MORGAN ROGERS was being mocked by his own supporters three months ago.
But now it’s becoming increasingly hard for Thomas Tuchel to even consider leaving him out of the World Cup opener – no matter what that would mean for the German’s testy relationship with Jude Bellingham.
Tuchel will not cast a ballot at the next General Election.
Indeed, he may not even be in the country any more – although that may depend on what happens in June and July.
Yet the German is the only vote that matters in the battle for No10 that will have every Three Lions fan arguing until June.
Tuchel inherited an England squad with a simple solution over who would play behind captain Harry Kane.
Simple no more, even if Tuchel’s mother’s thoughts about Bellingham are unlikely to be aired in public again.
And where omitting Bellingham from the starting line-up when England engage Croatia in Dallas would have been unthinkable this time last year, now it seems much more feasible, something else for him to conjure with during his Christmas break.
After all, it is Rogers, not Bellingham, who has featured in all 10 games England have played under Tuchel. Only Declan Rice matches his appearance number.
Rogers is lighting up the Premier League with seven top flight goals so far this season, including the latest double against Manchester United.
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And it is Rogers who seems more content than Bellingham in the England fold – possibly because it is all new to him.
Tuchel’s system is all about round pegs in similar-shaped holes, not shuffling the best players into the side, crossing his fingers and hoping.
It requires pace and penetration on both flanks to stretch opponents – who are more than likely to be sitting back and filling space – and create by making the pitch as deep as possible.
If that means no place in the first 11 for Bellingham, Phil Foden OR Cole Palmer – assuming the Chelsea man can get back to his best after an injury-plagued season – then it has to be.
The fact is that when Villa go to Stamford Bridge on Saturday, Palmer is the attacking midfielder who has more to prove as he tries to get back to full steam.
Palmer may have nicked Rogers cold celebration but currently he looks unlikely to steal his England jersey.
Rogers is this season’s emerging force. Confident and convincing, embracing every challenge, revelling in the spotlight.
How quickly things change. In late September, he was given the bird for COMPLETING a pass in a Europa League tie with Bologna.
A significant portion of Villa fans accused him of taking his eye off the ball after being linked with summer moves to Chelsea or back to Manchester City.
Fast forward to Christmas week and they wouldn’t swap him for any of the rivals for that England playmaker role.
Football is about seizing the moment, the unexpected opportunity, grasping the nettle.
Ask Geoff Hurst about that. He only came into the side in 1966 because Jimmy Greaves was injured.
For Rogers, it was Bellingham’s absence as he recovered from his summer shoulder surgery that opened the door.
Others might have been hesitant to walk through it, especially given his time alongside Bellingham in the England junior ranks.
Rogers did not have a glimmer of self-doubt. That was the focus Tuchel was hoping to see and the Villa man has continued to flourish, bloom and thrive.
Enough, at this stage, to justify his retention in the side that will aim to fire real bullets at the home of the Dallas Cowboys on June 17.
Bellingham would not be happy at a role off the bench. Of course he wouldn’t.
But if it is what Tuchel decides, then it would be down to Bellingham himself to prove him wrong. And Rogers to continue to show he was right.
Pockets Paul
A double-busted jaw and a body that will be bruised and battered for months.
Yet Jake Paul came away from the mess in Miami with his pockets stuffed with gold.
While Anthony Joshua may have won the fight that did little to enhance boxing’s reputation, you feel like he lost much more.
Too little too late
At last some spirit from England on the final day in Adelaide.
But nothing can take away the basic fact that two-and-a-half years of expectation have been blown away in 11 days, before the Barmy Army has come within sight of Melbourne or Sydney.
A shambles.
From start, with Zak Crawley out to the fifth ball in Perth, to very early finish.
Ref watch
Premier League officials are not biased. Not incompetent.
Some of their decisions, though, are hard to understand.
Trevoh Chalobah’s WWE barge on Newcastle Anthony Gordon, deep in the Chelsea box with no thought of playing the ball, was a clear-cut a penalty as we have seen all season. Apparently not.
The spot-kick William Saliba avoided against Arsenal, as he kicked Thierno Barry, was far more obvious than the one awarded against him for head-to-head contact with Joao Pedro at Brighton last term.
PGMOL boss Howard Webb says that the “referee’s call” should take priority on subjective decisions.
Yet it remains fuzzily unclear where the bar is set for VAR intervention.
And that only leads to the frustration we see and hear every single week.
Lamb in Wolves’ clothing
The game’s up for Wolves and shuffling the boardroom chairs isn’t going to change Molineux misery.
Rob Edwards – who surely must be having second thoughts – and his players will know that their only target now is scrambling 10 points from their remaining 22 matches to avoid replacing Derby’s status as the worst team in top-flight history.
But can you imagine how the fans of the first team Wolves beat will react? A sacking offence?
The Land of Var Var Away
Only the one Boxing Day game in the Prem this year.
For the rest of the pyramid, though, it’s Christmas football business as usual.
So if you are looking to escape the in-laws for a couple of hours on Friday, there is nowhere better.
Whether you go to Walsall or Wrexham, Worcester or Whitby, you’re guaranteed effort and endeavour. And no VAR, either.
But equally for those readers who prefer the leftover turkey, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
