Ollie Watkins

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Catch 22: If Watkins didn't miss his sitters would the defence be under such pressure? Overall he's limited, brilliant at finding the space, average at best finishing the opportunities he's given. For me right now Duran in the last few weeks has put a shift in and would be first choice between the two.

[brontebilly]

I think his hold up play is very strong but his confidence around the box has disappeared.

And yet he scored an excellent pen and produced a brilliant assist. That’s pretty bloody good.

That's stretching it a bit...he tucked away the penalty very well but he had no role in winning it. It's a clever ball to Rogers but that goal was really all about a brilliant finish.

That header in first half from a Bailey cross. He was scoring them last season. Decision making in key positions just not to the level we expect. But he is getting into good positions.

[VillaTim]

Great pen. Beyond that , very average tonight .

[Olneythelonely]

Catch 22: If Watkins didn't miss his sitters would the defence be under such pressure? Overall he's limited, brilliant at finding the space, average at best finishing the opportunities he's given. For me right now Duran in the last few weeks has put a shift in and would be first choice between the two.

Our defence has been letting in goals even when Duran scores every single chance that comes his way though.

[Olneythelonely]

Great pen. Beyond that , very average tonight .

If you ignore his brilliant assist too

[caster troy]

If we’d kept a clean sheet or even just conceded one I don’t think there would be much discussion about Ollie. He put a shift in pressing all game and looked a bit tired at the end when he had those opportunities, understandable as he rarely gets 90 mins these days.

As others have said it would also help if we had more than three players who can score goals.

[PaulWinch again]

Great pen. Beyond that , very average tonight .

If you ignore his brilliant assist too

In fairness it is hard for Tim, he likes a narrative and for it to be very binary - Mings good/Torres bad, Duran good/Watkins bad etc.

[VillaTim]

Great pen. Beyond that , very average tonight .

If you ignore his brilliant assist too

Fair enough good assist but then you ignore the missed big chances he had to kill the game off

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Catch 22: If Watkins didn't miss his sitters would the defence be under such pressure? Overall he's limited, brilliant at finding the space, average at best finishing the opportunities he's given. For me right now Duran in the last few weeks has put a shift in and would be first choice between the two.

Our defence has been letting in goals even when Duran scores every single chance that comes his way though.

We're half way through the season, how many league games has Duran started..three? I don't think it's helped Watkins having an out of form Bailey in the side and a fully fit Jacob Ramsey. He's still the player that needs three, four or fives clear chances before he puts one away. Of his 8 goals, 4 were back in September against bottom sides Everton (2) and Wolves, the other against Ipswich. Since then it's been a goal a month with this month hitting two. Both were penalties.

Let's hope he has a better second half of the season, he knows he now has competition, hopefully he'll rise to the occasion. At 29 we may in the summer decide to cash in, he's been excellent business but we can't afford to be sentimental. There's such fine lines between success and defeat, especially this season. With the squad we have, hopefully we can still make a push for 5th place which now looks like it will be enough for CL.

Oh and in before the bell, Happy Birthday, Ollie.

[Scott Nielsen]

We conceded 48 goals in 42 league games in 2023. 1.14 goals per game.

We conceded 65 goals in 37 league games in 2024. 1.75 goals per game.

That's the difference.

That is telling. Should be in the UE thread though because, like many others have pointed out, it's our system that is not working.

[eye digress]

As others have said, a goal and assist in terms of end product is not to be sniffed at.

That said, like Bailey, he’s not at peak confidence, which seems to make him look slower in foot races and less decisive in finishing and decision making.

When he broke free on the left, you could almost see him rerunning the miss a few weeks ago from a similar position against Southampton and wondering if there was a better option than blathering it with his left laces … there wasn’t.

Only solution is to play through it - it’s not going to be pleasant viewing, though.

[mrfuse]

I think his hold up play is very strong but his confidence around the box has disappeared.

And yet he scored an excellent pen and produced a brilliant assist. That’s pretty bloody good.

I know you just want to defend Ollie from criticism but it's very plain to see this currently isn't the same player we saw last season.
His confidence isn't there, He's taking too many touches and when he receives the ball I'm not thinking he's going to beat his man and put this in the net.

This could all be down to a number of things possibly he doesn't enjoy the pressure of competing for the number 1 striker. Ollie is a top player and some comments suggesting selling him are ridiculous, But at the same time he's not beyond criticism.

[PaulWinch again]

I’m not saying he’s beyond criticism, no one is. I’m saying a game where he scored and assisted the other goal is an odd time to question his value.

[Smithy]

Catch 22: If Watkins didn't miss his sitters would the defence be under such pressure? Overall he's limited, brilliant at finding the space, average at best finishing the opportunities he's given. For me right now Duran in the last few weeks has put a shift in and would be first choice between the two.

If Ollie didn't miss a few chances we consider 'easier', then he wouldn't still be here.  He'd have gone a couple of years ago, for huge money.  Because everything else about his game is elite level.  If his touch was slightly better, and his finishing slightly more instinctive, he'd have been a £100m player two summers ago. 

He is what he is, an excellent forward for a team challenging for European places, who'll score a decent number of goals, help create a decent number more, and also work his arse off while doing it.   We're very lucky to have him.

It's also true he squandered a couple of excellent chances that could have wrapped up the game last night, despite having a goal and an assist.  I don't think it's unfair to criticise him for missing chances while also acknowledging everything else he does well.

[AV82EC]

Catch 22: If Watkins didn't miss his sitters would the defence be under such pressure? Overall he's limited, brilliant at finding the space, average at best finishing the opportunities he's given. For me right now Duran in the last few weeks has put a shift in and would be first choice between the two.

If Ollie didn't miss a few chances we consider 'easier', then he wouldn't still be here.  He'd have gone a couple of years ago, for huge money.  Because everything else about his game is elite level.  If his touch was slightly better, and his finishing slightly more instinctive, he'd have been a £100m player two summers ago. 

He is what he is, an excellent forward for a team challenging for European places, who'll score a decent number of goals, help create a decent number more, and also work his arse off while doing it.   We're very lucky to have him.

It's also true he squandered a couple of excellent chances that could have wrapped up the game last night, despite having a goal and an assist.  I don't think it's unfair to criticise him for missing chances while also acknowledging everything else he does well.

My god Smithy a balanced view of a player, it’ll never catch on.