Morgan Rogers has enjoyed a breakout season at Aston Villa, impressing with flair, composure, and big-game performances. His rise has energised the club’s FA Cup run, with Wembley in sight. Jacob Ramsey has also stepped up in recent weeks, adding drive and quality in midfield as Villa chase silverware.
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00:00Now, Morgan Rodgers has emerged as one of the standout stories of the season at Aston Villa,
00:08enjoying a breakthrough campaign under Unai Emre.
00:11The young forward has impressed with his creativity, composure and ability to step up in big moments,
00:17quickly becoming a fan favourite at Villa Park.
00:21As Villa prepare for a trip to Wembley in the FA Cup with hopes of ending their long wait for silverware,
00:27Rodgers' form has given the team an added spark in attack.
00:31His rise has coincided with a strong run in the competition and he could play a key role under the arches.
00:37I spoke to Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World to get his take on Rodgers' impact this season,
00:42Villa's journey to Wembley and what this Cup run could mean for the club going forward.
00:49Charlie, let's start and look at Aston Villa in terms of their situation.
00:54I mean, they've reached the semi-final of the FA Cup, a long time coming as well.
00:59In the last few seasons, they've sort of struggled to get to the latter stages.
01:04Where do you see this sort of priority looking?
01:07Before we go into the priorities with the Champions League as well, let's just look at the game.
01:13Obviously, 3-0 away from home at Preston, a favourable draw, as we mentioned.
01:17They obviously got that favourable draw in the Champions League as well.
01:20Things are just sort of piecing together at the right time, it seems.
01:24But in terms of the game, I mean, they had a job to do away from home and they seemed to get it done.
01:30Yeah, they absolutely did.
01:32The first half away at Deepdale was a little bit tentative at times.
01:36And Preston actually probably looked the more likely team to score, throwing balls into the box,
01:40long throws and quite awkward crosses into the area.
01:43Martinez having to deal with a few.
01:44But then the second half, completely different story.
01:47Marcus Rashford scoring his first two goals for the club.
01:49The first one, a proper striker's finish as he poked home from the Luka Dean cross.
01:53Second one was a penalty, but he's still got to step up and take it.
01:56And he did it in style.
01:57He didn't even look at the ball once.
01:59He just stared down the goalkeeper's eyes and then made sure he made the first move before slotting it home.
02:03And then the goal for Jacob Ramsey as well.
02:05What a goal it was, turning away from his defender, running 25 or 30 yards before firing to that far bottom left-hand corner.
02:11The Villa fans in attendance, thousands of them in the Bilshank League Cup, absolutely loving life.
02:17And rightly so.
02:17They're off to Wembley for the first time in five years.
02:21Yeah, and they face Crystal Palace in the next round.
02:24I mean, a Wembley semi-final's great.
02:27A chance to get to an FA Cup final for Unai Emery would be unbelievable with this Villa group.
02:32They haven't beaten Palace at all this season.
02:35The last few times they've met as well.
02:37They've sort of struggled against them, but you'd probably argue it's a favourable one in terms of Forest, the Manchester City and the other half as well.
02:45If they are to get to the final, do you feel they're nothing to lose?
02:49Unai Emery, a real chance at silverware.
02:51And this could be the perfect opening for it.
02:55Yeah, I think obviously Palace, the Villa fans will be worried about the previous meetings.
02:58It's been pretty terrible against them in recent times, especially last season as well.
03:03At the end, a 5-0 defeat at Selhurst Park.
03:05I know everything was wrapped up with the Champions League at that point, so it didn't really matter.
03:08But it was still a painful one nonetheless.
03:09And of course, that kind of carried over into this season with more pain against Palace.
03:14But as you say, Nottingham Forest doing an incredible job in the Premier League this season under Nuno Espirito Santo.
03:20Manchester City, not quite the same city of old, but still so, so powerful.
03:24I think it's something ridiculous like seven or eight semifinals in a row in the FA Cup for them.
03:29And so, they're very good in this competition.
03:32Villa avoiding both of those and getting Palace is probably the best case scenario.
03:35And I think Emery will be looking at that one confidently.
03:38Anything can happen at Wembley.
03:40Of course, neutral turf.
03:42Not having to go to Selhurst Park again is a bonus.
03:44And yeah, Villa confident.
03:45I think with all their fan base and their support, can hopefully do one over Palace.
03:49And let's just look at Jacob Ramsey.
03:53I mean, he's sort of come into his own as well throughout the season.
03:56He's been a real key cog in terms of Villa's progression in the Premier League at times and the Champions League as well.
04:04He's sort of proven that he can take it onto the bigger stages as well.
04:07How impressed with him have you been watching him and Villa fans as well?
04:11And then on top of that, Unai Emery must be so delighted that he's come in and made such an impact in such a short space of time.
04:18Well, it's just such a relief for Jacob Ramsey.
04:20Of course, being a Boyhood Villa fan, he's so excited to be playing at Wembley for the first time.
04:25He's had so many injuries over the last few years and four throughout 2023-24.
04:30I think he missed something like 37 or 38 games throughout that season because of injury.
04:34He's turned a corner and he looks like he could be starting many games,
04:37maybe even ahead of the likes of Marcus Rashford and Ollie Watkins with Rashford going central.
04:41So had an incredible impact and hopefully he can continue that.