymptomatic being double vaxxed. But we have to have someone to blame other than China or even Fauci and his cohorts who actually funded the research in Wuhan. The world is becoming a dangerous place and the powers that be are trying to divide the ordinary people by whatever means they can. Black or white, vaxxed or unvaxxed, masked or unmasked, trans or anti-trans, knee or not taking the knee, election fraud or non election fraud..CRT etc etc etc they're not going to stop anytime soon.. I'm aghast at what's happened over the past couple of years.. Covid has bred insanity and clouded thinking driven by misinformation..

Quoted from Bigdog

No. He's not right is he? Getting vaccinated does not stop you from catching Covid. Jabbed or not, no one is immune. Got double vaxxed myself, but if I were a fit and healthy pro-footballer I'd trust my antibodies far greater than what is a comparatively largely untested new vaccine..

Think the guy must have been watching too much US politics. Far too much disinformation and authoritarian  rhetoric over there. Same with masks too. Very little protection scientifically, but if people feel safer wearing them, even the same ones over and over again out of their pockets, who am I to judge? Freedom of choice still exists right? Especially with our own bodies..

Just out of interest BD, what do you attribute the lower death rate to? In January we were getting about 1000 deaths each day from about 50,000 daily new cases (2%). Now it’s about 100 from 25,000 cases (0.4%) despite the relaxation in lockdown rules.
I agree with you it’s definitely not down to masks, but I do wonder if the vaccination program might have had some effect, and without it maybe we wouldn’t be playing matches at all, or at least not attending them.
I also wonder if it really is just a personal choice. Agreed, a young, fit pro footballer can probably rely on his own immune system to fight off the virus, but what if he catches it and passes it on to some poor sodomist who becomes one of the 0.4%? Personally I’m not sure - it’s a bit of a moral dilemma, but I don’t think the argument is anything like as cut and dried as you suggest.

Quoted from AussieMariner

Just out of interest BD, what do you attribute the lower death rate to? In January we were getting about 1000 deaths each day from about 50,000 daily new cases (2%). Now it’s about 100 from 25,000 cases (0.4%) despite the relaxation in lockdown rules.
I agree with you it’s definitely not down to masks, but I do wonder if the vaccination program might have had some effect, and without it maybe we wouldn’t be playing matches at all, or at least not attending them.
I also wonder if it really is just a personal choice. Agreed, a young, fit pro footballer can probably rely on his own immune system to fight off the virus, but what if he catches it and passes it on to some poor sodomist who becomes one of the 0.4%? Personally I’m not sure - it’s a bit of a moral dilemma, but I don’t think the argument is anything like as cut and dried as you suggest.

Lower death rate is due to the vaccination take up in vulnerable groups. And your figures have proved my point. The vaccine has had little effect to transmission rates. If the vaccine reduced transmission, why the hell is the daily new case rate so high this summer? I think we all need to face up to the fact that we're all going to contract Covid at sometime or other. At this very early stage it looks like the vaccine is reducing hospitalisations and deaths significantly and the most vulnerable sadly lost their lives last year..

Quoted from Bigdog

Lower death rate is due to the vaccination take up in vulnerable groups. And your figures have proved my point. The vaccine has had little effect to transmission rates. If the vaccine reduced transmission, why the hell is the daily new case rate so high this summer? I think we all need to face up to the fact that we're all going to contract Covid at sometime or other. At this very early stage it looks like the vaccine is reducing hospitalisations and deaths significantly and the most vulnerable sadly lost their lives last year..

It clearly does reduce transmission. The current 7-day average is less than half of what it was during the second wave when jabs were just starting. That was also a period when we were in lockdown too, compared to now when we have full football stadiums, people in nightclubs etc. If it didn’t reduce transmission, the rates would be reaching peak levels.

The vaccination will have contributed to lower transmission, but it appears to be less effective here than initial trials, largely due to the Delta variant. Fortunately it appears more successful at reducing serious illness and death.

I had incorrectly assumed daily infections would drop to low 000’s, rather than stick at 30-40,000, so looks like it will be around for a long time yet, and more likely that we will all end up catching it.

