A mere eight weeks ago that the young forward was standing on the Sunderland turf, appearing bewildered as the Villa manager scolded him for not reading a penetrating pass. During that period, as Villa went six without a win, the question was if Rogers' form were a symptom or a cause of the team's wider issues.
“When Rogers netted his second… Emery tore off his coat, threw his arms wide, and bellowed in delight.”
This weekend, though, the sideline response proved to be decidedly more positive. After Rogers swept in his second to restore the lead for Villa, the Spanish tactician tore off his coat, opened his arms and bellowed. The team were on their way to a tenth straight victory , having failed to win their initial half-dozen games, find themselves a mere three points adrift of table-toppers Arsenal.
Is This Team Serious Hopefuls?
This is an exceptionally difficult question to answer. Past precedent, a general sense of the club, argues against it. Moreover, they have not been entirely convincing during this run, while the positive results have accumulated.
As per Opta, in only two games has the side had an xG more than 0.5 greater than their opponents. For a team who have strung together ten consecutive victories, they seem curiously susceptible – but at the moment the tight outcomes are going in their favour.
The Winning Formula
The prevailing tactic seems to be to engage in a shootout with an opponent and then rely on their star man to rescue them with a couple of clinical strikes. It happened at Leeds, it transpired in London, and once more when facing the Red Devils.
The initial strike came from a superb shot, bent just inside the upright from the corner of the box. His brace-completing goal was essentially a somewhat messier replica of the opener as he pounced on an Ollie Watkins lay-off.
“Perhaps Rogers’ right foot is becoming like Arjen Robben’s left: just because you know he’s going to whip the ball into the top corner doesn’t mean you can stop him.”
Is It Sustainable?
Reason suggests otherwise. Against United, the opponents registered more shots and more shots on target. They have secured their last eight victories by the narrowest of margins. The defence has been breached in nearly all of those games.
Regression to the mean may well be the greatest opponent the club have to face over the coming weeks. The forward, almost certainly, cannot keep on blasting the ball into the net's top corner indefinitely.
A Case for Belief
Perhaps there is an alternative path where, instead of results trending towards performances, the team's displays improve to justify the wins. Key players might still find their top level.
- The centre-forward may begin to finding the net regularly.
- The attacking talent might become the player he was during his peak.
- The defensive duo are due to come back from the treatment room, bolstering a periodically leaky backline.
This could contain the possibility of a genuine bid, but they surely cannot keep relying on a single individual.
Savoring the Moment
But then, this is a surprise. Few believed Villa would sit in the top three for the holidays. And without a doubt back in October, no one envisioned Rogers now would be spearheading a hunt for the title and appearing as a vital England player.
This winning streak must be cherished precisely because it feels so unlikely. As the hero stood in front of the home supporters after the match leading the celebrations, he seemed to be loving the experience. As he deserves to. These runs of form do not happen often and ought to be celebrated.
