It was a nervous start against Fulham at the weekend but things worked out in the end and it was great to see Watkins and Buendia make such an impact. I shouldn't forget McGinn also, that's two in eight this season and don't hate me for this, that's an acceptable return.
By that, I mean it would be create to see one in three as opposed to one in four. And he can rectify that tonight. But let me rewind before getting in to that. The goal from Watkins was a proper goal and I hope it's the start of many. But it's a team game and it's because the team looks like it's starting to function that it happened.
It's not all about him. It's not about confidence, it's about opportunities created and opportunities come from the team. Hopefully, it's now going to start to fall in to place. And by confidence, what I mean is I'm not questioning his, he's a machine and if the team is working for him, he'll score the goals.
A quick note on Buendia and that's what you want to see from a player playing that role. I think a little unfair to put Elliott there from the start as it's not where he plays, but the manager has a plan and I suspect it's about him playing left, right and centre. It will take time, but if we're going to start with Elliott and Rogers, I'd have thought putting Rogers in the middle and Elliott on the right would be a more sensible approach. But again, the manager knows best.
Back to McGinn and his role, more than anything. He's our captain and arguably a leader on the pitch. And leader is the important word here. If he scores tonight, that will be three in nine and if he can get a goal every third game, it's going to be huge for us this season. It's not Frank the Bank level, but it's close. And he's at his peak now and I suspect this could be his biggest season for us.
And tonight in Rotterdam, he can demonstrate that once again. And I wrote this about Jack many many times, but if the team can create the opportunities for him to shoot a little more and McGinn himself puts himself in those positions, he'll score more. He's got a wicker left foot and if he does, he could be the difference this season.
And not just for the goals that will give us, but there are other things that happen and more opportunities created with him doing this. And it starts again tonight. And this is going to be a tough tournament when we will need him to be at his best.
There are 36 teams, 14 of which one their first game. Of the opening matches there were only four draws. We need three points tonight and a leaders performance. I'll be back later. It's going to be a good day.
Match facts from the BBC
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This will be Feyenoord’s first European meeting with Aston Villa, with the Dutch side winning just eight of their 28 European matches against English opponents (D6 L14), though six of those victories have come on home soil.
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Aston Villa are unbeaten across their five major European games against sides from the Netherlands (W4 D1), their most matches against sides from any country without suffering defeat.
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Feyenoord are unbeaten across their last six home UEFA Europa League games (W4 D2), scoring three goals on average per match during that time.
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This will be Aston Villa’s first away game in the UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup since a 2-0 defeat to CSKA Moscow in February 2009. In European football overall, they’ve alternated between winning and losing their last seven away matches, losing their last vs PSG in April earlier this year.
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John McGinn and Ollie Watkins have both made 23 appearances in major UEFA competition for Aston Villa, with only Gordon Cowans (28) and Dennis Mortimer (27) making more. Indeed, McGinn has seven goals and Watkins six in those games – with only Peter Withe (9) and Gary Shaw (8) netting more for the Villans in major European competitions.