Post by seriouslyred on Sept 7, 2014 8:40:53 GMT
Looking at how Standard used him over the 2 seasons I am not really surprised he did not progress. He made his name as a left sided midfielder with Caen putting circa 40 appearances in Ligue 1. SL played him almost exclusively on the right and of course last season he fell foul of the much maligned Luzon "rotation plan".
The lad clearly has some ability. He has not "pulled up any trees" over the past 2 seasons but he has the opportunity to show what he can do.
Off topic it pleasingly will allow Cousins a break from trying to do "a job for the team".
Cousins can be really proud of the contribution he has made to a team 5 league games undefeated.
He just needs a quick break to get back to what he does best in a central midfield or defensive role. He will put pressure on Jackson and provide good cover for Buyens. I still remain convinced he will be best in his more natural role at right back or in central defence. That Powell did not allow him some opportunity to develop the season before last while giving Solly some rest still bugs me.
The emergence of Gomez complicates matters a little but he will ultimately move into a more central defensive role. I would be quite chuffed to see a defensive group with academy graduates Cousins, Gomez and Fox all competing for 1st team spots.
Good to see this background on Bulot - looking forward to seeing him on Saturday and Tuesday on the wing. And we need quality on both sides to really take the game to top teams as well as not so good (like Wolves and Millwall!)
His arrival suggests to me that Jackson and Cousins move to a jobshare in the centre.
As for defence and the academy - I rate Fox and Gomez. The shear volume of talent coming through has made it that much easier to turn CAFC around this season with loans and acquisitions - we had a solid base of 10-15 players in May, all good enough for the Championship. Some panicked at that stage and wanted to offer gold plated contracts to the last few undecided players but clearly Duchatelet and Meire had targets lined up. And Luzon is turning into a closet Charlton fan by falling out with Liege talent!
None of this means Bulot will be a hit for sure but there's a high chance he's an improvement on what we've seen in the last few years.