collapse collapse

Please donate to help towards the costs of keeping this site going. Thank You.

Recent Topics

Recent Posts

Re: Gordon Cowans by Paul.S
[Today at 07:27:19 PM]


Re: Gordon Cowans by VillaTim
[Today at 07:23:43 PM]


Re: Champions League Contention by Brazilian Villain
[Today at 07:23:42 PM]


Re: Chris Heck - President of Business Operations by VillaTim
[Today at 07:22:15 PM]


Re: Chris Heck - President of Business Operations by OCD
[Today at 07:20:22 PM]


Re: FFP by Percy McCarthy
[Today at 07:17:32 PM]


Re: FFP by pauliewalnuts
[Today at 07:02:54 PM]


Re: FFP by LeeB
[Today at 06:59:38 PM]

Follow us on...

Author Topic: Ollie Watkins  (Read 431224 times)

Offline Drummond

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 28667
  • Age: 52
  • Location: My own little world.
  • GM : 10.10.2024
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2070 on: October 04, 2022, 12:15:04 PM »
Watkins is one of those "training ground players". When zero pressure on, his finishing in training is top draw. It just doenst flow into games for whatever reason. He seems to get flustered and his touch horrendous.

Archer should get a run now imo

Sounds like he needs a sports psychologist.


Offline caster troy

  • Member
  • Posts: 1252
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2071 on: October 04, 2022, 04:40:35 PM »
I just watched all of his goals at Brentford from the 19/20 season on YouTube (26 in total) and the majority were from crosses/pull backs, not many from through balls, so I don't think we help him by playing without wingers. A lot of them didn't rely on any first touch at all, they were just instinctive finishes. I remember some good solo goals for us in his first season but most were from crosses again I think.

Apart from the fact we probably don't have a system that suits him, I also don't think he's ever recovered from the slow start to last season. Injured for the first few games, then struggling to play with Ings, his confidence seemed to drain quickly. Then a new manager coming in who he knew didn't have the same faith in him. Then dropped by England. With the whole team struggling there is a lot of pressure on him now and it seems like it is too much. I'm hoping he will come good again in the long run but for now it would be crazy not to give Archer a run.


Offline Risso

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 84827
  • Location: Leics
  • GM : 04.03.2025
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2072 on: October 04, 2022, 06:51:21 PM »
I just watched all of his goals at Brentford from the 19/20 season on YouTube (26 in total) and the majority were from crosses/pull backs, not many from through balls, so I don't think we help him by playing without wingers. A lot of them didn't rely on any first touch at all, they were just instinctive finishes. I remember some good solo goals for us in his first season but most were from crosses again I think.

Apart from the fact we probably don't have a system that suits him, I also don't think he's ever recovered from the slow start to last season. Injured for the first few games, then struggling to play with Ings, his confidence seemed to drain quickly. Then a new manager coming in who he knew didn't have the same faith in him. Then dropped by England. With the whole team struggling there is a lot of pressure on him now and it seems like it is too much. I'm hoping he will come good again in the long run but for now it would be crazy not to give Archer a run.



The Championship is a much, much lower standard than the Premier League, it's why you get players like Matej Vydra, Chris Wood and Teemu Pukki scoring 25+ goals a season, and then not doing it in the Premier League.

Offline chrisw1

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 9147
  • GM : 20.08.2024
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2073 on: October 04, 2022, 08:10:24 PM »
Partly.  But they’re also not playing for dominant teams when they come up, so there’s a bit of that too.

Online john e

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 19207
  • GM : 28.06.2024
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2074 on: October 04, 2022, 09:29:05 PM »
I just watched all of his goals at Brentford from the 19/20 season on YouTube (26 in total) and the majority were from crosses/pull backs, not many from through balls, so I don't think we help him by playing without wingers. A lot of them didn't rely on any first touch at all, they were just instinctive finishes. I remember some good solo goals for us in his first season but most were from crosses again I think.

Apart from the fact we probably don't have a system that suits him, I also don't think he's ever recovered from the slow start to last season. Injured for the first few games, then struggling to play with Ings, his confidence seemed to drain quickly. Then a new manager coming in who he knew didn't have the same faith in him. Then dropped by England. With the whole team struggling there is a lot of pressure on him now and it seems like it is too much. I'm hoping he will come good again in the long run but for now it would be crazy not to give Archer a run.



The Championship is a much, much lower standard than the Premier League, it's why you get players like Matej Vydra, Chris Wood and Teemu Pukki scoring 25+ goals a season, and then not doing it in the Premier League.

Gestede Hogan, Mcormac

Offline tomd2103

  • Member
  • Posts: 14178
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2075 on: October 06, 2022, 12:04:01 AM »
He works hard and presses well, but he can’t finish instinctively or when he has time, and he has very clumsy feet.

Thought last season that it was becoming apparent that he was looking increasingly like a player that would be better utilised coming off the bench in the latter stages to give us a bit of energy. 

I think it is a fair point to say that he doesn't get a lot of service in games and you rear elm see balls fizzing across the box for him to get on the end of.  Most of his chances seem to come from through balls, but his touch lets him down time and again. 

