Morgan Rogers - f**king off to Chelsea

[andyh]

I’m still staggered that he has chosen to go to Chelsea.
They must have been only club to come in for him ?

Maybe we didn’t want to wait for Arsenal to finish preparing their bid because we didn’t want to strengthen one of our rivals ?

[ChicagoLion]

I reckon with 6 months hard work you could turn Guessand into a very very decent Sunday league right back.

Ftfy

[PaulWinch again]

We're losing a player who Emery obviously likes very much and one that links well with Ollie. It's a ridiculous amount of money though. I presume we'll add our own sell on clause if he ever leaves there.

Maybe, but sales at that level don’t typically have sell on clauses.

[Chris_Jephcott]

So I’d like to offer a controversial opinion on this…

I’m not at all upset by this news. Morgan - when he was on fire - was exciting, scintillating and incredible for link up play particularly with Ollie. His runs were great, he could excite a crowd.

However… despite the red patches last season, quite often I thought he was frustrating. Or equally - frustrated. The ball control could be lacking, he could go missing, have quiet games. Let’s not forget how in the first few games of last season, he couldn’t put anything together. He struggled, he couldn’t make the ball stick. And his shooting - until Spurs away - was woeful. He had red patches last season, but there were quite a few games where he didn’t spark, and a few of us were frustrated by him.

Consistency is the key. And last season, I thought he lacked it. If he can pick this up, whilst under a new coaching regime whilst learning a new style of play… he’ll be worth that money. Maybe we were playing him slightly out of position?

In the meantime, it’s a bloody good deal for us and Emery will have someone equally exciting lined up.

I always got the feeling too he was a bit of a mercenary… just biding his time until he could go to “bigger things”

[PeterWithesShin]

I reckon he made it clear he really wanted to leave, so as soon as we got a stupid offer, and it is a stupid offer, we did the deal asap to focus on bringing in players that want to be here and are ambitious.

[Smithy]

Little bit surprised we did not see a bit jiggery pokery and a Chelsea player coming the other way and the total package being closer to the 140m we wanted

Firstly, Unai would have to want a Chelsea player (I can only think of Jackson that he's ever shown interest in, and that a loan before we brought Tammy back), and secondly, just about every Chelsea player is on a crazy long, expensive contract - which makes buying them extremely hard.

The only way it would have happened is if there is one of the younger, fringe players who hadn't broken through for them yet (like Maatsen),  but unless they were already on our radar, I don't think Unai is the sort to have his head turned at the last minute by the offer of someone he didn't already want.

[PaulWinch again]

Rogers was specifically deployed to create and carry the ball - Unai basically wanted him him to shoulder the burden of the risk in that respect. That’s why comparisons on “consistency” are difficult. It’s easy to be consistent if you’re doing the low risk stuff.

He’s a major talent and will be a huge loss. Hopefully Manzambi will be the business, but if he matches what Rogers has done he’ll have done superbly.

[andyh]

Nothing controversial about your comments Chris J.
It’s what many people think, and as I have said, that inconsistency has been mirrored across 2 seasons.
A poor start.
A purple patch for 2-3 months looking like a world beater
A incredibly poor period or 2-3 months looking like a pub player.

Let’s see how much love the Chelsea fans give him if he remains true to form.

[Clampy]

I dont agree with the mercenary thing at all. He was playing in the Championship a couple of seasons ago. He had no idea how his career would pan out, especially the way it has in such a short space of time. I doubt he thought we was a stepping stone when he moved.

[ASHTONVILLA]

I am not too worried about the sale of Rogers. I know he was an important part of the way we played, but I also think we would benefit from changing our style anyway, and we need more players to achieve that.

Emery only has us playing walking football to conserve energy in a small and aging squad. that means relying on moments of magic sometimes, and Rogers is unpredictable and can do that. However we now have a much younger and more energetic midfield, and money to burn getting a few more players in.

I am perplexed about him moving to Chelsea. A team that has no European football, and is under similar financial restrictions to Villa. I can see it being a move that doesn't end well for Rogers. I also would not be surprised to see a couple of Chelsea players end up moving the other way to make it work financially the other end. Although it is annoying to lose a good player to a team I think are worse than we are, it is better than seeing him flounce off to Arsenal.

Onwards and upwards.

[pauliewalnuts]

We have one of the oldest squads in the league. We have a lot of players who have been here a long time (in footballing terms).

This summer was always going to require a refresh and that was always going to have to involve selling players beyond just the old ones who need replacing.

I like Rogers and he’s not suddenly become shit but as others have pointed out, he’s incredibly inconsistent 

On top of squad refresh work, we have Onana out for the season. .

Manzambi and Gomes are the replacements for Rogers and Tielemans. Not direct replacements but in terms of headcount.

Estupinan is the Digne replacement.

I like Olabe’s work so far. We must have raised close to 200m with this so far this summer now. That’s proper money to do that rebuild.

I understand why people are worried - we’ve sold two high profile players in a week - but this was always happening, and it was always going to have to wait till after the World Cup so it is better that we get going asap.

[Tuscans]

We have one of the oldest squads in the league. We have a lot of players who have been here a long time (in footballing terms).

This summer was always going to require a refresh and that was always going to have to involve selling players beyond just the old ones who need replacing.

I like Rogers and he’s not suddenly become shit but as others have pointed out, he’s incredibly inconsistent 

On top of squad refresh work, we have Onana out for the season. .

Manzambi and Gomes are the replacements for Rogers and Tielemans. Not direct replacements but in terms of headcount.

Estupinan is the Digne replacement.

I like Olabe’s work so far. We must have raised close to 200m with this so far this summer now. That’s proper money to do that rebuild.

I understand why people are worried - we’ve sold two high profile players in a week - but this was always happening, and it was always going to have to wait till after the World Cup so it is better that we get going asap.

Agreed nuts.

[manic-road]

Happy it is pretty much a done deal already, Newcastle sold Isak at the end of the window last season and it didn't help getting players in at inflated prices.

Never thought that Rogers was likely to stay long, it's a good deal for both Villa and Rogers.

[Smithy]

It seems I'm the only one who thinks Alonso will do well there? His Leverkusen side was brilliant and coached fantastically well.  A genuine example of a title-winning team that was greater than the sum of its parts.  Now, his Madrid stint was bad, and I can only hope his trouble dealing with big egos is repeated at Chelsea, but given their failure to qualify for Europe, I'm fairly sure we'll see a Leverkusen-style resurgence from them this season (unfortunately).

As others have said, Morgan built up trust with our fan base.  We saw the improvement from his first six months, where looked a little lost at times, and how it took time for him to take on Unai's coaching and become the player he became in his second season with us.  He won't get that Chelsea - they'll expect their record signing to perform from the first minute to the last.  He strikes me as mentally strong, but I'd be amazed if he gets to Xmas and there aren't a few noises amongst the fans questioning why they spent the money they did on him.

He had freedom under Unai, to express himself, to take risks, which meant we forgave him when those things didn't come off, even if it left us feeling he'd had an off-day.  Again, I don't see that being the reaction from a fan base that has seen him arrive for a record fee.

I like the kid, and I hope his career goes well for him personally, but I also hope Chelsea remain the batshit club they've been for the last few years (though I do think, unfortunately, that Alonso was a brilliant appointment).

[Dante Lavelli]

Do you think the signings are Olabe’s work? They strike me as Emery selections so far.