𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A difficult evening for Morgan Rogers was becoming torrid.

Dissatisfaction inside Villa Park grew. Rogers was stuttering on the ball, inhibited and seemingly struggling to complete a pass in the second half.

So when he did in the 89th minute, sections of home supporters cheered ironically.

It was the same mocking noise which came at Sunderland five days earlier, when Villa’s away end cheered after Rogers was substituted.

Here, Rogers stayed on, with Unai Emery persistent in not taking him out of the firing line while new signing Harvey Elliott watched from the sidelines.

Every passing minute felt more arduous. Rogers was straining, far removed from the flowing soloist dribbler that had captivated Villa Park and led to him being named The Athletic’s young player of the season as well as the Premier League’s.

His second-half performance was the equivalent of footballing yips. The lack of confidence and indecision was patent in possession and, in the immediate aftermath, in his body language.

At full-time, and despite Villa beating Bologna 1-0, Rogers lowered, hunched over and with his hands on his knees. He stared at the floor before despondently trudging off. He had completed 10 out of 24 passes, with the final one, perhaps frustratingly, his best, dinking a perfectly weighted through ball into Ollie Watkins’ path.

It was Watkins’ second big chance of the night, having had a penalty saved earlier in the half. His strike, straight down the middle and saved by the legs of Lukasz Skorupski, was indicative of a forward who merely wanted to ensure he hit the target.

Watkins, too, is suffering from a loss of confidence, even if The Holte End tried to rally his spirits by singing his name before and after the penalty miss. His barren run has stretched to nine successive games — his longest without a goal since October 2022 and on the eve of Emery taking charge.

As for Rogers, he looked every fibre of a player low on confidence.

Before the season began, sources close to the first team, speaking on the condition of anonymity, acknowledged Watkins and Rogers would have to share a large amount of the attacking burden, owing to an imbalanced squad that had attacking recruits arriving late in the window.

Villa being without a traditional right winger is a case in point. Lately, Rogers’ best performance has come in an England shirt, delivering an assist in the 5-0 victory against Serbia. His pass found the run of right winger Noni Madueke, who offered a directness and incision in behind. Villa are currently lacking those traits.

“I kept him on the field because I wanted his reaction, how he was accepting everything and he did it,” Emery asserted afterwards. “He didn’t play well and wasn’t clinical in the attacking third to do the last assist, but I wanted to keep him on because, firstly, he’s always doing his task.”

In mitigation, Rogers played a role in the only goal of the contest. He helped win the corner in the first place, before, inadvertently, enabling the ball fall to John McGinn on the edge of the box.

Morgan Rogers endured another hugely frustrating evening against Bologna (Nick Potts/Getty Images)

A clever corner routine was worked for Rogers’ run inside the box, stealing a yard on his marker. The 23-year-old miskicked a first-time effort, with Bologna’s half clearance falling to McGinn.

Rogers failed to complete a dribble and, as an indication of how shackled he continues to be, only attempted two in the game’s entirety.

The first, though, was telling. It came prior to the first half break and one of the few opportunities Rogers has had this season to drive at an opponent’s backline — a scenario that tends to engender his best attributes.

But he was wasteful, unable to disguise a pass to his left and was duly intercepted on the edge of the box. Groans became audible which, frankly, proved just the start.

Increasingly, supporters voiced their annoyance as Rogers either under-hit passes, had the ball stolen (he was dispossessed six times in total), or hesitated when a quick decision was required.

“The crowd can be tricky here,” Ezri Konsa told TNT Sports after. “When things aren’t going well, it is important the fans stay with us. You can see at times they got a bit frustrated, especially with some of our players but we have to be able to deal with that.”

Unmistakably, Rogers is a formidable talent who is enduring a rough patch. Villa’s first win of the campaign should spark positivity, intending to create some form of momentum.

If viewed through such a prism, Villa are unbeaten in their previous four matches in normal time (losing to Brentford on penalties, notwithstanding) and have conceded just two goals. But the inverse sentiment would point to the second half against Bologna, which reaffirmed alarming trends.

Rogers is integral to Villa. It is why his nosedive in form is felt harshly. As The Athletic reported over the summer, Villa intend to negotiate a contract extension to reflect his status as a key player. This is a consequence of an improved salary falling in line with market expectations, having been the subject of interest from several of the Premier League’s biggest clubs.

The attacking midfielder has spoken openly of no longer feeling an unknown quantity in the Premier League. Opponents are making more concerted efforts to stifle him. This has been noticeable this season, with central defenders — James Tarkowski away at Everton and here, with Bologna’s Jhon Lucumiu — applying aggressive pressure in not allowing him to receive the ball on the half turn.

No Premier League team attacks through central areas more than Villa, so a heavy emphasis is on Rogers, as the team’s No 10, to be the chief creative source and ball-carrying vehicle. 

“(He was) working for the team, but today he was not being clinical offensively,” Emery added. “He needs to take experiences today, not playing very well, the crowd not being happy with him and him getting his experiences and growing up through it.”

Inevitably, Rogers’ sharp ascent was always going to tail off at some stage and face some degree of adversity.

Within 18 months, Rogers transformed from a solid, if understated, Championship player to becoming the Premier League’s best young talent. He should become a better player for these toils, as Emery reiterated after, even if it may not feel that way right now.

(Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)