Jas10 Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 Should Watkins continue as our main CF or a new signing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post nick76 Posted June 10, 2023 Popular Post Share Posted June 10, 2023 Hard to answer because it would depend who it was, who’d come and how much it would cost. If it was Haaland, everybody would say new striker. If it was Chris Wood, I’m assuming everybody would say keep Ollie. My answer would be if better then Yes new striker, if not then No. My stock answer is ‘whatever Emery wants to do is fine by me’. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpTheVilla26 Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 Ollie has been superb for us and has got better since Emery came in. He should be going into his 'peak' years now. I don't see where we get another player that does the work he does. How he presses the defence of opposition teams, allows us to play that higher line. I'd say we need a back-up who will reach 8-10 goals coming off the bench or playing Cup games. Ollie can easily bag 15+ next season. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlobalVillan Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 (edited) Ollie is a good player for a a club outside the top 6. Had a purple patch which helped us get into Europe and finish with a respectable 15 goals. To get into the top 6 and stay there however, we need a more clinical striker. He only scored more than 1 goal in a game once last season for example. We also need a squad so I wouldn't be selling him for the kind of money we would be offered. Edited June 10, 2023 by GlobalVillan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted June 10, 2023 Author Share Posted June 10, 2023 1 minute ago, nick76 said: Hard to answer because it would depend who it was, who’d come and how much it would cost. If it was Haaland, everybody would say new striker. If it was Chris Wood, I’m assuming everybody would say keep Ollie. My answer would be if better then Yes new striker, if not then No. My stock answer is ‘whatever Emery wants to do is fine by me’. Sure, the “whatever Emery wants” line is always best/agreeable. Just interested to gauge opinion. I would assume a new CF would be a high profile or prolific goal scorer. We were linked to Vlahovic (unlikely)… maybe someone on a similar level but easier to attract. I could’ve phrased the question and poll better first time I’ve created one. Maybe it would be better to ask if we can actually sign a better striker and is there one we could sign that would be more suited to Unai’s style and system? Can we do better than Ollie? Already kind of relayed or debated my thoughts in the transfer window thread, very conflicted. I like Ollie a lot and wouldn’t want him to leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted June 10, 2023 Author Share Posted June 10, 2023 2 minutes ago, UpTheVilla26 said: Ollie has been superb for us and has got better since Emery came in. He should be going into his 'peak' years now. I don't see where we get another player that does the work he does. How he presses the defence of opposition teams, allows us to play that higher line. I'd say we need a back-up who will reach 8-10 goals coming off the bench or playing Cup games. Ollie can easily bag 15+ next season. Great points, hard to find another player (of at least the same level/quality) with his attitude and workrate… not mpossible though. There are technically superior players but they may lack some of his traits… An interesting debate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalfTimePost Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 Multiple Choice Question: Scenario A or Scenario B? Possible answers: Yes or No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted June 10, 2023 Author Share Posted June 10, 2023 3 minutes ago, GlobalVillan said: Ollie is a good player for a a club outside the top 6. Had a purple patch which helped us get into Europe and finish with a respectable 15 goals. To get into the top 6 and stay there however, we need a more clinical striker. He only scored more than 1 goal in a game once last season for example. We also need a squad so I wouldn't be selling him for the kind of money we would be offered. Another great point… is he and can he be clinical enough? Unai has improved him in a short space of time… how much more progress can be made in that sense? I only have questions, not really any answers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted June 10, 2023 Author Share Posted June 10, 2023 Just now, HalfTimePost said: Multiple Choice Question: Scenario A or Scenario B? Possible answers: Yes or No I know, I messed up Ollie or new signing? yes or no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 If we were offered a silly fee including a very generous England player tax it's something to think about. Needs to be £70m-£75m or above and I don't see that happening. If it did it needs to happen right at the start of the window or not at all. I rather we keep him and add an attacking partner along with a goal scoring midfielder/winger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Made In Aston Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 You have to assume that if the club beings in another striker then they will be better than any of our current players. For that reason I voted no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted June 10, 2023 Author Share Posted June 10, 2023 1 minute ago, sne said: If we were offered a silly fee including a very generous England player tax it's something to think about. Needs to be £70m-£75m or above and I don't see that happening. If it did it needs to happen right at the start of the window or not at all. I rather we keep him and add an attacking partner along with a goal scoring midfielder/winger. Yeah, pointless to sell unless it silly money and we have a potential upgrade lined up. 60m+? I’d like him to stay in either scenario but, having Ings around didn’t help him (other factors involved too) and I’m not sure he would accept a back up or even rotational role… I would expect