Monday 20 October 2014

Network testing...

The ongoing upheaval at Standard Liege is raising allsorts of questions about Roland Duchatelet's network model. Manager Guy Luzon has had to step down following Saturday's abandonment of their home match against bottom of the table Zulte Waregem as a result of rioting SL fans in the stadium. Roland Duchatelet was barricaded into club offices as police kept angry fans at bay.

By contrast, Charlton fans have largely been won over since the end of last season as Roland has splashed some cash and we have had a good start to the season. To date we have remained unaffected by 'the network' in the sense that we haven't lost a single player to another club or suffered in any other way for the common good. The question right now is, how long will that last?

Standard have appointed a temporary manager/coach but there remains a threat that we could yet lose Bob Peeters or key playing assets as Roland looks to settle the ship. Hopefully sense will prevail but unless Roland has had a big change of plan that he hasn't told us about, that threat remains. He is expected to be in SE7 tomorrow night for the visit of Neil Lennon's rejuvenated-looking Bolton Wanderers.

The team we could put out tomorrow is looking threadbare and it could be a quite an uncomfortable and challenging evening. Solly, Gomez, Gudmundson and Vetokele could all be missing. That would likely see Wilson back in the corner, an unlikely looking forward pairing of Tucudean and 17 year-old Karlan Ahearne-Grant. More importantly, we are desperate for a solid midfield showing that protects the defence and supports the front two so we can put some sustained pressure on the visitors.

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