Offline rougegorge

  • Member
  • Posts: 1277
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2076 on: October 06, 2022, 01:49:38 PM »
I just watched all of his goals at Brentford from the 19/20 season on YouTube (26 in total) and the majority were from crosses/pull backs, not many from through balls, so I don't think we help him by playing without wingers. A lot of them didn't rely on any first touch at all, they were just instinctive finishes. I remember some good solo goals for us in his first season but most were from crosses again I think.

Apart from the fact we probably don't have a system that suits him, I also don't think he's ever recovered from the slow start to last season. Injured for the first few games, then struggling to play with Ings, his confidence seemed to drain quickly. Then a new manager coming in who he knew didn't have the same faith in him. Then dropped by England. With the whole team struggling there is a lot of pressure on him now and it seems like it is too much. I'm hoping he will come good again in the long run but for now it would be crazy not to give Archer a run.



The Championship is a much, much lower standard than the Premier League, it's why you get players like Matej Vydra, Chris Wood and Teemu Pukki scoring 25+ goals a season, and then not doing it in the Premier League.
That's true to a degree, although given that getting 20+ goals in the Prem is only achieved by very few players each season, if a player gets to a dozen or more he has transitioned well.

So you do get players from the Championship who continue to score at around that 12+ level, even if only for a season or two: Vardy, Holt, Ings, Bamford, Wilson, Deeney to name a few. Also Pukki and Wood have scored quite well in the Prem considering the teams they played for.  The trick is doing it season in season out.

Offline Aldridge Villa

  • Member
  • Posts: 714
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2077 on: October 07, 2022, 08:15:37 PM »
Dwight Yorke was the last proficient Villa  exponent of the “dink” over the keeper that I can recall , an attribute Ollie seemingly lacks. Maybe wrong but I get the feeling it’s an attribute that cannot be coached into Ollie irrespective of hours at Bodymoor. It’s an instinct , you’ve either got it or you ain’t. Delighted to be proved wrong.

Offline Risso

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 84827
  • Location: Leics
  • GM : 04.03.2025
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2078 on: October 07, 2022, 08:44:19 PM »
Benteke rarely smacked the ball and usually made good decisions when in a goal scoring position. He was much more of a placer than a blaster.

Online Exeter 77

  • Member
  • Posts: 7595
  • Location: Back outside the realms of possibility
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2079 on: October 07, 2022, 08:53:47 PM »
Benteke rarely smacked the ball and usually made good decisions when in a goal scoring position. He was much more of a placer than a blaster.
He was but when he did hit the ball hard it stayed hit. His goal at the Hawthorns in a 2-2 in Lambert's first season springs to mind.

Online paul_e

  • Member
  • Posts: 33280
  • Age: 44
  • GM : July, 2013
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2080 on: October 07, 2022, 09:07:59 PM »
I think it's worth remembering what Watkins in form and in a team that has a working attack looks, in the premier league: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=147130090783454


Yes some players can get found out or perform on a confidence high for their first season but a lot of criticism on here doesn't really match with what we've seen him do for us in the past and things like him blasting it straight at the keeper when one-on-one is quite clearly something that has changed in his game. If you ignore this season and just judge the player in that video there's no way you'd say he can't finish. As a club we need to help him and get him back to that player, anything else is wasting him.

Offline tomd2103

  • Member
  • Posts: 14178
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2081 on: October 08, 2022, 12:41:39 AM »
I think it's worth remembering what Watkins in form and in a team that has a working attack looks, in the premier league: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=147130090783454


Yes some players can get found out or perform on a confidence high for their first season but a lot of criticism on here doesn't really match with what we've seen him do for us in the past and things like him blasting it straight at the keeper when one-on-one is quite clearly something that has changed in his game. If you ignore this season and just judge the player in that video there's no way you'd say he can't finish. As a club we need to help him and get him back to that player, anything else is wasting him.

It isn't just this season Paul, it was last season as well.  Look, not trying to crucify the lad, as I do like him and as said above, I don't think he always gets the best service. 

It might also be that him and Ings, with Archer coming through is the best we can hope for at the level we are currently at.  There aren't a lot of prolific strikers out there that we could realistically attract and you only have to look at the centre forwards the likes of West Ham have spent big money on over the past few seasons to see just what a minefield it is.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2022, 12:47:42 AM by tomd2103 »

Offline PaulTheVillan

  • Member
  • Posts: 23173
  • GM : 16.08.2022
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2082 on: October 08, 2022, 08:42:21 AM »
Get a coach in that bans Ollie from looking at the ball when he takes a chance. He’ll vastly improve then.

Online Meanwood Villa

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6875
  • GM : PCM
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2083 on: October 08, 2022, 08:56:12 AM »
I like Ollie but it always seems more surprising when he does something well compared to cocking it up. He seems to make poor decisions a lot. At the end of the game last week we played a clever looking free kick that saw him in space wide right. Instead of playing it in first time he paused and cut back into a clutch of defenders. Ings was already nearly in the net by this point. No guarantee he'd have got the first time ball right of course but the lack of instinct and awareness to try it sums him up for me.

Offline ChicagoLion

  • Member
  • Posts: 22105
  • Location: Chicago
  • Literally
Re: Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa & England)
« Reply #2084 on: October 08, 2022, 09:09:43 AM »
Get a coach in that bans Ollie from looking at the ball when he takes a chance. He’ll vastly improve then.
he would miss the ball

 


SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal