Charlton Athletic manager Lee Bowyer recently revealed that his side will be without three first-team players when the Championship season resumes, including striker Lyle Taylor, who is refusing to play.
With nine matches left, the Addicks have work to do if they are to avoid an immediate return to the third tier, and without Taylor, that task is arguably more difficult.
How Will Charlton Athletic Fare without Lyle Taylor?
Taylor’s Influence Since Becoming an Addick
Since moving to The Valley from AFC Wimbledon in the summer of 2018, Taylor has played a vital role.
In his first season with the south-east London club, he scored 25 goals in all competitions as the Addicks won promotion via the League One play-offs. As a result, the Montserrat international won the Charlton Fans’ Player of the Year award, after receiving 52% of the vote.
Taylor has continued to impress during his second year in red and white, netting 11 times in 22 appearances in his debut Championship campaign; an average of a goal every 146 minutes. Five of those efforts were scored in August, as Bowyer’s side made a very fast start.
Charlton’s Struggles Without Taylor
Charlton’s record without Taylor in the team so far in 2019/20 will not fill Bowyer with much optimism as he prepares his side for the run-in.
The Addicks have won just two of the 15 games that the 30-year-old has not featured in. After beating Derby County 3-0 on home soil on October 19, Charlton failed to register a victory in any of their next 11 league matches, a run Taylor missed the majority of due to a knee injury he had sustained in September.
That slump in form saw the club slide down the division, and after struggling to produce consistent results since the turn of the year, Charlton currently find themselves two points from safety.
Bowyer’s Other Options
With Taylor expected to miss all of Charlton’s remaining fixtures, Bowyer could choose Macauley Bonne to head up the Addicks’ attack. The Zimbabwean forward joined from Leyton Orient almost a year ago and is the club’s second-highest scorer this campaign with eight goals.
In terms of alternative options in the striker department, Charlton have Erhun Oztumer and Tomer Hemed, but neither player has registered a single goal so far this season.
Five of Charlton’s upcoming games are against teams who currently sit in the bottom half of the Championship table, so with a lot on the line, Bowyer will hope that these players are able to step up in Taylor’s absence and steer the club to safety.
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