Marley Watkins to Aberdeen

[Mr Hankey]

Remember when he broke Kalas’s jaw after running full pelt in to him like a brainless goon having only been subbed on like a minute before, SPL probs his level, score about 5 or 6 before January and hopefully lead to a permanent departure.

[Davefevs]

28 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

Bottom line is injuries haven't helped bit but, whilst I think some people are a bit harsh on of a player that's never had that much of a run in the side, he's not at the level we need if we want to push on.

At the same time, I think there were times last season we benefited in having him up-front as a direct aggressive player who antagonised defenders and drew fouls. I also think he's a bit unlucky in that he started once on the right of a front three, played well (albeit against a weak Luton side) and never got picked in that position again. 

I've said this elsewhere but we struggled a bit to breakdown defensive teams last season and I do think a player like him can help in those kinds of games. I'd not be upset if we tried to bring in someone with similar attributes but who was more at the kind of level we need to strengthen the side. 

That was so typical of the LJ reign.

[bcfcredandwhite]

I thought he was rather good really - not brilliant, but better than some of the critics and piss-takers make out on here and some of the other forums. 
My only criticism of him - and it’s not really his fault - is he was injured rather a lot. 
Always gave his all and a dignified professional. Good luck to him. 

[havanatopia]

Sporting a rather fetching number 50 on his back Watkins starts for Aberdeen.

[Port Said Red]

8 minutes ago, havanatopia said:

Sporting a rather fetching number 50 on his back Watkins starts for Aberdeen.

Good news "Marley Watkins looks lively, he's keeping the ball moving well. So far, he looks like he could be a good acquisition for Aberdeen" 

Bad news, that's a quote from Richard Foster! 

[havanatopia]

10 minutes ago, Port Said Red said:

Good news "Marley Watkins looks lively, he's keeping the ball moving well. So far, he looks like he could be a good acquisition for Aberdeen" 

Bad news, that's a quote from Richard Foster! 

He's in the commentary box these days? jajajaaa. 

[havanatopia]

Sharp start from the Dons'

Aberdeen 0-0 Livingston

Tyrone Smith

BBC Scotland at Pittodrie

Aberdeen are looking pretty sharp so far, with some nice crisp passing and good movement up top from Marley Watkins.

[havanatopia]

Sharp start from the Dons'

Aberdeen 0-0 Livingston

Tyrone Smith

BBC Scotland at Pittodrie

Whoops, just as I say that Marley Watkins trips over himself and falls flat on his nose just as he is through on goal. I can see why Bristol City let him go out on loan. 

[Unan]

 

[Port Said Red]

16:26

GREAT SAVE!

Aberdeen 2-0 Livingston

How on earth has Marley Watkins not opened his Aberdeen account?

The big striker races clear from the right but his low shot is kept out by the outstretched leg of Robby McCrorie.

Moments later, Jonny Hayes floats in a great cross from the left and Watkins heads it down from five yards. It looks a certain goal but McCrorie somehow bats it away.

[Mr Popodopolous]

4 hours ago, Nibor said:

I said shite control, you're talking about passes completed? 

And I'm uninterested in what he did for Barnsley anyway, for us he was crap.

Of course I have.  Have you ever made a sensible post?

Key passes are an increasingly important modern metric. 1.4 per game is generally deemed decent. Or reasonable.

You're right, for us he was not all that.

[Nibor]

10 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Key passes are an increasingly important modern metric. 1.4 per game is generally deemed decent. Or reasonable.

You're right, for us he was not all that.

"Metrics" are just information, they have to be used carefully - never as a target, mostly they're useful for noticing changes in them.  You can only get a real impression from watching players play carefully.

Key passes are interesting but have little to do with control which is more about receiving the ball and retaining it.  Watkins falls over a lot and loses possession because he wants several touches and shows too much to defenders.  He is often in the wrong place which is IMO linked, he doesn't want the ball because he knows he will be under pressure.

For a 7 figure signing who's earned around £10k a week since he's been here the value offered was nothing short of appalling.

[Mr Popodopolous]

10 minutes ago, Nibor said:

"Metrics" are just information, they have to be used carefully - never as a target, mostly they're useful for noticing changes in them.  You can only get a real impression from watching players play carefully.

Key passes are interesting but have little to do with control which is more about receiving the ball and retaining it.  Watkins falls over a lot and loses possession because he wants several touches and shows too much to defenders.  He is often in the wrong place which is IMO linked, he doesn't want the ball because he knows he will be under pressure.

For a 7 figure signing who's earned around £10k a week since he's been here the value offered was nothing short of appalling.

Like I say, 10 goals 7 assists in 2016/17 Barnsley- excellent even if his control wouldn't have been the best. He's never come close of course since then here or at Norwich-  but there is a reason he attracted Norwich in the first place.

Key Pass definiton:

Quote

Opta defines a key pass as “the final pass or pass-cum-shot leading to the recipient of the ball having an attempt at goal without scoring.” ... As such, any club or media outlet with access to Opta's data can easily learn which players create the most appetizing and dangerous of chances.

