Charlton Athletic boss Bowyer: Don’t judge us on AFC Wimbledon tie tonight

BY RICHARD CAWLEY

Charlton begin their domestic campaign with an EFL Trophy tie at AFC Wimbledon tonight, with manager Lee Bowyer saying: “Don’t judge us on this match.”

The Addicks are under a transfer embargo with the EFL ruling they already have a 23-man squad, including youngsters like James Vennings, Ben Dempsey and Junior Quitirna.

And Bowyer knows if he bloods other U23 players then he runs the risk of them being counted as first-teamers if there are squad exits.

Centre-back Tom Lockyer is set to sign for Luton Town and that will open up a slot – with the plan being to bring Adam Matthews back into the fold.

Asked about the tie against the Dons – which will take place at QPR’s Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium – Bowyer said: “Just don’t judge us on this.

“Our squad, at the moment, is paper thin.

“We have lost something like 11 or 12 players this summer and replaced them with two. Even if Adam comes through the door, he was our player [last season].

“We still need to bring in a fair few to try and put a squad together than can half-compete . Don’t judge us Tuesday – that ain’t going to be us.

“We have to be careful with some players as well. We’ve got another game Saturday [at Swindon in the EFL Cup] and we’ll go a bit stronger then.

“On Tuesday we’ve got to fiddle around with it to make sure we don’t get punished by the EFL, playing players that will count later on if they play.

“We know if we play some of the U23s they will count if someone walks out the door – we can’t have that happen.”