Morgan Rogers exclusive: Attacking star explains why there are 'no excuses' for Aston Villa's inconsistent Premier League form

Ninth-placed Villa v fifth-placed Chelsea is undoubtedly the pick of the day’s fixtures in the top half of the Premier League.

“Cole is one of my closest friends, not just in football but in life,” Rogers tells the Express & Star. “To see him doing so well makes me happy and puts a smile on my face. 

“But of course, when we play him I don’t want to see him do well, it is one of those things.

“On Saturday night, he is just another player. Before and after he is my friend but when we are playing, everyone is the same.”

Perhaps somewhere in a parallel universe Palmer and Halesowen-born Rogers, who first met while playing England youth internationals and then became team-mates at Manchester City’s academy, are both preparing to play for Pep Guardiola’s side against Liverpool on Sunday.

But fate dictated their futures lay away from the Etihad, Palmer’s at Chelsea, for whom he has scored 39 goals in 73 appearances since moving for £40million in the summer of 2023 and Rogers at Villa, where in the space of a year since arriving from Middlesbrough he has joined Emi Martinez, Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans as the most important members of Unai Emery’s squad.

Tielemans is the only player to have played more minutes than Rogers across all competitions this season, due in part to the latter having been suspended for last month’s 2-1 win over Leicester, the only Premier League match he has not started.

It is not only on the pitch the 22-year-old has become a key figure. Rogers has also impressed with his off-field maturity and it comes as no shock to hear a player who less than 12 months ago had not started a top-flight match speak with blunt honesty when addressing reasons for Villa’s slightly underwhelming league campaign so far.

Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool might have been entertaining but it left Emery’s men five league games without a win and four points behind Chelsea, having played a match more. If Saturday is not completely in must-win territory, then it certainly can be categorised as must-not-lose from Villa’s perspective.

“I can start talking about schedules and playing every three days and stuff but that would just be making excuses and it is the same for everyone,” says Rogers. “I just think the truth is we probably haven’t been good enough, consistently.   

“We have not been how we want every week and in every game in the Premier League. 

“That is the disappointing aspect. We know we can play to that level and we probably just haven’t done it enough. 

“Yeah of course the schedule and the Champions League and everything which comes with that is a factor but it is the same for everyone else. 

“We think we are at the level of the other top teams in being able to cope with it. It just comes down to the fact we haven’t been good enough, often enough.”

Rogers prefers to spin Villa’s Premier League inconsistency as a positive, suggesting it also demonstrates Emery’s team have “more to give”. He admits the January additions of Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen has given the squad a lift but points out it is ultimately down to each player to focus on their own contribution.

“It is about performing. We are ready,” he says. “It is about being more consistent and taking what is coming. It is exciting in terms of where we can get to as a team and it is about taking our opportunities.”

Chelsea are also a team in inconsistent form and Palmer himself is having something of a dry patch, having failed to score in five matches.  

Enzo Maresca’s men arrive at Villa Park having won just three of their last 11 in all competitions, a run which has put paid to any hopes of a title challenge. Prior to that they had won eight straight, including a comfortable 3-0 win in December’s reverse fixture. Rogers is confident Villa will put up a far better showing this time around.

“That moment when we played them they were firing on all cylinders and we were struggling,” he says. 

“Now they have gone through some results which have not gone their way. That is how the Premier League goes. It is why we are in a similar situation. 

“We fancy our chances against them, as we do every other team. We know how good they are, we got reminded about that when we played them away. We know their quality. 

“We also know better than anyone a bad run does not define you because we have been on one ourselves.

“We are probably not entirely where we want to be and where we should be. But at the same time that is a good thing in a way, because it means we have more to give. 

“We are still in touching distance of where we want to be. We are not a million miles out of it by any stretch, so we definitely know we have more to give and places to climb. For how disappointed we have been, in terms of our consistency, we still have a great opportunity to get what we want.”

It is when they were teenagers at City that Palmer first began imitating Rogers’ “rubbing shoulders” celebration which has become popularly known as the Cold Palmer.

But it is the Villa man who hopes to be the only one using it on Saturday night.

“I have one goal, which to try and win and to try and score to help the team,” says Rogers. 

“I know for a fact he will be the same, maybe a bit extra because we are playing each other but it is no different in terms of we are trying to win and we will do what we can.”