Ollie Watkins

[nick76]

3 hours ago, lexicon said:

I wonder if the people who seemingly wanted 22 players of equal quality at the side are getting the message now? 

Yes, don’t listen to BS social media rumours that are mostly made up.

[tom_avfc]

1 hour ago, nick76 said:

Yes, don’t listen to BS social media rumours that are mostly made up.

Feels like there’s a rumour on every thread since Friday night. Weirdly there’s then half a dozen people ready to believe anything they read also.

[nick76]

13 minutes ago, tom_avfc said:

Feels like there’s a rumour on every thread since Friday night. Weirdly there’s then half a dozen people ready to believe anything they read also.

Yep, agree

[foreveryoung]

6 hours ago, Mister_a said:

Has he passed the ball to Ings yet this season?

As he passed to anyone.  I've seen him pass to the opposition if that counts.

Needs a rest on the bench, Rodgers got it right, rested Maddison, came back today with confidence and scored the winner

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

Looked much better second half, and out wide.

If we must play Ollie and Ings together, i'd rather it be similar to 2nd half fashion. (Wide forward )

Ings is too good of  finisher to have out there, and Ollie is too hard a worker and nuisance to drop altogether probably.

OR 4 - 4 - 1 - 1 with Ings and Ollie ahead or behind each other.

Some people have intimated he might be upset being played as a wide forward, but I see him as the type who will be happy so long as he is on the pitch.

[MrBlack]

14 hours ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Looked much better second half, and out wide.

If we must play Ollie and Ings together, i'd rather it be similar to 2nd half fashion. (Wide forward )

Ings is too good of  finisher to have out there, and Ollie is too hard a worker and nuisance to drop altogether probably.

OR 4 - 4 - 1 - 1 with Ings and Ollie ahead or behind each other.

Some people have intimated he might be upset being played as a wide forward, but I see him as the type who will be happy so long as he is on the pitch.

I think his form so far should mean he is happy to be on the pitch. Not entirely his fault, so he may still feel aggrieved at being pushed wide, but it's either that or the bench for me. Continuing as we are isnt an option,  and i don't think a 4411 would work either.

[VillaChris]

On 24/10/2021 at 12:56, lexicon said:

I wonder if the people who seemingly wanted 22 players of equal quality at the side are getting the message now? 

Not sure what this post means. 

Any team serious about moving up the league needs better quality to rotate. I mean so far this season Davis has hardly even made the bench due to injury and Wesley isn't deem good enough to make bench in Belgian league so we'd have been totally done if we hadn't got Ings for start of the season with Ollie missing first two, probably wouldn't have beaten Newcastle.

Loads of other clubs make it work....Rodgers seems to be doing o.k with Vardy, Patson Daka and Iheanacho plus all their attacking midfielders. I know they're in europe but he's still rotating them all no problem.

Just don't get the feeling DS knows what to do with them all. We have to go 4-3-3 v West Ham so interested who starts on the left, think El Ghazi will return.

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

50 minutes ago, VillaChris said:

Not sure what this post means. 

Any team serious about moving up the league needs better quality to rotate. I mean so far this season Davis has hardly even made the bench due to injury and Wesley isn't deem good enough to make bench in Belgian league so we'd have been totally done if we hadn't got Ings for start of the season with Ollie missing first two, probably wouldn't have beaten Newcastle.

Loads of other clubs make it work....Rodgers seems to be doing o.k with Vardy, Patson Daka and Iheanacho plus all their attacking midfielders. I know they're in europe but he's still rotating them all no problem.

Just don't get the feeling DS knows what to do with them all. We have to go 4-3-3 v West Ham so interested who starts on the left, think El Ghazi will return.

Guess we need to sign shitter players to keep the better ones happy. Lol

[The Fun Factory]

20 hours ago, tom_avfc said:

Feels like there’s a rumour on every thread since Friday night. Weirdly there’s then half a dozen people ready to believe anything they read also.

I want to believe

[lexicon]

1 minute ago, VillaChris said:

Not sure what this post means. 

Any team serious about moving up the league needs better quality to rotate. I mean so far this season Davis has hardly even made the bench due to injury and Wesley isn't deem good enough to make bench in Belgian league so we'd have been totally done if we hadn't got Ings for start of the season with Ollie missing first two, probably wouldn't have beaten Newcastle.

Loads of other clubs make it work....Rodgers seems to be doing o.k with Vardy, Patson Daka and Iheanacho plus all their attacking midfielders. I know they're in europe but he's still rotating them all no problem.

Just don't get the feeling DS knows what to do with them all. We have to go 4-3-3 v West Ham so interested who starts on the left, think El Ghazi will return.

Leicester are at a higher level than us with more games, so it's a lot easier to attract players and rotate them - that's a very big point. 

The issue we have is that managing a squad isn't easy and the better the players we have are, the more they're going to want to play and will be disgruntled if they're not. Ings is a very good player but the signing has left us with 2 strikers who should be first choice, neither would be happy to sit on the bench, and quite clearly 2 up front doesn't work so well for us. 

The point I was making is that you can't have a squad full of quality players that are all of equal talent because you can't keep them happy. 

[foreveryoung]

2 hours ago, lexicon said:

Leicester are at a higher level than us with more games, so it's a lot easier to attract players and rotate them - that's a very big point. 

