Matt Maher: What has happened to Morgan Rogers? It's really no mystery
What has happened to Villa?
In Premier League press rooms over recent weeks it has been the kind of a question you wish you’d had a pound for every time it has been asked over the past few weeks.
Now, following hot on its heels, is another: What has happened to Morgan Rogers?
Barely five weeks after becoming just the fifth Villa player to ever be crowned PFA young player of the year, the Halesowen-born star’s struggles in the current season hit a new low in Thursday’s Europa League win over Bologna.
Admittedly, the ironic cheers which greeted his successful completion of a pass in the 89th minute were hardly universal. Even in a crowd of 35,000, it doesn’t take many to make a noise. In this case, we are talking of probably just a few hundred fans.
They were audible enough, however, as were the cheers which greeted Rogers’ 81st minute substitution at Sunderland just a few days previously.
For the England international it will have been as painful to hear as much of his performance was to watch.
Rogers completed just 10 out of 24 passes and won only four of 12 duels. Overriding the numbers, meanwhile, was the complete lack of verve and conviction.
