The Ollie Watkins Thread
- Thread starter mike_field
- Start date
Villa 4 Ever
Vital 1st Team Regular
He would of got that goal, and against Leicester Barkley could of played it through for him but instead shot and scored (rightly so) but would of scored the 1 on 1 otherwise.
So another day an easy 2 goals spread across, granted he should of scored today but he isn't getting the chances, if he was in Leeds squad tonight he would of had plenty.
Pangloss
Vital Football Legend
To my mind Watkins generally makes good runs and finds space in the box but the supply line isn't really there. Grealish could have given him a tap in last night but tried to score his wonder goal. Trezeguet for all of his apparently great performances has only put in one good ball all season (ironically for Watkins to score his header against Liverpool).
He needs more to work with.
danvilla2
I’m not an expert
There was a time in the first half when Watkins dropped deep, picked the ball up, played a one two I think in our half and carried it 30 yards... until he got crowded out by three Leeds players and not a villa player in sight.
He did have a good opportunity and that’s the thing with this league, he might get one good chance per game and he’ll have to take it. The likes of him and Tammy were getting 3-4 good chances per game in the championship and that’s not going to happen at this level. I think he realises that, and his finishing has been good so far overall.
It’s easy to see he’s a level above anything up front I’ve seen in a long time technically. He is a good goalscorer which is why we’ve bought him, but I also see a very intelligent and technically gifted player. He could probably play in a number of positions on the wing, even behind the striker with the brain and skill he’s got. Not saying we do that, just an observation.
But we have to play a team game where we play a more disciplined 3 forwards if he’s to work. We need Traore to come in, to become the outlet on the right to put balls in to Watkins. Traore will be key to the success of Watkins, we know Jack can link up with him albeit jack won’t be swinging balls in to the mixer in the same way Traore will be when he cuts in from the right.
Failing that, and there will be games like last night where Watkins plays on his own and no-one within 20 yards of him, it’s down to one of the central midfielders to get close and support him. SJM was anonymous last night, he has a shocker, but in future he or Barkley need to between them support Ollie when he wins the first ball.
He did have a good opportunity and that’s the thing with this league, he might get one good chance per game and he’ll have to take it. The likes of him and Tammy were getting 3-4 good chances per game in the championship and that’s not going to happen at this level. I think he realises that, and his finishing has been good so far overall.
It’s easy to see he’s a level above anything up front I’ve seen in a long time technically. He is a good goalscorer which is why we’ve bought him, but I also see a very intelligent and technically gifted player. He could probably play in a number of positions on the wing, even behind the striker with the brain and skill he’s got. Not saying we do that, just an observation.
But we have to play a team game where we play a more disciplined 3 forwards if he’s to work. We need Traore to come in, to become the outlet on the right to put balls in to Watkins. Traore will be key to the success of Watkins, we know Jack can link up with him albeit jack won’t be swinging balls in to the mixer in the same way Traore will be when he cuts in from the right.
Failing that, and there will be games like last night where Watkins plays on his own and no-one within 20 yards of him, it’s down to one of the central midfielders to get close and support him. SJM was anonymous last night, he has a shocker, but in future he or Barkley need to between them support Ollie when he wins the first ball.
Last edited:
Pangloss
Vital Football Legend
We need more from our fullbacks as well, Cash especially can deliver, Targett has a decent ball in him too, how many crosses did either put in last night?
Bamford had a couple of good chances before scoring his first, they had a constant supply line in to him, Watkins hasn't had that for 180 minutes now. He's not going to score many this season if he's consistently isolated with not much to work with.
Watkins is at his best when he's working off others. He doesn't have amazing hold up play (it's decent) or outrageous physicality such that he can occupy centre halves for 90 minutes with little more than balls lumped forward (like Drogba used to for instance).
Melon Donkey
I am a little bit perplexed
Watching that again. Nope. That still image in the match thread last night was deceptive. The defender would have been in a great position to close to block Watkins.
Looks like a few are turning into Gareth Southgate.
I‘m surprised tbh after witnessing skill like that all some are doing are banging on about him passing. Easy on a keyboard after the event spouting on twatter maybe not having played the game not appreciating that a player having run the length of the pitch is going get 8 yards from goal and shoot instead of pass, when let’s not forget he was in a great position to score.
Last edited:
Villa 4 Ever
Vital 1st Team Regular
I want to see Watkins playing wide left in a Mane/Sterling role. He's a hard worker and dangerous cutting in off the left and shooting with his right foot.
Watkins __________Traore
_________ Grealish
_____Barkley____McGinn
_________Douglas
Targett______________Cash
______Mings___Konsa
__________Martinez
I think he's getting isolated playing centrally and its unnecessary. Grealish and Barkley create plenty of chances and McGinn is great at finding them from deep, we need more fluidity up top rather than a rigid striker.
Watkins __________Traore
_________ Grealish
_____Barkley____McGinn
_________Douglas
Targett______________Cash
______Mings___Konsa
__________Martinez
I think he's getting isolated playing centrally and its unnecessary. Grealish and Barkley create plenty of chances and McGinn is great at finding them from deep, we need more fluidity up top rather than a rigid striker.
Last edited:
CDX_EIRE
Vital Football Legend
The old saying 'he'll be judged on his goals' is the be-all and end-all for some. Everything else is totally irrelevant because of how they analyze the game.
Huge complaints about Wesley and Hogan never adding anything for the team, it is like playing with 10 etc. but then you get Davis who contributes massively but doesn't score. Or Watkins who is an outlet, works selflessly, never ever gives up and has the best all-round game since Benteke. All of it doesn't matter unless he takes his one clear cut chance in two games.
Its a little frustrating because one game there are complaints about how many touches he's had and then the next he has loads but we're bemoaning the chance he didn't take.
He'll clearly score if he gets chances but there are only a handful of strikers in the world who can maintain the type of striking rate some expect.
Gillette
Vital Squad Member
The way we are set-up we are supposed to be a team where our CF gets the most goals. So I want how many chances we make him to be the main thing we judge half the team on. Then his strike rate will be the main thing we judge him on.
Tammy missed a bag full - I expect Ollie to score one in three good chances min.
I expect the team to make him 6 good chances a game.
McParlandTheGreat
Vital Champions League
Spot on. I've seen enough from him to indicate he's the real deal. There's more in his game to develop, but already he's a force to be reckoned with. He comes across as confident, and rightly so.
It's not a good idea to judge anybody by last night's failure. The previous games showed me we're playing with a lot more purpose and ability than last season season. Fair play to Leeds they maintained high pressure throughout and eventually we slipped up. But I'm reasonably confident we'll come back from it OK. Remember we were still rebuilding this summer.
Its about time we had a striker in a position to miss a few.
gmvillan
The Shackles Are Off!
I think after a loss there's a tendency to be overtly negative, just as there is a tendency to be getting carried away when we've had a good win or two.
You could say Watkins has only scored in one of his 5 league appearances so far, while you can also say he's scored 5 goals in his first 7 Villa matches.
Both statements are statistically accurate.
CDX_EIRE
Vital Football Legend
100% - the whole "statistics to prove any point" debate in a nutshell too.
Dean has to do more to play in a way that gets him more chances.
Gillette
Vital Squad Member
Post-game analysis with the midfield and wingers should be "How many chances did you make for Ollie?".
Gillette
Vital Squad Member
I disagree - we have croaked some good ones as well.
