Ollie Watkins of Aston Villa was selected by Garth Crooks for his Team of the Week following Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The 28-year-old helped Unai Emery’s team get back into fourth position by scoring a brace and punishing a careless Fulham defending.
The club suffered a great deal from the loss to Manchester United last week because everything was going wrong at the wrong time.
However, you need your best players to stand up in these situations, and Ollie Watkins did exactly that for Aston Villa.
He told BBC Sport that this is the reason he was deservedly selected for the Garth Crooks Team of the Week, emphasising the England star’s finishing for both goals.
Ollie Watkins scored the first goal by skillfully swivelling onto his right foot instead of his left, as the Fulham defenders had assumed he would do.
Then, for his second, he really did Issa Diop since he pretended to be late and departed.
Ollie Watkins’ brace against Fulham
“What in the world was thinking Antonee Robinson? When in doubt, toss the ball away from your own goal and down the line. Schoolboy level instruction is given on that, according to Crooks.
“One terrible aspect of modern games is the obsession with placing the ball in dangerous regions and then abandoning your teammate to handle the situation.
“Well, Ollie Watkins made them pay for their foolishness and didn’t stop there when he fully exploited Robinson’s mistake in judgement. Villa won 2-1 thanks to the striker’s even stronger finish in the second half.
When they watch the ball return to the opposition’s goal and have the opportunity to steal it, players like Watkins should be licking their lips. That lovely old proverb, “Don’t put the ball at risk,” is no longer applicable.
Ollie Watkins crucial in Aston Villa’s Champions League hopes
The club is suffering from a depletion of defenders left, right, and centre, which is hurting their chances of finishing fourth or qualifying for Europe next month.
Watkins is still a quality player, though, and strikers are ultimately what win games. If you can keep him healthy and injury-free, those lofty goals may just be achieved.
Every Villa supporter’s greatest hope is to win the Europa Conference League and, to cap it all off, get into the Champions League.
It’s time for these players to leave their mark in the club’s annals of history because if that occurs, it will be one of the best seasons the team has had in decades.
Fans of Aston Villa are all too aware that this is not the first time it has occurred. The same misfortune dogged the team when Dean Smith took over.
