I wouldn't write off Watkins, I like him and hope he's with us for a while. But his finishing is abysmal. We're missing chances top teams would take and it's making a huge difference. Hopefully it will click again for him with the new formation, but if he doesn't do anything in the next couple of games then I'd put him on the bench for a spell to see what Ings can do.
I wouldn't write off Watkins, I like him and hope he's with us for a while. But his finishing is abysmal.
Quote from: chrisw1 on January 24, 2022, 01:47:07 PMI wouldn't write off Watkins, I like him and hope he's with us for a while. But his finishing is abysmal. Bit of a problem for top level strikers, that.
I feel sorry for Watkins and Ings. Ollie isn't as good as we thought he was (yet?) and clearly misses Joe. Or rather, the team as it was with Joe in it. His finishing simply isn't good enough for the vital role he's playing. Can't fault his workrate otherwise.As for Ings, he's a proven striker who probably thought he was making a step-up in his career. I doubt he thinks that any more, but I don't think it's all his fault. He's not getting the sort of service he needs and it doesn't look like Gerrard has any interest in building a team to supply him with it.
Watkins has scored the same number of League goals as Lukaku, Greenwood and Kane so far this season.
Quote from: German James on January 24, 2022, 02:54:47 PMI feel sorry for Watkins and Ings. Ollie isn't as good as we thought he was (yet?) and clearly misses Joe. Or rather, the team as it was with Joe in it. His finishing simply isn't good enough for the vital role he's playing. Can't fault his workrate otherwise.As for Ings, he's a proven striker who probably thought he was making a step-up in his career. I doubt he thinks that any more, but I don't think it's all his fault. He's not getting the sort of service he needs and it doesn't look like Gerrard has any interest in building a team to supply him with it.My impression of Southampton is that for the last couple of seasons, the team was built around Ward-Prowse feeding Ings, a bit like us with everything going through Grealish.
Ollie's goal ratio for Villa is on a par with that at other clubs he's been at (approx 1 in 3).He offers so much more than his goals. He works tirelessly for the team with bundles of energy. Opposition defenders must be kn-ckered at the end of games playing against him. Our midfielders are scoring recently because of his presence. As we're a relatively small team his height is advantageous when defending set pieces. How many times did he defend the front post successfully against Everton's pub team? He's a star player with a star attitude who I'd rather was in our team than against us. Keep plugging away Ollie and the goals will come.