Ollie Watkins

[Duncan Shaw]

He just can't play with another striker, and when asked to, he seems to disappear up his own backside.

Right now he can't play up front by himself either. Not sure what is wrong with him, he still magically gets into the scoring positions but the ball is his enemy. Unai needs to decide to either stick or twist. Duran when he has played alone up front looks just as frustrated but I do fancy him more to finish the chance.

There's a lot of pressure on him with nothing much happening from anyone else either of late.

I'm sure he'll be fine and settle into a rhythm again soon. Preferably starting with a hat trick on Saturday.

I said on here back in October I was beginning to worry about his form due to the new "competition" from JD

I have a niggly worry that we are seeing a not so confident Ollie creeping back.  He made of lot of being the main (only) man once we had got rid of Ings and Unai coached and trusted him.  I wonder if the emergence of big Jhon as a threat is causing a return to that (as well as Solanke being lauded in the press for England now he suddenly turned up at Spurs)

I maybe reading far too much into it and am hopefully wrong, but he doesn't quite seem himself.

I really do think it is a thing - he was really poor last night, his confidence seems shot.  He couldn't hold the defender off when running at them like we have become accustomed to see - apart from the snapshot that went just wide he really did nothing of note, and seemed to shrink further once Duran came on.  Unai has a real problem here and not sure he knows how to fix it.

I might be being overly down on him given how superbly he has led the line for us over the last 18 months, but these are the standards they have all set for themselves, and now seem to be failing once we have hit the heights.  I'm just so disappointed as I expected us to win last night and that would justify the shit week leading up to it!

[Stinkin_Thinkin]

Watkins knows he's only getting 60mins and its impacted him. His touch, shooting all out of calibration...ego must have taken a battering too. hero of the euros hooked every game on the hour, i would be very pissed if it was me.

[Risso]

Watkins knows he's only getting 60mins and its impacted him. His touch, shooting all out of calibration...ego must have taken a battering too. hero of the euros hooked every game on the hour, i would be very pissed if it was me.

I couldn't give a stuff what he did in the Euros, and pretty certain that Emery will care even less. He's not playing very well, so if he's pissed off about being subbed, he needs to play a lot better.

[Sexual Ealing]

If we'd sold him for PSR in the summer we'd have got way more than he's worth. Not so much now.

[AlexAlexCropley]

I can't think of another player that gets worse with healthy competition breathing down his neck.He hasn't been right since the Euros. And Konsa to some degree has become a bit laissez-faire . It's gone to their heads.

[German James]

Watkins knows he's only getting 60mins and its impacted him. His touch, shooting all out of calibration...ego must have taken a battering too. hero of the euros hooked every game on the hour, i would be very pissed if it was me.

I couldn't give a stuff what he did in the Euros, and pretty certain that Emery will care even less. He's not playing very well, so if he's pissed off about being subbed, he needs to play a lot better.

This. His reaction to competition (if that's what his current form is down to) is disgraceful.

[Demitri_C]

I can't think of another player that gets worse with healthy competition breathing down his neck.He hasn't been right since the Euros. And Konsa to some degree has become a bit laissez-faire . It's gone to their heads.

100% but more ollie than konsa. Half the time ollie looks like he can't be asked.  He has cost us so many points already with some of his misses this season.

[eye digress]

Harsh. He doesn’t look like he’s not trying to me, just not playing that well and missing chances.

You could put the former down in part to our lack of penetration on the flanks. But he owns the missed chances.

Think he will come good again though, he’s always scored in fits and spurts.

[Sexual Ealing]

It doesn't matter whether he's trying or not. In fact, it's worse if he is trying because he's producing nothing.

[Ads]

It would help if Bailey actually crossed the ball to him once in a while. Or anybody.

[Risso]

It would help if Bailey actually crossed the ball to him once in a while. Or anybody.

Yeah, Leon's not even trying to shoot or cross very much at the moment. Needs a spell out of the team, urgently, or at least to try to get his shit together as a late sub.

[Tuscans]

Stop thinking you can dribble past someone because close control or a trick up you're sleeve you don't have. Receive, lay it off and run in behind....that's what Ollie is about.

[eye digress]

It doesn't matter whether he's trying or not. In fact, it's worse if he is trying because he's producing nothing.

You make no distinction between a player out of form and a player not trying?

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Stop thinking you can dribble past someone because close control or a trick up you're sleeve you don't have. Receive, lay it off and run in behind....that's what Ollie is about.

Though we know he can do it I think the fewer touches and less he has to think about the better. As others have mentioned today and something that has been annoying me this season, we are shit scared of crossing the ball especially down the right.

[eye digress]

When we did have opportunities to cross last night, we failed spectacularly to get any elevation - or else we lifted it out of the ground. At one point, I was convinced we were being made to play with a comedy ball - an impression that was accentuated by the over-amplified thud of the ball on the TV coverage.