Aston Villa Unai Emery Morgan Rogers
(Credit: Imago)
Max Wilkins
Sun 17 August 2025 11:44, UK
Unai Emery could cost Aston Villa dearly if he continues his preferential treatment of Morgan Rogers.
There is no getting away from the fact that the Spaniard has his favourites and that was on show as Aston Villa drew 0-0 with Newcastle United on Saturday (16 August).
Even with Ezri Konsa’s red card on 66 minutes, the Villans managed to see the game out until the full-time whistle to earn a hard-fought point.
This wasn’t made any easier by a lack of changes by Unai Emery, making only one substitution despite the clear need for fresh legs as the second half went on.
The accusation of tiredness can be levelled at Morgan Rogers more than most, but he remained on the pitch, a previous trend that can’t afford to continue further into the new season.
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers looking pensive
Morgan Rogers started for Aston Villa against Newcastle United (Credit: Imago)
Rogers favouritism will cost Aston Villa
There is no getting away from the level that the 23-year-old has hit ever since his surprise move to Villa Park from Middlesbrough in January 2024.
This has culminated in Rogers shining as an England international, contributing to 27 goals in his first full season wearing claret and blue.
Rogers racked up 15 goal involvements at Middlesbrough before moving to B6
In 16 appearances in his first half-season, he contributed to four goals
The Englishman exploded in 2024/25 to score 14 and assist 13 in all competitions
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With that being said, there was a general air of frustration around the attacking midfielder at times last campaign as Emery generally refused to substitute him regardless of his performance.
This saw the Englishman rack up 3,131 Premier League minutes last time around across 37 appearances, averaging out at 85 minutes per game.
Frustratingly, this trend was on show once again against Newcastle as Rogers remained on the field for the entire 90 minutes despite a general lack of impact and a prior injury against Roma.
This saw the attacker complete just 50 per cent of his attempted passes and 29 per cent of long balls, with just two of his 33 touches coming inside the Magpies’ box.
Having also lost out on seven duels, there is little reason as to why he deserved to stay on the pitch, especially with Emi Buendia on the bench after a superb pre-season with Villa.
Moving deeper into the Premier League campaign, the preferential treatment from Emery will ultimately have a damaging effect on his side’s chances.
Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers
Morgan Rogers somehow remained on the pitch for 90 minutes against Newcastle (Credit: Imago)
Emery has to utilise substitutes more regularly
It was always going to be tough for Villa to get anything against Newcastle after Konsa’s red card, but there were chances to be had.
The only substitute on the day was Donyell Malen, and he got a shot off to test Nick Pope within just two minutes of coming on in B6.
Stat Donyell Malen vs Newcastle
Minutes played 7
Shots on target 1
Shot accuracy (%) 100
Top speed (km/h) 30.3
This just goes to show what sort of impact the likes of Buendia, Evann Guessand and Co. could have made if they were given the chance from the bench.
Instead, persevering with Rogers proved to be detrimental, especially on the counter, as it was clear that the Englishman’s legs were feeling heavy after covering 11km on the day.
There is a sizable squad with plenty of quality there for Emery to use, he doesn’t have to drive these familiar faces into the ground every week.
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