The issue we have is that managing a squad isn't easy and the better the players we have are, the more they're going to want to play and will be disgruntled if they're not. Ings is a very good player but the signing has left us with 2 strikers who should be first choice, neither would be happy to sit on the bench, and quite clearly 2 up front doesn't work so well for us. 

The point I was making is that you can't have a squad full of quality players that are all of equal talent because you can't keep them happy. 

Then you don't keep them happy. You need a manager with authority to make them understand what he is benching them for. Rodger's wasn't scared to bench Maddison for a few games neither was Tucal with Mount. Shockingly they have both come back scoring and looking like they have a reinstalled confidence. Smith should try it!

[lexicon]

1 hour ago, foreveryoung said:

Then you don't keep them happy. You need a manager with authority to make them understand what he is benching them for. Rodger's wasn't scared to bench Maddison for a few games neither was Tucal with Mount. Shockingly they have both come back scoring and looking like they have a reinstalled confidence. Smith should try it!

Both teams at a higher level than us. Watkins has given it his all since he came here and doesn't deserve to be benched, while Ings has also put in a lot of work. The problem was buying Ings in the first place as it's created this mess. 

[WallisFrizz]

13 minutes ago, lexicon said:

Both teams at a higher level than us. Watkins has given it his all since he came here and doesn't deserve to be benched, while Ings has also put in a lot of work. The problem was buying Ings in the first place as it's created this mess. 

I do get this but I very much doubt Watkins came to Villa thinking it would be the pinnacle of his career. I imagine we were viewed as a stepping stone or a platform for him to showcase himself to better teams (bit like Bailey tbh). And if he wants to play at a higher level with us or anyone else he needs to get that he will need to earn his spot, fight for his place and be played out of position from time to time.

Time to put his big boy pants on, improve his attitude/demeanour, suck it up, play better and score some goals.

 

[nick76]

24 minutes ago, lexicon said:

Both teams at a higher level than us. Watkins has given it his all since he came here and doesn't deserve to be benched, while Ings has also put in a lot of work. The problem was buying Ings in the first place as it's created this mess. 

Ollie deserves to be benched because he’s out of form.  Could the system be partly to blame? Maybe, but you can’t blame his poor form just on that.  It’s nothing to worry about, he’s just having a bad spell.  If you reverse it, it maybe his poor form the reason the partnership isn’t working.  I doubt it because there are other problems with the formation but the guy is out of form at the moment and now we have two quality strikers, we now have options.

[foreveryoung]

33 minutes ago, lexicon said:

Both teams at a higher level than us. Watkins has given it his all since he came here and doesn't deserve to be benched, while Ings has also put in a lot of work. The problem was buying Ings in the first place as it's created this mess. 

He needs to prove himself, fight for his place like everyone else should, or else he will start believing he can put in half arsed performances, like Ming's and McGinn, an continue to play every game. 

This may be a big part of the problem. Few on here are waxing lyrical about our youth, nows time to give them a chance, Archer, Bidance, lets drop a few if they don't perform and see these guys.

[El Zen]

On 23/10/2021 at 20:21, foreveryoung said:

On the grape vine, he's looking for a move to Tottenham. Not happy they brought Ing's in.

Childhood Gunners fan, actively looking to force a move to Harry Kane’s Spurs, because he’s worried about not being the main man at Villa? 

[foreveryoung]

6 minutes ago, El Zen said:

Childhood Gunners fan, actively looking to force a move to Harry Kane’s Spurs, because he’s worried about not being the main man at Villa? 

Personally think there could have been something in this. With Ing's coming in, his agent could have started sniffing round Spurs, knowing Kane was on the way.

It's not a twitter rumour, come from a good source within the youth.

[TRO]

9 hours ago, lexicon said:

Leicester are at a higher level than us with more games, so it's a lot easier to attract players and rotate them - that's a very big point. 

The issue we have is that managing a squad isn't easy and the better the players we have are, the more they're going to want to play and will be disgruntled if they're not. Ings is a very good player but the signing has left us with 2 strikers who should be first choice, neither would be happy to sit on the bench, and quite clearly 2 up front doesn't work so well for us. 

The point I was making is that you can't have a squad full of quality players that are all of equal talent because you can't keep them happy. 

you can't if you are losing....they will want to know why they are not given a chance and it would be a fair point.

[IrishVilla10]

Personally I feel bad for Ollie, came in last year and had a brilliant season up top. We signed  Ings and now he’s been forced to play in a different system which hasn’t helped him at all. I would bench Ings first if we’re going to play 3 up top, we know how good Ollie is in the role and I think he deserves the chance. If we learn be is playing badly due to poor form then Ings gets the spot 

[QldVilla]

For me its horses for courses. Ollie is probably one of, if not the best pressing CF in the PL, he plays for the team and is not selfish. He is however still way short of being an elite PL standard striker and needs to improve his all round game and conversion rate. Ings on the other hand is an elite striker, great finisher and is a good pressing forward.

I don't see how Smith play's both, even if they played 4231 and played Ings in the middle of the three, your sacrificing a playmaker/box to box player. Select the best player to suit the opposition, against teams where we need a strong press play Ollie, against teams were we can't press and may have only a couple of chances a match, play Ings who is an elite finisher and will take those chances, there's other scenarios, but you get the idea. I don't see how either player isn't happy, unless promises have been made?