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.
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