Hopefully by then the science will have improved further, and new means of treating those seriously affected will have been found.

It’s not about contracting it, it’s about the regulations being different for those with two jabs.

Please.

What do you all think about players taking the knee?

I saw a player taking the knee (good) to fill up a jerry can (bad) this weekend. May have been to fill his car up to go get a jab (good), but contributing to climate breakdown (bad).

There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen. What week is it? Which year is it?

Quoted from Hagrid

he's anti vax and always going on about conspiracy's and 5G masts etc

He’s anti playing football this season...... wage stealing lazy c**t 🤬

Quoted from ska face

It’s not about contracting it, it’s about the regulations being different for those with two jabs.

Please.

This.

We can argue all day about covid and its effects. Whether the jab does or does not reduce transmission and/or deaths. Whether herd immunity and the natural progression of the disease is waning over time, but the issue is that if you are double jabbed and negative, you can go about your daily business.

You may not agree with those rules, but that is irrelevant in this case.

Quoted from Hagrid

he's anti vax and always going on about conspiracy's and 5G masts etc

Probably the first player I can think of here that a manager froze out the squad for being a nutjob.

Quoted from Kris2

Probably the first player I can think of here that a manager froze out the squad for being a nutjob.

I'll raise you Ashley Sestanovich.

Quoted from ska face

I saw a player taking the knee (good) to fill up a jerry can (bad) this weekend. May have been to fill his car up to go get a jab (good), but contributing to climate breakdown (bad).

There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen. What week is it? Which year is it?

Was that at a petrol station on the A180?

Majority of people in Lincoln hospital thy have covid are either single jabbed or not jabbed at all.  Only a very small number with covid are double jabbed.

Still boils down to immune system for me.

I'm double jabbed, my lad is under 10 so not. He, along with most of his class mates, are currently isolating as they have Covid. He has been around me constantly for the last week and I am still testing negative on LFT (and the PCR test). Anecdotal I know, though pretty sure if I wasn't double jabbed I'd currently be off work with Covid instead of working from home feeling as fresh as a daisy.

Quoted from Yossarian

Seems like a perfectly reasonable rant to me.  

Players have the right to not get the jab, but if they want to be a Pro / semi-pro (?) footballer they also have responsibilites to the club that employs them and the people they work with.

It is not exactly an office job where you can work remotely if you get covid.

Plenty of last year's players seemed to work remotely.  

Quoted from Yossarian

Seems like a perfectly reasonable rant to me.

It is not exactly an office job where you can work remotely if you get covid.

Try telling morais that. He’s training in isolation

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

I'll raise you Ashley Sestanovich.

I'd honestly forgot about him, wasn't he involved in a bank robbery or something after he left us?

Quoted from Bigdog

If you follow the scientific theory correctly, you're more likely to pass the virus on as you're also more likely to be asymptomatic being double vaxxed. But we have to have someone to blame other than China or even Fauci and his cohorts who actually funded the research in Wuhan. The world is becoming a dangerous place and the powers that be are trying to divide the ordinary people by whatever means they can. Black or white, vaxxed or unvaxxed, masked or unmasked, trans or anti-trans, knee or not taking the knee, election fraud or non election fraud..CRT etc etc etc they're not going to stop anytime soon.. I'm aghast at what's happened over the past couple of years.. Covid has bred insanity and clouded thinking driven by misinformation..

Do you think? I’d say it’s the loudest voices on social media (many of whom are ‘ordinary’ people) who are keen to behave in an intolerant and divisive way just as much as much as the powers that be. Interestingly, you yourself have just presented your own them and us scenario.

Quoted from Mariner93er

It clearly does reduce transmission. The current 7-day average is less than half of what it was during the second wave when jabs were just starting. That was also a period when we were in lockdown too, compared to now when we have full football stadiums, people in nightclubs etc. If it didn’t reduce transmission, the rates would be reaching peak levels.

It probably does to a certain degree, there’s also evidence to contradict, but there’s not enough data yet. You can’t compare summer to winter accurately, lockdown to no lockdown, and if it was so great at reducing transmission why are the infection rates comparable to this time last year? If you feel confidence in everything you read in the MSM, that’s fine..if you trust everything the current governments in the West tell you, great. If the vaccine makes you feel secure then I’m happy for you. Trust the science. That word means nothing nowadays due to it being used for propaganda..

