Charlton Athletic manager Lee Bowyer: Fulham have a big advantage with the Championship fixture scheduling

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Charlton manager Lee Bowyer has been left annoyed at the fixture scheduling which gives Fulham 24 hours more to prepare for Saturday’s derby at Craven Cottage.

The Addicks, above the west London club in the Championship standings, play second-placed Swansea tomorrow night.

Big-spending Fulham are at Reading this evening.

Charlton are without Lyle Taylor, Tomer Hemed and Beram Kayal and had a bruising and energy-draining encounter with Leeds on Saturday – Macauley Bonne awarded the goal in a 1-0 victory.

“We had a couple come off with cramp on Saturday but they have got an extra day to recover,” said Bowyer. “My worry is going to be Saturday against Fulham and how we are going to be. We have got to try and get through this game [against Swansea]  – patch them up and get them back out there – and then see how we go.

“But it is going to be tough because they are definitely going to be tired from the weekend. They gave everything.

“We’ll be ready for Wednesday, for sure, but Saturday is going to be even harder.”

Fulham’s squad also has greater depth to make rotation easier.

Asked if it was a big advantage to have an extra day of preparation, Bowyer replied: “For sure, I don’t get it. I understand TV scheduling but I don’t know why it was changed. Everyone should play on a Tuesday and then everyone plays on a Saturday. To be going into a game where one team has had 24 hours more recovery time than the other one – that’s massive.

“If we’d have both played Wednesday then I’d say that is fine, because then we’ve both got the same recovery time. But that’s not the case.”

Charlton are sixth and only two points off leaders West Bromwich Albion.

“Swansea are very similar to Leeds,” said Bowyer. “They play so much football – they pass teams to death at times. [Andre] Ayew is a Premier League player.

“We’ll respect them, work hard and do everything we can to grind out a result.”