Ollie Watkins

[eamonn]

So what is his injury problem/ knock or whatever?

I do find it a little strange that he continues to play but is apparently injured and has been in for months now.

Bloody hell! You’re on here enough, as much as most of us. It must have been said a million times he has a bloody cyst. It’s mentioned by both our manager and England manager.

This must be the worst football thread ever for going round and round! 🤣

...the hotel garage
Must have been touching close to 94
Oh, but I'm always crashing in the same car

[Steve kirk]

Quite. I’m sure Tuchel and Unai are fully on the same page in this conspiracy - problem for Smirker is he wants Ollie to struggle and be finished, so anything that suggests he might be hindered and get back to his best really grinds his gears.

I want Villa to win something. So I understand that with a non-scoring striker it becomes significantly more difficult.

Well said Smirker

[PaulWinch again]

Yep you’re right, throughout his tough run on form we’ve been doing terribly badly.

[Sexual Ealing]

Yep you’re right, throughout his tough run on form we’ve been doing terribly badly.

Wouldn't it be better if he was scoring? Like, it's not nothing, is it, this form?

[PaulWinch again]

Well of course, but I think where I differ is the narrative of some is “he’s not scoring, he does nothing, it is materially hindering us, sack him off”. However, my view is we’ve heard he’s managing an injury, which suggests it’s likely not just a permanent decline. He’s proven over a long period he’s a consistent goal scorer in the top flight, and assister. Therefore I’m willing to give him time to get back - and it’s not materially hindering us right now anyway.

[Ian.]

The thing is no matter what, 100% of Villa fans just want him to find his mojo, look sharp, and menacing and stick the ball in the back of the net.

This weekend would be a good time to start.

[Smirker]

Well of course, but I think where I differ is the narrative of some is “he’s not scoring, he does nothing, it is materially hindering us, sack him off”. However, my view is we’ve heard he’s managing an injury, which suggests it’s likely not just a permanent decline. He’s proven over a long period he’s a consistent goal scorer in the top flight, and assister. Therefore I’m willing to give him time to get back - and it’s not materially hindering us right now anyway.

For all you know, we could have got more than the piss poor return of 3 points from the first 15 had we had someone else playing up.

As I've said, we've got these brilliant results over the past 11 games in spite of his form not because of it. You can carry people for a little while but you cannot do it over a season. It's staggering how the Worshippers are pretending to not understand this.

You can drive a car on three wheels but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be better if you added the fourth. We are currently driving a car on three wheels trying to get to our destination. We're on course thankfully because the other parts have been flawless and we've managed to get a bit of luck, but if we don't get that fourth wheel before long then we are increasingly likely to fail.

[Smirker]

The thing is no matter what, 100% of Villa fans just want him to find his mojo, look sharp, and menacing and stick the ball in the back of the net.

This weekend would be a good time to start.

Yes.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Well of course, but I think where I differ is the narrative of some is “he’s not scoring, he does nothing, it is materially hindering us, sack him off”. However, my view is we’ve heard he’s managing an injury, which suggests it’s likely not just a permanent decline. He’s proven over a long period he’s a consistent goal scorer in the top flight, and assister. Therefore I’m willing to give him time to get back - and it’s not materially hindering us right now anyway.

Points wise it hasn't hindered us though it could be argued physically it may be hindering the squad as we seem incapable of finishing teams off with any comfort. So many games we've had to play to the final whistle to keep the 3 points, from the end of September (Fulham) where we won by more than one goal in the league, every win since with the exception of Bournemouth has been by a single goal.

There's a fine line between success and failure and Unai has managed the players' minutes extremely well. I'm not saying Watkins is solely responsible but his lack of goals and assists can't be brushed under the carpet. The keepers, defence, midfield also carry responsibility for letting them in during certain games. Then you have a change to our playing style, it's multi-dynamic how we attack teams now and is no longer balls coming in from the wings, we largely push through the middle which can lead to congestion in the final third where your technique and first touch are tested more.

Whether he's carrying a slight injury and/or low on confidence, history has demonstrated when he does start scoring he normally goes on a good run. Nothing would make me happier if he manages to go on one, starting Sunday and preferably winning by more than one goal. Despite our fantastic form, I don't believe we've hit the top gears yet, there's still more to come from this squad. Hopefully the best is yet to come.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

You can drive a car on three wheels but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be better if you added the fourth. We are currently driving a car on three wheels trying to get to our destination. We're on course thankfully because the other parts have been flawless and we've managed to get a bit of luck, but if we don't get that fourth wheel before long then we are increasingly likely to fail.

True but as I've tried to explain above, it's not just Watkins who has had us at times driving on three wheels. You only have to go back to West Ham to see how Konsa threw out the steering wheel before we'd even got the car in second gear.

[Smirker]

You can drive a car on three wheels but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be better if you added the fourth. We are currently driving a car on three wheels trying to get to our destination. We're on course thankfully because the other parts have been flawless and we've managed to get a bit of luck, but if we don't get that fourth wheel before long then we are increasingly likely to fail.

True but as I've tried to explain above, it's not just Watkins who has had us at times driving on three wheels. You only have to go back to West Ham to see how Konsa threw out the steering wheel before we'd even got the car in second gear.

Fair though Konsa isn't on a bad run of form going back months. It was one bad game where he made some horrendous errors but it isn't a regular thing. If it was then I'd be saying we need to replace him too.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

You can drive a car on three wheels but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be better if you added the fourth. We are currently driving a car on three wheels trying to get to our destination. We're on course thankfully because the other parts have been flawless and we've managed to get a bit of luck, but if we don't get that fourth wheel before long then we are increasingly likely to fail.

True but as I've tried to explain above, it's not just Watkins who has had us at times driving on three wheels. You only have to go back to West Ham to see how Konsa threw out the steering wheel before we'd even got the car in second gear.

Fair though Konsa isn't on a bad run of form going back months. It was one bad game where he made some horrendous errors but it isn't a regular thing. If it was then I'd be saying we need to replace him too.

Onana losing the ball to Rice against Arsenal cost us a goal. I could probably go through the whole defence and midfield of sloppy play that has cost us. If we were like the beginning of the season and not scoring, you'd have a point but not only are we scoring, more importantly we're winning. I think your case would hold water if we were drawing more games but we're not, we're winning them all. Football is still a collective game and everybody, yes even Watkins, has played their part. Enjoy it.