No one ever claimed the double jab gives you 100% immunity so yes, you can be double-jabbed and still get covid.

But surely families, communities, towns and the whole country is safer and better protected for at least having the double jab?

Surely this world would be in a worse place if the double jab didn’t exist?

Just because people still contract covid despite being double jabbed, it’s not a good enough reason for me to be an anti-vaxer.

Degenerated into a covid thread so moved from the main board.

Quoted from Kris2

I'd honestly forgot about him, wasn't he involved in a bank robbery or something after he left us?

I wish I could forget about him, the epitome of everything that was wrong with Slade's first period in charge. I mentioned him because of football related reasons, he was a red card waiting to happen every time he got on the pitch. He had the look of a man completely out of control. Slade got to the point where he just couldn't pick him.

But yes, he was involved in a robbery (not of a bank) and somebody got shot and killed as part of the robbery.

I love how it started as laughing at one of our players for being a total conspiracy theorist nutcase and then the Fishy's own conspiracy theorist, far-right nutcase reared their head.

Transmission is much lower in every age group except for children and less in England among children than other parts of the UK. Children are, surprise, not vaccinated, much less likely to social distance and self-isolate and as such remain the most infected. There is plenty of evidence that vaccinations have reduced transmission, it doesn't matter if it'll stop you getting it, if it stops you becoming extremely ill or stops transmission because antibodies are increased then we move away from a pandemic. There is no good argument against vaccinations, nightmarish diseases like polio are no longer a threat to the West because of successful vaccination programs. Antivax sentiments among parents could bring the return of that nightmare if enough successive generations grow that kind of conspiracy mentality.

I'd just love to hear the arguments of why the government would be forcing all of this on you for no reason. What benefit do they have for giving you a vaccine for nothing along with all other measures like mass lockdowns. None of that was of any benefit to the government, the economy, the country or anyone else. Maybe to companies that got the contracts for research and development but they didn't need it. "big pharma" is a constant argument for conspiracy theorists against vaccine and COVID measures but they already have a nation hooked on painkillers so they really didn't need more money from this on thing and if anything they lost money due to the measures taken.

Most people upset about the whole thing also voted in the current government so I guess vote them out next time?

Quoted from Kris2

I love how it started as laughing at one of our players for being a total conspiracy theorist nutcase and then the Fishy's own conspiracy theorist, far-right nutcase reared their head.

Transmission is much lower in every age group except for children and less in England among children than other parts of the UK. Children are, surprise, not vaccinated, much less likely to social distance and self-isolate and as such remain the most infected. There is plenty of evidence that vaccinations have reduced transmission, it doesn't matter if it'll stop you getting it, if it stops you becoming extremely ill or stops transmission because antibodies are increased then we move away from a pandemic. There is no good argument against vaccinations, nightmarish diseases like polio are no longer a threat to the West because of successful vaccination programs. Antivax sentiments among parents could bring the return of that nightmare if enough successive generations grow that kind of conspiracy mentality.

I'd just love to hear the arguments of why the government would be forcing all of this on you for no reason. What benefit do they have for giving you a vaccine for nothing along with all other measures like mass lockdowns. None of that was of any benefit to the government, the economy, the country or anyone else. Maybe to companies that got the contracts for research and development but they didn't need it. "big pharma" is a constant argument for conspiracy theorists against vaccine and COVID measures but they already have a nation hooked on painkillers so they really didn't need more money from this on thing and if anything they lost money due to the measures taken.

Most people upset about the whole thing also voted in the current government so I guess vote them out next time?

Unnecessary..

Fully vaccinated adults can carry the same amount of coronavirus as those who are unvaccinated, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Oxford found the viral load reduction can be wiped out by the Delta variant which is now dominant in the UK.

While evidence demonstrates that vaccines significantly reduce hospitalisations and deaths, scientists now believe those infected by the Delta variant can still harbour similar levels of virus to those who are unvaccinated.

