F**king hell, what a load of s**t! This article is talking about Ollie Watkins and his goalless start to the season for Aston Villa. They reckon it's all down to some bollocks decision made by that mug Unai Emery last season.
Tony Cascarino chats s**t
That bellend Tony Cascarino thinks Watkins is frustrated because of the way Emery treated him last season. He signed for Villa in 2020 for £28million and scored a hat-trick against Liverpool. Since then, he's bagged 87 goals in 227 games for the Villans.
Watkins benched for Champions League
But last season, Watkins found himself on the bench for their biggest game against PSG in the Champions League quarter-finals. He played just 11 minutes in the first leg and 14 in the second. Villa lost 5-4 on aggregate.
For the rest of the season, he started most games but only managed two goals. And Cascarino reckons this is the reason why.
He said: "When Ollie Watkins got dropped against PSG twice and they'd lost the first game in Paris and then the second game, everybody, and me included, thought Ollie Watkins would come back into the side and start again.
"I think, if I remember right, I think he had like 15, 17 minutes in the performance at home at Villa Park because Villa played well that night. But Ollie had got dropped and left out.
"Now what he achieved at Villa in the time before this issue came about was extraordinary. One of the main reasons they got to the Champions League was his goal scoring.
"Look, his head got turned. okay, there was interest from Arsenal [in January], but he also didn't get the loyalty from his club, from his manager.
"Ollie probably felt, I'm not really wanted or I'm not as necessary as I once was.
"Some people will say just get on with it, it hasn't worked out, you haven't had your move, just get on with it now, show us what you can do. But now, Bailey's left the football club, there are not the same weapons for Ollie to get goals on a regular basis."
Emery's a muppet
Emery said at the time: "He showed us he was feeling fantastic in Southampton and scoring a goal and he played 30 minutes early, performing very well.
"This is the attitude we have with the players. Try to be focused 100 per cent and try to be using their skills and qualities, helping the team. 90 minutes, 60 minutes, 45 minutes, 30 minutes or even five minutes.
"This is the mentality we will need tomorrow to play the match. Everybody ready and everybody trying to get the best."
Watkins is fucking fuming
Watkins, meanwhile, admitted he was fucking fuming at being benched. He said: "I played 20 minutes against PSG in both games, so I'm not going to lie – I was fuming I wasn't playing. I let him (Emery) know that. He's the manager at the end of the day. I respect his decision. But I'm not one of the players happy to sit on the bench.
"It's something I haven't experienced before, missing out on the biggest stage. You always want to play, especially in the Champions League. Me and a few others are disappointed we didn't start the game, but like I said, it's the manager's decision… Rather than let it hinder you, you have to use that anger as motivation."
Villa have had a s**t start to the season, with two draws and two losses. Emery has brought in Evann Guessand, Marco Bizot and Victor Lindelof, as well as Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho. But they sold Jacob Ramsey, Leander Dendoncker and Alex Moreno. And Leon Bailey went to Roma on loan.
