Ollie scored 50 top flight league goals in the previous 3 seasons. No other Villa player in the last 50 years has done that in a 3 season spell. Withe, Shaw, Gray, Platt, Yorke, Little, Benteke etc.
None of those played as the lone striker. Apples and oranges.
More importantly, yes Watkins should have scored yesterday or the least get his head to the cross but looking at the bigger picture, if we accept Watkins is a limited talent BUT if we play to his strengths he'll score goals. Right now we've gone out our way to play to his weaknesses. He must feel extremely frustrated, he's hardly seen the ball and when he does it's not where he wants it. Then you have to factor in he's not the most clinical of strikers and generally requires a few opportunities to score.
The other problem is how Unai has set us up with three 10s and no real width. It's very congested and we end up passing the ball outside the 18 yard box from left to right and back again. You can count the number of crosses into the 6 yard box, Watkins' hotspot, on your thumbs. It's relatively simple stuff, just go and see Watkins' showreel of his goals and how and where they were scored. None from outside the box. Cutting in from the left into the box as a couple of defenders hold off him is probably the most typical goal he scores. That's never going to happen right now.
