Ollie Watkins

[sign of the chimes]

Southgate's interview on Sky was interesting. Asked about who did well he listed a series of others starting with Sterling and Grealish but not Ollie. Then when asked specifically about Ollie GS said 'he'll be pleased with the goal' and also praised his workrate. Southgate refused to join in the Sky pundit 'Ollie has done everything he can tonight'. Very much leaving his options open about who is in pole position as cover for Kane.

I didn't see the interview but those are intesting quotes given that GS is usually fairly measured.

I guess we don't know what role he was asked to perform; and, therefore, whether or not he did what he needed to. As a (relatively) neutral observer I thought Watkins did pretty well tonight but if the manager isn't expecting him to feature in the plans for the Finals then perhaps he's trying to dampen down expectations for the player, which would seem a fairly emotionally intelligent thing to do if that's the case.

 

[dontpassback]

we will just have to wait and see,I would like to see ollie in the World Cup squad,but I am not the england manager so I will leave it to him

 

[Sexton Blake]

we will just have to wait and see,I would like to see ollie in the World Cup squad,but I am not the england manager so I will leave it to him

Disappointed having not appeared to do anything wrong tonight that GS did not give Ollie more game time……have a sneaking feeling that was not particularly good news for him.

 

[Bridgy 81]

So that was Ollie’s first start and second goal in the 7 caps he has so far.
Looking at the FA’s website they have it as him playing a total of just 138 minutes in those appearances.
That’s 2 goals in a little over a match and a half of game time, as well as some nice runs and link up play.
Seems ok to me.
Plus, if you’re particularly interested in World Cups, at 26 he’s got at least this years and one more to aim at,
or the next 4-5 if he has Portugal’s Ronaldo and Pepe’s level of longevity.

 

[Rosencrantz]

1 in 3 for Chelsea.
1 in 2 for Roma.
Better than 1 in 2 for Villa in the Championship.

That's my point.

For a start 1 in 3 is not the sign of a struggling striker.

The other thing to take into account is 21 of those PL appearances were off the bench. His minutes to goals record in the PL is 1 goal every 158 minutes, actually better than his rate in Serie A at this season. That will be better than 1 goal every 2 full games. The difference is being first choice or not. At Roma he is the number one striker where at Chelsea there was competition.

Both Ollie and Tammy are different kinds of strikers. Tammy is an out and out striker and goalscorer, not so good outside the box. Ollie works the channels more and scores a fair amount. With Kane as undisputed number one striker and hardly missing a minute in competitive games, generally if a second striker comes on in a competitive game, it is probably because we need a goal. You look at all the candidates subjectively and Tammy stands out as a goalscorer. If he continues his goalscoring form into next season and is fit, he will be selected.

That's not to say Ollie cannot make the squad, but he will probably be fighting Rashford and Calvert-Lewin who right now need to find fitness and form again if they are to be selected but also offer something different as strikers. For Ollie to be in that fight is a fantastic thing and it would be great to see him make it to the World Cup.

 

[antman]

Calvert-Lewin was also ahead of Watkins until his injuries. It does seem Southgate looks at club form and there are few real internationals before November, so there's still time for Ollie to make it as a squad member. I'd be worried about Kane not being fit if I was Southgate, and he might even end up playing a false nine while accommodating Mount, Sterling, Grealish, Foden/Saka in his forward line and not play any out and out striker in the event of Kane not being available. We know he will use a Rice/Phillips (or other) double pivot so there's only room for three of those names in the starting line-up with Kane up top, two centre backs and wing backs. Honestly, apart from the wing backs, I think he's already made up his mind on his player choice for every position and the front four will be Mount, Foden, Saka and Kane with Grealish as the first impact sub.

 

[denzel]

Disappointed having not appeared to do anything wrong tonight that GS did not give Ollie more game time……have a sneaking feeling that was not particularly good news for him.

No, he wanted to give Kane his 50th goal. Unfortunately he didn't get a sniff when he came on

 

[tonykellowfan]

I can't believe people are knocking Tammy Abrahams, he is a quality player and his goal record is much better than Watkins.

 

[Super Ronnie Jepson]

Ollie scored Villa's first today in their 2-0 win against Norwich, who are managed by Dean Smith (who of course signed Ollie for Brentford and Villa) to relegate them.

That's gotta sting.

 

[older-codger]

In this week's Premier team of the week