 

He's not come remotely close to Barnsley 2016/17 form since that's for sure. More importantly he hasn't delivered for us like he did in 2016/17, nothing like.

[CliftonCliff]

16 minutes ago, Nibor said:

"Metrics" are just information, they have to be used carefully - never as a target, mostly they're useful for noticing changes in them.  You can only get a real impression from watching players play carefully.

Key passes are interesting but have little to do with control which is more about receiving the ball and retaining it.  Watkins falls over a lot and loses possession because he wants several touches and shows too much to defenders.  He is often in the wrong place which is IMO linked, he doesn't want the ball because he knows he will be under pressure.

For a 7 figure signing who's earned around £10k a week since he's been here the value offered was nothing short of appalling.

As will be apparent from my previous posts on the subject, I would have to disagree with you about Watkins as a player, not because I rate him particularly highly, but because as usual on OTIB, criticism of the player is excessive and disproportionate. But the real failure here is not that of the player himself, but of the people who decided to sign him and those responsible for choosing whether or not to make use of whatever he had to offer. I would repeat what I said earlier: his time here reflects more badly on the club than it does on Watkins himself. He is not as poor as is being claimed and is in fact a better player than he's been given credit for. I'm glad he's gone, not because he's no good, but because he might get treated a bit better by his new club and a manager who presumably sees something in him.  You are right about lousy value for money, though - but whose fault is that, would be my question?

[Mr Popodopolous]

Anyway watching a few of his Barnsley goals now- not the full picture I'll grant you- and his movement/control looks reasonable enough.

[Davefevs]

11 minutes ago, CliftonCliff said:

As will be apparent from my previous posts on the subject, I would have to disagree with you about Watkins as a player, not because I rate him particularly highly, but because as usual on OTIB, criticism of the player is excessive and disproportionate. But the real failure here is not that of the player himself, but of the people who decided to sign him and those responsible for choosing whether or not to make use of whatever he had to offer. I would repeat what I said earlier: his time here reflects more badly on the club than it does on Watkins himself. He is not as poor as is being claimed and is in fact a better player than he's been given credit for. I'm glad he's gone, not because he's no good, but because he might get treated a bit better by his new club and a manager who presumably sees something in him.  You are right about lousy value for money, though - but whose fault is that, would be my question?

We paid £1m in summer 2018.  We tried to buy him in the January 2018 window for almost £3m I’m led to believe!  He hadn’t settled in Norwich, and LJ wanted to sign him again.  So £1m was getting off lightly.

[Nibor]

23 minutes ago, CliftonCliff said:

As will be apparent from my previous posts on the subject, I would have to disagree with you about Watkins as a player, not because I rate him particularly highly, but because as usual on OTIB, criticism of the player is excessive and disproportionate. But the real failure here is not that of the player himself, but of the people who decided to sign him and those responsible for choosing whether or not to make use of whatever he had to offer. I would repeat what I said earlier: his time here reflects more badly on the club than it does on Watkins himself. He is not as poor as is being claimed and is in fact a better player than he's been given credit for. I'm glad he's gone, not because he's no good, but because he might get treated a bit better by his new club and a manager who presumably sees something in him.  You are right about lousy value for money, though - but whose fault is that, would be my question?

I think the club were wrong to sign him and I think he did himself few favours.  This isn't an either/or.

We signed him because LJ wanted him based on his time at Barnsley.  How does a player go from being that highly regarded to not even making the bench?  I think it's unlikely that blame falls mostly on the club.

[Nibor]

29 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Like I say, 10 goals 7 assists in 2016/17 Barnsley- excellent even if his control wouldn't have been the best. He's never come close of course since then here or at Norwich-  but there is a reason he attracted Norwich in the first place.

I think he probably has his one wonder season that year, but perhaps smashing in dozens of goals against pub sides north of the border will rehabilitate his confidence.

[CliftonCliff]

1 minute ago, Nibor said:

I think the club were wrong to sign him and I think he did himself few favours.  This isn't an either/or.

We signed him because LJ wanted him based on his time at Barnsley.  How does a player go from being that highly regarded to not even making the bench?  I think it's unlikely that blame falls mostly on the club.

Fair enough. I have found in the past that I often tend to agree with a lot of what you write, and ordinarily I'd probably agree with this, too, except for the fact that MW isn't an isolated case. He's far from being the only one to have been signed and under-used over the last few seasons. What's happened with him here is the result of a systemic failure that has to do with wider problems in recruitment and dysfunctional elements at a higher level within the club, in my view.

[Nibor]

23 minutes ago, CliftonCliff said:

Fair enough. I have found in the past that I often tend to agree with a lot of what you write, and ordinarily I'd probably agree with this, too, except for the fact that MW isn't an isolated case. He's far from being the only one to have been signed and under-used over the last few seasons. What's happened with him here is the result of a systemic failure that has to do with wider problems in recruitment and dysfunctional elements at a higher level within the club, in my view.