Previous research found that double jabbed people with the Alpha variant had far lower viral loads than un-vaccinated people, stoking hopes that the virus would spread less the more people were vaccinated.

However this has been thrown into doubt and raises questions about vaccine passports and recent changes to the NHS app, which work on the assumption that double-jabbed people are less likely to spread the virus.

Based on their work, the researchers said that although jabs did not eliminate chances of getting Covid-19, they did reduce the risk and remained the most effective way to ensure protection against the Delta variant.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics shows antibody levels remain high across the UK in the week beginning July 26, with nine in 10 adults estimated to have Covid antibodies.

Sarah Walker, professor of medical statistics and epidemiology at the University of Oxford, said: “We don’t yet know how much transmission can happen from people who get Covid-19 after being vaccinated.

“For example, they may have high levels of virus for shorter periods of time.

“But the fact that they can have high levels of virus suggests that people who aren’t yet vaccinated may not be as protected from the Delta variant as we hoped.

“This means it is essential for as many people as possible to get vaccinated, both in the UK and worldwide.”

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/double-covid-vaccinated-same-viral-load-unvaccinated-b951377.html

I'm double vaxxed after weighing up the pros and cons, and as I said, data is still a work in progress..


And the phrase conspiracy theorist is a throwaway line to label anyone you disagree with. A fine example of misuse is the US Election. Bannings from social media, factcheckers and big tech closing down any dissent of the US Election results. Watched the Maricopa County audit report live on Friday night which identified widespread fraud, way more than needed to overturn the statewide election result, just in one county. Only the second forensic audit so far in the US and both show large scale fraud. No longer a conspiracy theory, but you wouldn't know that due to MSM and big tech propaganda. There's the huge question of the legitimacy of the government of the largest democracy in the world, the huge question of the origin of Covid 19 the establishment doesn't want to address, the seemingly purposeful fook up in Afghanistan by Biden & Co and also their hypocrisy in invoking mask and vaccine mandates for US citizens while not enforcinng testing or vaccinations on the 2m or so immigrants arriving at the southern border before sending them to states across the country. They seem to have isolated natural allies while emboldening China, Iran etc and countries like Canada and Australia are unrecognisable from what they were pre-Covid. God knows where this is going, pray for the Taiwanese, and funnily enough I feel lucky to be living in the UK because it seems relatively sane compared to many in all this chaos..

There's big questions to be asked and answered and I don't blame anyone for just getting on with their lives and never giving them a second thought..

What the fūck has that got to do with the price of fish bigdog? Vaccination reduce risk. End of. Anyone who doesn’t have a vaccine for reasons other than advice from their doctor is a loon.

The Woking manager is bang on. If most people were unable to perform their duties because they were not taking care of their health or for not maintaining any necessary professional credentials, they would be disciplined. Drink too much the night before you drive a train, you’re disciplined. That’s like catching covid when you’re not vaccinated. If you lose your NMC registration, you can no longer be a nurse. That’s like an unvaccinated but negative player not being able to play when there are positive cases in the squad.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

What the fūck has that got to do with the price of fish bigdog? Vaccination reduce risk. End of. Anyone who doesn’t have a vaccine for reasons other than advice from their doctor is a loon.

The Woking manager is bang on. If most people were unable to perform their duties because they were not taking care of their health or for not maintaining any necessary professional credentials, they would be disciplined. Drink too much the night before you drive a train, you’re disciplined. That’s like catching covid when you’re not vaccinated. If you lose your NMC registration, you can no longer be a nurse. That’s like an unvaccinated but negative player not being able to play when there are positive cases in the squad.

I personally know two guys in the age range of professional footballers, one 24 the other 28, both fit young men without pre-existing health conditions who now have Myocarditis post Covid vaccination. Maybe a statistical anomaly, but there it is.The 24 year old is not in a good way and faces some real challenges.. no "end of" for him.. and the chances of him dying or being extremely poorly from Covid unvaxxed were miniscule according to the data so far..

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

I wish I could forget about him, the epitome of everything that was wrong with Slade's first period in charge. I mentioned him because of football related reasons, he was a red card waiting to happen every time he got on the pitch. He had the look of a man completely out of control. Slade got to the point where he just couldn't pick him.

