This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Charlton travel across south London to take on Millwall at The Den this Saturday, and Lee Bowyer has a lot to reflect on from the previous performance against Preston.
Some supporters on Twitter were absolutely livid with the Addicks’ display last weekend, with one even stating that it felt like something from the Karl Robinson days.
Things just didn’t click for Athletic on that day, although one man – who should be dropped for the clash against Millwall – perhaps had more of a nightmare than most in the 1-0 defeat
Who was it?
Charlton centre-back Naby Sarr endured a miserable afternoon against Alex Neil’s side, to say the least.
The 26-year-old – who was recently handed his first Senegal call-up – was hauled off at half-time by Bowyer following a torrid 45-minute display in which it felt like he couldn’t do anything right.
Sarr received a yellow card after a loose touch with Daniel Johnson lurking, and also completed just 63% of his 27 passes – the defender also failed to make a single tackle, interception, block or clearance.
However, his Preston disaster-class is not the reason why we think he should be dropped.
What is the reason?
Sarr should be dropped because of his poor aerial ability in comparison to Tom Lockyer and Jason Pearce.
Why might aerial ability come into question against the Lions, you might ask?
Well, Millwall’s Matt Smith – a man who has made 12 appearances this season – is quite simply a monster in the air, and will surely bully any centre-back who can’t assert themselves aerially – the 6 foot 5 30-year-old wins a staggering 9.2 aerial duels per game.
On average, Sarr wins just 1.8 aerial duels per game, which is pretty poor for a man standing at 6 foot 4.
In comparison to his fellow Charlton centre-backs, Pearce wins a much more impressive 4.1 aerial duels, whereas Lockyer wins 3.7.
Both Pearce and Lockyer’s averages still aren’t comparable to Smith’s, although Sarr’s is substantially weaker and should mean Bowyer drops him to the bench for the south London derby this weekend.
