Morgan Rogers

[brontebilly]

Agreed with paulie too on the "moments". John Giles back in the day, might have been under Capello, called the England approach then "a wing and a prayer" and that's what I see with Tuchel. Boxed himself into it a bit with a frankly idiotic squad selection. If set pieces are the primary attacking plan then he should have picked Maguire too. TAA and Wharton would already be starting.

The sycophantic England media, including Neville, eulogising Bellingham. Would it have been a surprise if he was hooked at half time? Not all his fault obviously but anonymous. With two subs ready to come on he swung a leg at a corner and it went in. Surge of confidence then for sure and great play to gift wrap that one for Kane. But that's just a moment, there's no coherent play. Anderson getting criticised, prime Roy Keane would have struggled to do all the midfield running for four players. Crazy stuff. Our two lads struggled too and will do well to hold their spots but with and without the ball it's a Gerrard esque mess.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Rashford was so selfish.

I thought Saka was worse with his pathetic greed, Madueke and Eze when they came on weren't much better. If that's what awaits Morgan at Arsenal I'd stay well away.

[LeeB]

Rashford was so selfish.

I thought Saka was worse with his pathetic greed, Madueke and Eze when they came on weren't much better. If that's what awaits Morgan at Arsenal I'd stay well away.

Yeah, late second half we had the ball wide and Rogers had found space inside, in the 'Buendia' pocket, and Saka just hoofed it straight over him into the mixer.

I'd would think all of our players over there will be thinking how much more fun in it is playing for Unai .

[Ian.]

For me Rogers tried to play for the team, he made runs to create space, he moved the ball quickly, he didn't run into trouble. He didn't play well by his standards but he was doing the right things and ended up a little anonymous because no one else did the same back.

Saka in particular took 2-3 touches more than he should and was crowded out all the time, Rashford was a little better but still ran into trouble time and again. Bellingham was doing it in the first half but at half time something must've been said because he was much more willing to move the ball on in the 2nd half. For me this is why the Bruce/Gerrard/etc "moments of magic" idea of how to win games is so poor, it creates players who won't see the bigger picture.

For me it was no shock that the most fluid we looked all game was when Eze, Rogers and Watkins were on and all 3 were playing as a unit rather than as individuals, Rashford and Madueke started to buy into it as well but given the game was over it'll be ignored and we'll go again with 3-4 players all trying to be superstars and win it on their own because that's the squad we've created.

Exactly as I saw it Paul.

Me too, very good summary Paul.

[Hillbilly]

Agree with Paul. You can see the Villa players are coached by an elite coach in their day job. Most of the players around them either rely on talent (Bellingham) or pure physicality (Anderson). Watkins, Rogers and Konsa do things with a purpose.

[dave shelley]

The pundits on Irish TV thought Bellingham was MOTM and that Rogers didn't take his chance to make an impression. I thought he was trying to make stuff happen in the first half, but was very quiet in the second.

That giant twat that is Kevin Doyle gave us this insight into his footballing knowledge: "I thought Rogers was poor, I didn't see him and never heard his name mentioned".  Rogers wasn't great but he was a long way off being poor.

[Mister E]

Rashford was so selfish.

I thought Saka was worse with his pathetic greed, Madueke and Eze when they came on weren't much better. If that's what awaits Morgan at Arsenal I'd stay well away.

I thought Eze was put; in fact he rarely delivers consistently.

[Mister E]

The dickhead that is Lee Dixon kept taking the piss out of Watkins and 'will he' / 'won't he' come on and whether he'll get 5 or 6 minutes in the pitch.
He is an arch knob and simply fails to see the full picture: eulogising about Sakashite gives him away.

[ChicagoLion]

For me Rogers tried to play for the team, he made runs to create space, he moved the ball quickly, he didn't run into trouble. He didn't play well by his standards but he was doing the right things and ended up a little anonymous because no one else did the same back.

