Ollie Watkins

[AV82EC]

Lightweights! With our 5th, I'm up every morning at 5am, do a 10K run, answer all my emails, learn a new language and play a new instrument.*

*Not all of this is true.**

**I mean none, I'm shattered!

God that sounds like one of those absolute ***** you see on LinkedIn. Immediate mute or block and also delete anyone who likes one of their posts.

[Risso]

Lightweights! With our 5th, I'm up every morning at 5am, do a 10K run, answer all my emails, learn a new language and play a new instrument.*

*Not all of this is true.**

**I mean none, I'm shattered!

God that sounds like one of those absolute ***** you see on LinkedIn. Immediate mute or block and also delete anyone who likes one of their posts.

Absolutely!  The Twitter account "The State of LinkedIn" is good for taking the piss out of them.

My version would be:

Alarm goes off at 6.45. Think about jumping stratight out of bed, but decide to give it 5 more minutes.
Wake up again at 7.10 in a panic, and go and shout at the kids to get up.
Decide that a 'student shower' (squirt of deodorant) is all I have time for this morning.
Shout at kids again.
Check Facebook and WhatsApp.
Put kettle on.
Shout at kids again.
Bundle them all into car, forgetting at least one PE bag.

[Drummond]

Lightweights! With our 5th, I'm up every morning at 5am, do a 10K run, answer all my emails, learn a new language and play a new instrument.*

*Not all of this is true.**

**I mean none, I'm shattered!

I don't know how you even had the energy to make a 5th.

[ozzjim]

Lightweights! With our 5th, I'm up every morning at 5am, do a 10K run, answer all my emails, learn a new language and play a new instrument.*

*Not all of this is true.**

**I mean none, I'm shattered!

I don't know how you even had the energy to make a 5th.

Our eldest has moved out, so there are only 2 left to move on now. The idea of 5 is truly terrifying.

[Nunkin1965]

Change the system or leave him out Dean.
Getting booked inside the first minute tells me that the lad is frustrated with something.

[ozzjim]

Looked so much happier in the last 15 up top making runs in behind the full backs and bringing people into the game. It is his strength. In a 2 he loses his identity almost.

[Nunkin1965]

Yes he did look far more comfortable in the role that worked absolutely fine last season.
But Smith has to leave out Ings which is clearly something he doesn't want to do.

[Ad@m]

Yes he did look far more comfortable in the role that worked absolutely fine last season.
But Smith has to leave out Ings which is clearly something he doesn't want to do.

Which is madness. Sticking him in a two has absolutely killed the player we had last year and the system we've got doesn't play to Ings strength either.

Smith absolutely has to try something different - either Ollie wide left or drop Ings so Ollie can be up front on his own.

We're 9 games in and there's absolutely no sign two up front is getting the best out of either of them.

[Demitri_C]

Id drop ollie. He has been absolute crap. When i was saying to sign tammy and people were saying what about ollie he cabt be dropped! Well he can and should he has been terrible.

Its not all his fault. Smiths tactics have been awful and ollies suffering and looks deeply frustrated.

[brontebilly]

Id drop ollie. He has been absolute crap. When i was saying to sign tammy and people were saying what about ollie he cabt be dropped! Well he can and should he has been terrible.

Its not all his fault. Smiths tactics have been awful and ollies suffering and looks deeply frustrated.

He had a good second half last night I thought. Both on the left wing and later up front. As many of us suspected when Ings was signed, Watkins simply can't play in a two.

[Flamingo Lane]

His booking in the first minute last night showed everything you need to know about his current frame of mind.  In the second half (can't recall if it was 2-0 or 3-0) there was another incident, where he had the ball in the Arsenal penalty box and clearly needed to try and find Ings, who was also in the box.  Instead, he just hit a hopeless shot.  Ings simply turned away, in disdain. Sad to say, whereas Watkins epitomised all that was good about the team last season, this season it looks to be the opposite.

[AV82EC]

I’d still play Watkins over Ings every time.

[cdbearsfan]

I thought they looked much better for the five minutes or so when Watkins went wide. I've been saying they should do this all season. If not when Traore is out, then when?

[tomd2103]

Yes he did look far more comfortable in the role that worked absolutely fine last season.
But Smith has to leave out Ings which is clearly something he doesn't want to do.

Still think that was one of the main factors in the switch to 3-5-2.

[fredm]

Think both he and Ings can play together. Need to go to 4-3-3 and coach Watkins to play in a similar way to how Henry did and how Salah does now. Mobile using his speed and movement to utilise the width of the pitch and not just be a central target. Ings can be the central figure but Watkins and either Bailey or Traore can be the other two attackers.