Ollie Watkins

[PhilVill]

Needs to find his mojo fast. Great player, but does have phases during a season where he can't score. Hopefully this phase is done and dusted. We can't carry an out of form player, we've spent years doing that with players because we've had no other option. It will have an impact on the season if he is off of it.

This, 100%. We can't carry anyone now, I don't care who it is. We play as a unit.

[pauliewalnuts]

Nope, which is why I said no in my original answer. He'd cost at least £100m, I don't think anyone would pay that for him.

I agree with that.

What i am saying is, he has massively increased his profile over the last twelve months. On a mental level, that's a lot to take in.

[SoccerHQ]

Someone has to make the noise though, so where do you think it would be coming from if no one is seriously able, or wanting, to buy him?

So, you don't think, after last season and the summer he had, that there would have been potential suitors? Really?

And I am not talking about now, I am talking over the summer.

You think there's genuinely nobody?

I can't see anyone paying 80m + for him. He'd be a very good fit for Liverpool but they don't drop that sort of fee on a player coming up to 30.

Arsenal signed Rice last summer for 100m. He was 24.

Toney is on the market for 40m currently and there's no serious interest for him, same age as Ollie.

Classic example is us signing Ings when he'd just turned 29 and the issues you can have then with the high wages and lack of re-sale value. Luckily West Ham came in with a panic buy.

[danno]

Again, not saying he's been talking to clubs about moves, but I just wonder if there's been something unsettling - some noise - going on in the background.

He just looks, I dunno, not like himself.

He's been subbed off in both matches so far. That's unusual.

What you’ve seen could just be a player who knows he’s not quite “at it” right now and is frustrated with himself.

[PeterWithesShin]

He's dealt with every step up from making the Exeter first team to now. A regular thing said is his work ethic, common sense, attitude etc. A player like Jack for example, he's the sort it can, and possibly did, get to, Ollie seems the exact opposite of that.

I love Ollie and was always defending him when there was the constant "we need better" posts, but he does have these little spells where he looks a bit crap. Usually at the start of a season for some reason.

[kippaxvilla2]

Someone has to make the noise though, so where do you think it would be coming from if no one is seriously able, or wanting, to buy him?

Saka or palmer most likely.

[Clampy]

I'm not too worried about him. We've seen him go through patches like this before and he's always come good.

[Risso]

Nope, which is why I said no in my original answer. He'd cost at least £100m, I don't think anyone would pay that for him.

I agree with that.

What i am saying is, he has massively increased his profile over the last twelve months. On a mental level, that's a lot to take in.

Two matches running he's been far and away our worst player. It's almost certainly the lack of pre-season training with everybody else, but he doesn't deserve to start ahead of Duran away at Leicester based on today's non-performance.

[levico]

Controversial perhaps but can’t help thinking that the club should have given him more pre season playing time. It’s not as if he played every game for England.

[Somniloquism]

Controversial perhaps but can’t help thinking that the club should have given him more pre season playing time. It’s not as if he played every game for England.

Most other clubs have done the same with their players. Bowen for example had even less playing time then Watkins and didn't feature in Spams pre-season either. I suggest it is more down to what PWS stated where he has these slow starts whether he has pre-season or not.

[Monty]

Thought a lot of his movement was back, but his touch was still in Germany somewhere.

[Beard82]

Thought a lot of his movement was back, but his touch was still in Germany somewhere.

one touch in the second half was awful - a short of lay offf that went longer than emi long ball

[AV82EC]

He’s fine, there is nothing wrong with him apart from a lack of pre season which means a lack of
match sharpness.

[Risso]

He was very much not fine today though. He'll be back, hopefully sooner rather than later, but he was hopeless today.

33% pass success
Dispossessed 3 times
Loss of possession 5 times
One laughably bad attempt on an almost open goal, and a header where he just needed not to head it straight at the keeper.

Even though he wasn't scoring at the start of last season (in the league) he did at least have two assists in the first three games.

[PaulWinch again]

Yeah he’s had a bad couple of games.