This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Lee Bowyer has been speaking about how big an impact Charlton Athletic’s injury crisis is having on his squad selection, as reported by London News Online.
What did he say?
The Addicks manager has indicated that he may not even be able to fill his bench when facing Cardiff City, due to the number of players who will be out.
One area of the pitch that has been especially stretched by this is central midfield, as Bowyer has disclosed that there are only three centre-midfielders available.
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Speaking ahead of the Cardiff game, Bowyer was quoted by London News Online as saying: “We’ve only got a 23 or 22-man squad and we’ve got 10 out, that is nearly half. If it carries on then we won’t be able to put out a starting 11.
“The only position we are strong is at the back. There are not many to choose from in midfield – three. The ones available are Conor Gallagher, Josh Cullen and Erhun Oztumer.
“I think we’ll maybe have to look at playing a different way. We’ll go through a couple of things this morning – some shape work – to see what looks good for the players we have. It’s tricky, definitely tricky.”
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A chance to prove himself
Oztumer has been in and out of the Charlton team after joining from Bolton Wanderers, having made four starts and one substitute appearance in red so far.
It is quite telling about the 28-year-old’s role in the team that he is still yet to start consecutive games for the Addicks.
While he doesn’t have a chance to change that against Cardiff, having been benched for the entirety of the loss against Millwall, he does have the opportunity to prove himself to Bowyer.
Bowyer has often opted to use three centre-midfielders at a time, so unless he changes this view, Oztumer looks set to start this weekend given the lack of alternative options.
He has shown glimpses of being a useful creative presence already this campaign, averaging 1.2 key passes and 0.8 dribbles per game, while maintaining a pass success rate of 83.2%.
Now is his chance to step up and show Bowyer that he deserves to be in the team on a more regular basis.