But yes, he was involved in a robbery (not of a bank) and somebody got shot and killed as part of the robbery.

He was the getaway driver I think......also out of the same squad Glen Downey......folklore/  urban myth would have it that he was arrested for being a pimp post football career

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Brothel+charge.-a0191689772

Also rubbish at food hygiene paperwork: https://www.sunderlandecho.com.....tration-error-341032

Most of Bigdog's comments sound reasonable enough, but only have a tangential basis in truth when you dive down into the details. I'll ignore the Fauci/Wuhan/Gain of Function guff which is good, old-fashioned conspiracy theory without any real evidence to back it up.

In general, I'm surprised that he's not made any mention about the emergence of the Delta variant which is so much more infectious than previous strains (including the Alpha which caused the big wave at the start of the year), that's it has pretty much changed everything. Covid has gone from a virus which could be pretty much suppressed and with vaccination and firm public health measures, to one which is quickly becoming endemic. Delta is utterly dominant everywhere in the world now but for South America and it is gradually outcompeting the variants over there as well. Most of our peers are doing their best to keep Delta rates down whilst the vaccines are rolled out amongst younger people. We've just given up and are letting it rip through schools unchecked. Hence the high case rate in the UK, especially amongst younger people. Most of our peers began vaccinating younger teens in the summer months, but we didn't and still aren't, despite the fact that the MHRA authorised it as safe back in June! Cases are rocketing in ages 10-14 and now increasing among their parents. Not something seen in countries with a vaccination programme for ages 12+.

As for how much immunity the vaccines provide, it's a tricky picture, but the answer seems to be quite a lot, even against Delta which has more vaccine/antibody escape than most earlier variants. I suspect that you get quite a lot of protection in situations where you're not spending a lot of time close to those infected (i.e. in shops, well-ventilated areas and so forth). However, if an adult or older child in your household catches it, you've probably got a very high possibility of becoming infected. The risk of serious illness is greatly reduced when vaccinated, even if you are young and only at small risk in the first place. With literally billions of doses of vaccine given, there is an absolutely huge amount of data showing this to be true.

How does this all relate to Woking's players and their manager's rant? My view is that it is reasonable to expect a professional footballer to do everything in his power to keep himself fit. It is public health advice that the vaccines are safe and effective and that everyone should get them (there is a vast amount of data available), so I perfectly understand the basis for the rant and agree with his sentiments.

He can have his rant, that’s his right I guess. We’re all entitled to opinion, doesn’t mean he’s entirely right, much like folk who don’t want a vaccine, they’re within their right and right wrong or indifferent, it’s their choice.

This guff will ramble on for years now, we just better get used to it.

A professional footballer is expected to keep his body at peak condition. This is done through diet, gym, running, work on the training ground, etc. Having a double jab for covid is also going to help them do all of this, so I'm with the Woking manager.

Quoted from Bigdog

Watched the Maricopa County audit report live on Friday night which identified widespread fraud, way more than needed to overturn the statewide election result, just in one county. Only the second forensic audit so far in the US and both show large scale fraud. No longer a conspiracy theory, but you wouldn't know that due to MSM and big tech propaganda.

The Maricopa audit by the republicans own designated company "Cyberninjas" showed that there was no evidence of any widespread fraud at all, and in actuality, Biden won by 360 more votes than originally reported which is statistically insignificant. Your claim that the opposite is true it's how misinformation has become the norm.

Who the fûck watches audits of constituencies in other countries? And yet somehow missed the truth of what the audit discovered.

I don’t even believe bigdog’s got two young football fit friends, much less that they’ve somehow got ill because of the vaccine.

It’s one thing believing in guff. But making stories up in your bedsit my friend. You need to get out more.

To be fair to Bigdog, it is statistically unlikely that he'd know 2 people with myocarditis from vaccination, but statistically unlikely things do occur from time to time. On a different forum I frequent, there's a Scandinavian guy (Swedish, I think) who claims to know 2 people in their 30s with myocarditis after vaccination. He's a left-wing guy and isn't an anti-vaxxer per se (though he doesn't think children should be vaccinated). Nothing I've read him post in the past would indicate he would make up an anecdote to back up his argument (though I suppose he might!). Sometimes you just get improbable coincidences.

