Opinion: Sabri Lamouchi getting the best out of Nottingham Forest midfielder
Soccer Football - Championship - Burton Albion vs Nottingham Forest - Pirelli Stadium, Burton-on-Trent, Britain - February 17, 2018 Nottingham Forest's Ben Watson in action with Burton's Hope Akpan Action Images/Alan Walter EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Ben Watson didn’t appear to have a future at Nottingham Forest before Sabri Lamouchi, but the 34-year-old has barely missed a minute of football in 2019/20. Watson made only 14 starts in the Championship last season, racking up 1202 minutes of playing time. The Englishman has already started 50% of his 2018/19 tally while amassing 49% of the minutes. It’s mid-September.
Fitness permitting, Watson could be a regular in midfield for the remainder of the season. He’s certainly earning his place on merit, keeping out the likes of John Bostock and Claudio Yacob. Adlene Guedioura, Panagiotis Tachtsidis and Liam Bridcutt were all moved on this summer too, but Watson has remained and is now undroppable.
As per WhoScored, in his seven league appearances, the 34-year-old has made one assist, won 40% of his aerial duels, created six chances, has a 50% dribble success ratio, averaged 40.1 passes-per-game with 81.5% accuracy, blocked 14 shots/crosses/passes, made nine clearances and averaged a tackle (17) or interception (9) every 23 minutes.
Forest are currently ninth in the Championship with 12 points from seven games, coming off the back of three wins and two draws from five. The Reds next face Barnsley on September 21.