It was eight weeks ago when the young forward stood on the pitch at Sunderland, looking confused as the Villa manager scolded him for not reading a penetrating pass. At that point, as Villa endured a six-game winless run, doubts remained if his displays were a sign or a cause for Villa's more general malaise.
“Following Rogers' second strike… Emery discarded his jacket, extended his arms, and let out a triumphant roar.”
This weekend, though, the manager's outburst was far more favourable. After Rogers drilled in his brace-sealing goal to reclaim his side's advantage, the boss discarded his coat, opened his arms and bellowed. The team marched on to ten wins in a row , having failed to win their opening six matches, find themselves just three points adrift of the leaders Arsenal.
Is This Team Serious Title Contenders?
That’s an exceptionally difficult query to answer. Past precedent, a general sense of the club, suggests not. Moreover, their performances haven't been entirely convincing during this run, even as the positive results have stacked up.
Per Opta, twice all season has the team had an expected goals figure more than 0.5 greater than their opponents. For a club who have just won 10 in a row, Villa look weirdly vulnerable – yet at the moment the tight outcomes are going in their favour.
The Rogers Recipe
Their recent policy seems to be to exchange chances with rivals before hoping their talisman to rescue them with a couple of clinical strikes. This was the case away to Leeds, it happened at West Ham, and it happened versus the Red Devils.
His opener originated from an exquisite effort, bent right inside the post from the edge of the area. The follow-up goal proved to be a slight scruffier version of the opener capitalizing on a pass from Watkins.
“Rogers’ right foot is now akin to Robben’s legendary left: forewarned does not mean forearmed, and stopping him is another matter entirely.”
Can It Last?
Reason suggests otherwise. Against United, Manchester United registered more efforts and more direct attempts. They have secured their last eight victories by the narrowest of margins. They’ve conceded in all but one of those fixtures.
A reversion to average could be the most significant challenge Villa will encounter as the season progresses. Rogers, almost certainly, cannot maintain thrashing the football past despairing goalkeepers week in, week out.
A Case for Belief
Could it be an alternative path in which, rather than outcomes regressing to match displays, the team's displays improve to justify the wins. Key players could still find their top level.
- The main striker may begin to scoring again.
- The attacking talent may rediscover the force he showed in Germany.
- The injured centre-backs will eventually regain fitness, bolstering an occasionally vulnerable defence.
Perhaps there is in that the seeds of a genuine bid, yet it seems unlikely can continue to depend solely on one man.
Savoring the Moment
However, nobody expected this. Nobody thought Villa would occupy third at Christmas. And most definitely back in October, few could imagine Rogers as the year closed would be at the forefront of a championship pursuit and appearing as a crucial England player.
This remarkable period is to be savoured exactly since it feels so unlikely. As the match-winner faced the home supporters when the game ended conducting the cheers, he appeared to be relishing every moment. A feeling he has rightly earned. These runs of form are rare in football and must be appreciated.