For example, a couple of people I went to school with independently went travelling in Australia (didn't know the other was there) but then bumped into each other down a track in the outback. What's the likelihood of that?

Quoted from Maringer

To be fair to Bigdog, it is statistically unlikely that he'd know 2 people with myocarditis from vaccination, but statistically unlikely things do occur from time to time. On a different forum I frequent, there's a Scandinavian guy (Swedish, I think) who claims to know 2 people in their 30s with myocarditis after vaccination. He's a left-wing guy and isn't an anti-vaxxer per se (though he doesn't think children should be vaccinated). Nothing I've read him post in the past would indicate he would make up an anecdote to back up his argument (though I suppose he might!). Sometimes you just get improbable coincidences.

For example, a couple of people I went to school with independently went travelling in Australia (didn't know the other was there) but then bumped into each other down a track in the outback. What's the likelihood of that?

Well it happened so there's 100% chance of it happening!

He isn't right though, is he? These lads are fit athletes in their prime. Covid is unlikely to cause them serious problems. I would agree with the managers if the vaccine meant you couldn't get covid, or more importantly transmit it to others. But you can tranmit it to others which invalidates his argument.

Quoted from ska face

It’s not that being double-jabbed makes you any more or less susceptible to the virus, it’s that the regulations change for those who have had both jabs.

So if they’d have both jabs, they could’ve played as long as they’d tested negative.

True, but I'd question those regulations as they don't make sense given a fully vaccinated person can spread the virus. I'm double vaccinated myself, yet I had the virus a few weeks ago.

Quoted from fishboyUTM

True, but I'd question those regulations as they don't make sense given a fully vaccinated person can spread the virus. I'm double vaccinated myself, yet I had the virus a few weeks ago.

But that isn't the point. His players could have played had they been double jabbed and tested negative. You may not agree with that rule, but that is irrelevant to the point he was making.

Seems to have worked for him though as they are now beating fancied sides. Let's hope they have an off day next Saturday.

Quoted from ginnywings

But that isn't the point. His players could have played had they been double jabbed and tested negative. You may not agree with that rule, but that is irrelevant to the point he was making.

Seems to have worked for him though as they are now beating fancied sides. Let's hope they have an off day next Saturday.

Let's hope so.

Quoted from Bigdog

No. He's not right is he? Getting vaccinated does not stop you from catching Covid. Jabbed or not, no one is immune. Got double vaxxed myself, but if I were a fit and healthy pro-footballer I'd trust my antibodies far greater than what is a comparatively largely untested new vaccine..

There's a test for antibodies so that would answer that issue.

No, the vaccine doesn't stop you "catching" Covid, but there are far fewer deaths now than a few months ago and b4 vaccine.

Finally, it's not all about people "catching" Covid is it? It's more about taking responsibility for reducing the chances of passing it on - probably to someone more vulnerable that a fit and healthy footballer.

A healthy 15 year old girl died of Covid the other day. Being healthy doesn't matter much if you're unlucky enough to have a severe reaction to the infection. The vast majority of younger people recover from the virus well. Problem is, if everyone is going to catch the virus at some point (and they will), a tiny proportion of the whole population quickly becomes a very large number of people badly affected.

Quoted from Maringer

A healthy 15 year old girl died of Covid the other day. Being healthy doesn't matter much if you're unlucky enough to have a severe reaction to the infection. The vast majority of younger people recover from the virus well. Problem is, if everyone is going to catch the virus at some point (and they will), a tiny proportion of the whole population quickly becomes a very large number of people badly affected.

How will we know if ‘everyone will catch it at some point’?

I appreciate testing and the likes but does it matter if everyone does catch it?

The vaccine roll out has been seen as a success for some, for others not so. Some are still scared of Covid, plenty aren’t. Some have never been.

Like plenty have said, he’s entitled to his rant and we’d all argue his right to do that, doesn’t mean he’s right wrong or indifferent though…