Saka in particular took 2-3 touches more than he should and was crowded out all the time, Rashford was a little better but still ran into trouble time and again. Bellingham was doing it in the first half but at half time something must've been said because he was much more willing to move the ball on in the 2nd half. For me this is why the Bruce/Gerrard/etc "moments of magic" idea of how to win games is so poor, it creates players who won't see the bigger picture.

For me it was no shock that the most fluid we looked all game was when Eze, Rogers and Watkins were on and all 3 were playing as a unit rather than as individuals, Rashford and Madueke started to buy into it as well but given the game was over it'll be ignored and we'll go again with 3-4 players all trying to be superstars and win it on their own because that's the squad we've created.

Exactly as I saw it Paul.

Me too, very good summary Paul.

Spot on, he showed some excellent touches and movement and I don’t remember him ever getting the ball back after a neat touch or pass.

[exigo]

Agreed with paulie too on the "moments". John Giles back in the day, might have been under Capello, called the England approach then "a wing and a prayer" and that's what I see with Tuchel. Boxed himself into it a bit with a frankly idiotic squad selection. If set pieces are the primary attacking plan then he should have picked Maguire too. TAA and Wharton would already be starting.

The sycophantic England media, including Neville, eulogising Bellingham. Would it have been a surprise if he was hooked at half time? Not all his fault obviously but anonymous. With two subs ready to come on he swung a leg at a corner and it went in. Surge of confidence then for sure and great play to gift wrap that one for Kane. But that's just a moment, there's no coherent play. Anderson getting criticised, prime Roy Keane would have struggled to do all the midfield running for four players. Crazy stuff. Our two lads struggled too and will do well to hold their spots but with and without the ball it's a Gerrard esque mess.

Bellingham lost possession eight times last night. And not even by trying to do the spectacular.
He was lucky to still be on the pitch when he stuck a leg out. But he somehow comes away with the man of the match trophy, and all the headlines.

Rogers on the other hand built his way into the game. He was anonymous for a good chunk of it, but then grew into it. He played smart balls through the lines largely for Saka. The only problem with that is Saka has flattered to deceive for most of this season, and did so again against the might Panamanians.

[Percy McCarthy]

Oh well, if the money men of other clubs listen to dire reporting of football by a star-struck media rather than people who actually know the game, Morgz will be in less demand, and hopefully stay a part of one of the best midfields in the world at Villa.

[eye digress]

Exactly as I saw it Paul.

Agreed, a very good summary.

Yes, very noticeable that we played better as a team when Bellingham went off.

Equally, you could argue that Bellingham won England the game.

Therein lies the paradox, I guess.

[LeeB]

Oh well, if the money men of other clubs listen to dire reporting of football by a star-struck media rather than people who actually know the game, Morgz will be in less demand, and hopefully stay a part of one of the best midfields in the world at Villa.

I don't want to come off as some sniffly, holier than thou type but I cannot get on with how about 99% of people see football after watching Emery's masterclass for the last few years, and it's really these England games where it's crystallised.

The media and the general public are a bunch of simpering buffoons, and can all fuck off.

[eye digress]

Bellingham lost possession eight times last night. And not even by trying to do the spectacular.
He was lucky to still be on the pitch when he stuck a leg out. But he somehow comes away with the man of the match trophy, and all the headlines.

You're right. But I don't think that's lost on Tuchel. You sense that the cohesion shown in the last 10 minutes is how he wants to play, rather than the grandstanding that preceded it.

[Flamingo Lane]

The dickhead that is Lee Dixon kept taking the piss out of Watkins and 'will he' / 'won't he' come on and whether he'll get 5 or 6 minutes in the pitch.
He is an arch knob and simply fails to see the full picture: eulogising about Sakashite gives him away.

Yep, Dixon is a complete pratt. I mean, if you're going to take the piss out of Watkins, at least give some context (eg that Watkins isn't going to get minutes on the pitch whilst Kane still has eyes on the golden boot).