This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.
Charlton succumbed to their fifth defeat of the Championship season on Sunday, falling to a 1-0 loss against Preston.
Alex Neil’s side rose to the top of the Championship after leaving The Valley with three points tucked firmly under their belts, although Lee Bowyer’s delayed decision over one of his players on the bench hindered Charlton’s hopes of finding an equaliser.
Snapshot
The scoreline was nicely poised at 0-0 before Jason Pearce gave away a second-half penalty, which was smashed into the bottom-left corner by 35-year-old Paul Gallagher in the 58th minute.
At that point, Bowyer had already used one of his three subs after bringing Naby Sarr off for Jonathan Leko at half-time, following a dismal 45-minute display from the Senegalese centre-back.
The 42-year-old’s second tactical move was to bring Chuks Aneke on for Darren Pratley, although his third and final sub left a lot to be desired in terms of how long the player had to make an impact.
What did Bowyer do?
Well, the Addicks boss subbed Erhun Oztumer onto the field in the 88th minute, leaving the attacking midfielder with next to no time to make an impact on proceedings – if the scoreline was two or three goals in Preston’s advantage it would’ve made a bit more sense, but there was definitely a point there to be won for Charlton.
The 28-year-old – who Charlton’s Head of Recruitment Steve Gallen described as a “skilful player” – eventually came on for Beram Kayal, a man who is more of a traditional centre midfielder with little attacking nature.
Kayal had also been booked in the 65th minute, so that was just another reason as to why Bowyer should have hooked him off earlier so Oztumer could try and threaten Declan Rudd’s goal.
Oztumer isn’t quite a proven Championship player, but his impressive record of 32 goals in 95 appearances for Walsall suggests he knows where the back of the net is – surely, with little to lose, Bowyer should’ve allowed the former Bolton man a bit more time to make an impact.
Unfortunately, he did not, and the former Leeds midfielder’s delayed tactical decision hindered his side’s chances of a fightback.