Unai to manage any situation a lot better than previous managers though… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted June 10, 2023 Author Share Posted June 10, 2023 Just bringing my thoughts over from previous thread: I’m so conflicted on Ollie, whether he should be our main CF going forwards… I really like him, great personality and character on the pitch. Works so hard, so determined, has improved under Unai. But… he still lacks some attributes or that “reliability factor”… I don’t want him to leave but, going off past evidence, it seems like he won’t be happy and will become unsettled (and his game or progress will he disrupted) if he isn’t a starter… but what a great guy and player to have in the squad… he’s a rare breed in the sense that he works so hard and is relatively humble and willing to learn… but, can he become anything resembling an elite CF? Is it too unrealistic or ambitious to want or expect us to have that sort of player? I saw improvements in him under Unai including more of a “cool head” and greater variety of finishes in front of goal… But, I just think that it’s possible for us to have a more talented and clinical CF… It’s a tough one… for me anyway. I’ve always admired Ollie, he’s been great for us… but can we do better? I suppose there aren’t “that” many great strikers out there nowadays either, kind of rare and why we see so many teams spend massive amounts of money on (potential) goal scorers… I really don’t know… I don’t want him to go anywhere but I can’t deny that I’d like us to sign someone more potent and dangerous in attack… but the only position for Ollie in the team is CF imo, I don’t think he’s up to standard in any other position… I suppose similar arguments/debates could be had for several other of our players… the “can we do better” point… It’s a tough one, I’m glad that it’s Unai calling the shots rather than anyone else… he knows best… Is the best solution to supplement Ollie and surround him with more creativity and deadly finishing - spread goals around the team? Or to replace him with a higher quality CF while also adding better quality around that guy? It would be great to have Ollie and a top CF battling out for one spot but… we saw with Ings, that that kind of “experiment” didn’t work out at all (although there were other factors involved)… would it be different with Unai in charge? - Another fear, if we sold Ollie, is that he could thrive and be even better in a different team with a higher quality of player. Can we afford to lose him and strengthen another club? It’s also a bad idea to disrupt a team’s “mojo”… e.g. if it’s not broken don’t fix it… could risk disruption and unsettling other players. It’s just, that if there’s an opportunity to upgrade/enhance certain positions… we should really take it… big if though. I don’t think/believe he’s going to be sold anyway. It’s all hypothetical thinking and debate… I don’t feel like any of our players would want to leave atm, thriving and enjoying themselves under Unai’s management and the only way is up. Such exciting times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhan_Zhuang Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 I say No. I believe 15-16 goals is a decent return from Watkins, perhaps under Emery he can get a couple more. What we need is a couple of players also chipping in more, our other attackers. If we sign another forward player or two we need more of a goal return on them. The likes of Bailey, Traore, Buendia perhaps McGinn aren't scoring enough... This is the area we should try to improve on, Watkins is good for a top six team if he gets more support. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete101 Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 Watkins AND new CF 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNVillan Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 We need another option to complement Ollie. I certainly wouldn’t sell him, but a more clinical out-and-out striker would be hugely beneficial. A better version of what Ings was brought in to be. Ollie is great against teams who stretch the pitch, where he is given room to run in behind and press the defense. However, he struggles against sides that sit back and defend, which will become a more frequent strategy for opponents should we continue to get better. People mentioning here that he has confidence issues if not the main #1, which I agree he has in the past, but I trust Emery can sit him down and talk him through the situation without destroying his confidence. Especially if we’re playing 50+ matches per season, he can’t play them all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 We dont need to replace Watkins but we do need another striker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 I mean if we could sell him for big money and bring in Dusan Vlahovic for less than that would be really tempting. Can't see that happening thou. I'd be tempted to take a gamble on Rasmus Höjlund (going to Manure by the sound of it) for one of the attacker roles if we did sell. We still need to improve the supply line thou. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 The continuing trend on here of trying to sell Watkins at any opportunity is getting more disturbing 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jas10 Posted June 10, 2023 Author Share Posted June 10, 2023 6 minutes ago, Zhan_Zhuang said: I say No. I believe 15-16 goals is a decent return from Watkins, perhaps under Emery he can get a couple more. What we need is a couple of players also chipping in more, our other attackers. If we sign another forward player or two we need more of a goal return on them. The likes of Bailey, Traore, Buendia perhaps McGinn aren't scoring enough... This is the area we should try to improve on, Watkins is good for a top six team if he gets more support. I really messed up the original poll/question I’ve edited it since. So, would you like to see Ollie continue as main CF? In which case, your answer would be Yes. Sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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