I think that was happening too, we have players coming in for big money that LJ wasn't prepared to use (e.g. Palmer, Szmodics, Walsh, Engvall, Eisa... there are probably more).  I just don't think Watkins was one.

[Lanterne Rouge]

It sounds as if he had a pretty good debut today. Dons fans on their forum are generally saying he played well and it seems he played as a lone striker.

[Robin Wood]

1 hour ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

It sounds as if he had a pretty good debut today. Dons fans on their forum are generally saying he played well and it seems he played as a lone striker.

Can't wait till January when we have him back we could have a real talent

[The Journalist]

2 hours ago, Nibor said:

I think the club were wrong to sign him and I think he did himself few favours.  This isn't an either/or.

We signed him because LJ wanted him based on his time at Barnsley.  How does a player go from being that highly regarded to not even making the bench?  I think it's unlikely that blame falls mostly on the club.

I just don't think he's good enough, to be honest. I don't think that's on Marley - he's a 100%er and a terrific athlete, but nobody is telling me he's a natural footballer.

I wish him well but I'm glad he's gone. We need to get out of this mindset of stockpiling 30 players because 10 of them are "a useful option" for a handful of games a season. It's complete nonsense at Championship level.

Yes, it's important to be able to adapt your game when you come up against different sides, but by and large you pick a style and a method and stick to it. Work at it and make it work.

Apart from a six-month golden spell when Famara Diedhiou was unavailable and he was forced to put Jamie Paterson in behind Bobby Reid, we never had that under Lee. I never saw an "identity", no matter how often we harped on about it. Signing players like Marley, who, I repeat, isn't good enough, was part of that problem.

(Sorry, turned into a bit of a rant, and not necessarily at you!)

[Davefevs]

59 minutes ago, The Journalist said:

I just don't think he's good enough, to be honest. I don't think that's on Marley - he's a 100%er and a terrific athlete, but nobody is telling me he's a natural footballer.

I wish him well but I'm glad he's gone. We need to get out of this mindset of stockpiling 30 players because 10 of them are "a useful option" for a handful of games a season. It's complete nonsense at Championship level.

Yes, it's important to be able to adapt your game when you come up against different sides, but by and large you pick a style and a method and stick to it. Work at it and make it work.

Apart from a six-month golden spell when Famara Diedhiou was unavailable and he was forced to put Jamie Paterson in behind Bobby Reid, we never had that under Lee. I never saw an "identity", no matter how often we harped on about it. Signing players like Marley, who, I repeat, isn't good enough, was part of that problem.

(Sorry, turned into a bit of a rant, and not necessarily at you!)

I don’t think any of us are questioning his place in our squad or not....we are saying that he’s nowhere near as bad as some make out.  To label him a “competition winner” is massively unfair, and incorrect.

I’m sure most of us think his future lies elsewhere, but it doesn’t make him a bad player either, just not as good as the ones we want to keep!

 

[The Journalist]

3 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I don’t think any of us are questioning his place in our squad or not....we are saying that he’s nowhere near as bad as some make out.  To label him a “competition winner” is massively unfair, and incorrect.

I’m sure most of us think his future lies elsewhere, but it doesn’t make him a bad player either, just not as good as the ones we want to keep!

 

I think he’s a bad player, to be fair.

[Nogbad the Bad]

Not sure he's made enough of an impression to warrant such intense discussion.

He may be a brawny athletic trier who always did his limited best, but he didn't feature much because there were so many superior footballers ahead of him in the squad.

Plus injuries of course, but more than once when he was injured the club weren't moved to announce it for weeks afterwards, and the fact his absence from the squad was barely questioned says it all.

Good that he's moving on - he was a poor signing and we won't notice his absence at all.

[Dr Balls]

Up in Scotland on holiday and just seen Watkins‘ debut on Sportscene. Did ok as a hold-up lone striker, and once the other players around him got closer, Aberdeen looked better. He was denied a debut goal by a couple of good saves. I reckon he will do ok up here, played in that role.

A few other old City players knocking around up here. Elliot Parish (remember him?) is at St Johnstone, plus Tavernier and Kent are at Rangers. Also can’t believe that Rangers have bought Kemar Roofe from Anderlecht. Surely some club in England would have come in for him...

[Robin-hugh-blind]

Why not sell him. Clearly not happening for him here. £1.5m fee seems fair. 

[Davefevs]

10 hours ago, Robin-hugh-blind said:

Why not sell him. Clearly not happening for him here. £1.5m fee seems fair. 

Your forum name is very applicable here.

[havanatopia]

20 hours ago, Dr Balls said:

Up in Scotland on holiday and just seen Watkins‘ debut on Sportscene. Did ok as a hold-up lone striker, and once the other players around him got closer, Aberdeen looked better. He was denied a debut goal by a couple of good saves. I reckon he will do ok up here, played in that role.

A few other old City players knocking around up here. Elliot Parish (remember him?) is at St Johnstone, plus Tavernier and Kent are at Rangers. Also can’t believe that Rangers have bought Kemar Roofe from Anderlecht. Surely some club in England would have come in for him...

Lets not forget our Liam at Ross.