479Villan Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 Just now, sheepyvillian said: You answered that doubt yourself. We won, so Unai isn't going to drop Ollie because he hasn't scored for the first 3 games of the season. And, I know the barren run continues on from the end of last season, but Unai isn't one for impulsive decisions. He will see that Ollie is getting chances and will determine that it will be sooner rather than later when he finds that all important goal. As good as Duran has been, it's a fact, that when he has started a game, it's been, for him, somewhat of an anti - climax. I don't know how we say "Ignore the first 3 games of this season" and at the same time "Put a lot of faith into the outcome of the Palace away game to end last year." These are good problems to have. And I'm glad Unai makes the decisions on them, and not me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 1 minute ago, 479Villan said: I don't know how we say "Ignore the first 3 games of this season" and at the same time "Put a lot of faith into the outcome of the Palace away game to end last year." These are good problems to have. And I'm glad Unai makes the decisions on them, and not me. What's there to "Ignore?" Ollie is our best striker by a country mile, hence, he will start against Everton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 (edited) I honestly can't think of a manager, worth his salt, who would drop Ollie. What kind of message would that send to him and from a psychological view, it would just exacerbate his current low self - confidence. The goal will come and when it does, all will be forgotten. Edited September 1 by sheepyvillian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
479Villan Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 7 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said: What's there to "Ignore?" We have two strikers, both of which are getting scoring opportunities. One striker is not scoring. The other one, is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juanpablosaliceband Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 3 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said: I honestly can't think of a manager, worth his salt, who would drop Ollie. What kind of message would that send to him and from a psychological view, it would exacerbate his already current low self - confidence. The goal will come and when it does, all will be forgotten. It’s not so much about dropping Ollie as it is rewarding Duran for consistently making an impact and scoring goals. And the message that sends around the rest of the squad. Ollie needs to be big enough to accept that if it does happen. We could have 60 odd games this season so we need to see Duran starting games at some point. Maybe that time should be now. Maybe not. I have no doubts that Watkins will come good but we are lucky to have them both. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 Just now, juanpablosaliceband said: It’s not so much about dropping Ollie as it is rewarding Duran for consistently making an impact and scoring goals. And the message that sends around the rest of the squad. Ollie needs to be big enough to accept that if it does happen. We could have 60 odd games this season so we need to see Duran starting games at some point. Maybe that time should be now. Maybe not. I have no doubts that Watkins will come good but we are lucky to have them both. Unai is not going to drop Ollie, he had 13 assists last season, that alone, is like an insurance policy. His all round game is unique and a vital cog to this team. Duran is, atm, an impact sub. I don't see that changing, barring injury to Ollie, anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 6 minutes ago, 479Villan said: We have two strikers, both of which are getting scoring opportunities. One striker is not scoring. The other one, is. It isn't happening. Unai trusts Ollie way more than he does Duran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juanpablosaliceband Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 2 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said: Unai is not going to drop Ollie, he had 13 assists last season, that alone, is like an insurance policy. His all round game is unique and a vital cog to this team. Duran is, atm, an impact sub. I don't see that changing, barring injury to Ollie, anytime soon. I tend to agree. I don’t see Emery leaving Ollie out. But I can understand the debate. Duran is still with us now and he’s performing so we need to give him enough game time to keep him happy and motivated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 5 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said: Unai is not going to drop Ollie, he had 13 assists last season, that alone, is like an insurance policy. His all round game is unique and a vital cog to this team. Duran is, atm, an impact sub. I don't see that changing, barring injury to Ollie, anytime soon. Yeah but...that isn't forever. If Ollie misses chances again against Everton and Wolves, he shouldn't start against Ipswich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holtend4life Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 Duran does some fantastic things off the ball when attacking, bends his runs really well and finds spaces in the box. He is also incredibly athletic. Out of possession defensively he is all over the place. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 10 minutes ago, Tomaszk said: Yeah but...that isn't forever. If Ollie misses chances again against Everton and Wolves, he shouldn't start against Ipswich. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. That's 180 minutes for Ollie to get back in the groove. I would put money on him doing that rather than him not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 16 minutes ago, juanpablosaliceband said: I tend to agree. I don’t see Emery leaving Ollie out. But I can understand the debate. Duran is still with us now and he’s performing so we need to give him enough game time to keep him happy and motivated. Which he is getting and it's proving productive. However, there's no guarantee that Duran would have the same impact if he started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAMAICAN-VILLAN Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 24 minutes ago, juanpablosaliceband said: It’s not so much about dropping Ollie as it is rewarding Duran for consistently making an impact and scoring goals. And the message that sends around the rest of the squad. Ollie needs to be big enough to accept that if it does happen. We could have 60 odd games this season so we need to see Duran starting games at some point. Maybe that time should be now. Maybe not. I have no doubts that Watkins will come good but we are lucky to have them both. He's already being rewarded with much longer cameos than previously, and he just may end up starting cup games Just dropping your talisman who was literally one of the best strikers in Europe last season, sent England into Euro finals, voted PFA player of the season, has been crucial to us getting to where we are and who you know is a confidence player so early in the season... Would be stupid from a plethora or angles. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 It's that old adage, if it isn't broke, don't fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 9 minutes ago, sheepyvillian said: Let's not get ahead of ourselves. That's 180 minutes for Ollie to get back in the groove. I would put money on him doing that rather than him not. I think he'll start against Everton and he'll score against Everton. Time to get going now though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentVillan Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 32 minutes ago, 479Villan said: We have two strikers, both of which are getting scoring opportunities. One striker is not scoring. The other one, is. In 3 games. You’re talking like this has been a problem for months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 Just now, Tomaszk said: I think he'll start against Everton and he'll score against Everton. Time to get going now though. So do I. You know how it is with strikers, it will probably be courtesy of a lucky deflection off McGinn"s Arris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshVilla Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 (edited) Ollie touched the ball like 13 times today in 60 odd minutes. Not good enough. He has a fight on his hands i hope he can cope with pressure of Jhon pushing him. Edited August 31 by AshVilla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 1 minute ago, AshVilla said: Ollie touched the ball like 13 times today in 60 odd minutes. Not good enough. You think he should be dropped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentVillan Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 22 minutes ago, holtend4life said: Duran does some fantastic things off the ball when attacking, bends his runs really well and finds spaces in the box. He is also incredibly athletic. Out of possession defensively he is all over the place. Correct, he looks completely lost defensively. And given what we know about how Unai prepares for games, that suggests he still isn’t paying attention. I’m pretty sure if he would sort that side of his game out, he would be seriously pushing for a start. But as it is, it still makes more sense to start games with a more disciplined striker and let the maverick do some damage off the bench. I do think at some point he’ll cotton on. He’s so close to being ready. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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