In Chelsea's official programme 'CFC Unlocked', Morgan Rogers reflects on his journey from being a ball boy at West Brom to joining Chelsea, his loan spells, his friendship with Cole Palmer, and his feelings about facing Messi in a World Cup semi-final. This is the second part of an exclusive interview.

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Rogers: Our three forwards are in no rush to name ourselves; we'll use whatever name sticks.

In this programme, we also want to get to know the player himself. Let's start with your childhood. What were you like as a child?

Rogers: I think I was a quiet child, but I had confidence inside. I could express myself confidently with family, but sometimes I couldn't in crowds or unfamiliar environments. However, I was always chatty and lively, just wanting to play joyfully and freely. As a child, my life largely revolved around football.

Honestly, I think it's pretty much the same now. I'm often the loudest person in the room, always joking and laughing; when it's time to play, I just try to enjoy the game as much as possible.

What's your first football memory?

Rogers: It must be being a ball boy at West Brom. I played for West Brom as a child; I was in their academy. But when it comes to my first real memory, I'm still thinking about going to watch matches and getting the chance to be a ball boy. I especially loved sitting on the sideline, being able to touch the match ball, and being so close to the action. You could see the players warming up, and you could see them in the tunnel. For me as a young child, that was the closest experience to professional football.

At that time, I thought: "I want to be like them. One day, I want to be out on that pitch, to be one of them." So I loved being a ball boy. That's probably the first time I remember thinking: "This is amazing, I want to play like this too."

You said you saw those players and wanted to be one of them. Did you believe you could reach that level from a young age, or was it more of a dream?

Rogers: I don't know. It's hard to say now what I was really thinking when I was so young. I'm also not sure if I was thinking about the end goal when I was a child. Back then, I was probably just thinking about being the best 10 or 11-year-old player in the country, not thinking too far ahead.

I wish I could be like that now; it would be far less stressful. But as you get older and learn more, you can't help but think about what might happen in the future. I think I was just more innocent as a child. Of course, you have hopes and believe in yourself, but that only becomes real when you're a bit older.

Was there an age when you really started to feel you could play at the top level?

Rogers: It was probably when I got my academy scholarship and started training full-time. School was finished by then, and you'd start training every day, and you'd think: "This might actually develop into something, I might really make it."

Before that, the odds seemed very slim. People would say that maybe only one person from each age group makes it, and they'd mention some frightening percentage. Coaches would also say: "This path isn't for everyone." Hearing that, you wouldn't think too early on that you'd definitely make it. So I think at that stage I started to believe it might actually happen.

Let's talk about your childhood football experience. Did you mostly play street football, or did you join an academy early on?

Rogers: I joined the academy very early, but I could still play other games back then. I think structured academy training probably only started when I was about nine or ten. Before that, I'd train at West Brom a few times a week, play matches on Sunday, and also play with friends in the park and on the street. Like many kids, friends who lived on the same road or in the same neighbourhood would gather and play.

Did you often play with older kids back then? Cole mentioned during his appearance on the show that he often played with older children on a fenced pitch when he was young, which taught him how to handle physical challenges.

Rogers: For me, it was more about playing with my brothers.

Really?

Rogers: Yes. Especially one of my brothers, and my dad. They never went easy on me. I think they were the first people to teach me how to handle these things. So later, when I played with older players in the academy, I was more prepared.

When I was young, they wouldn't just let me off, they wouldn't deliberately let me win, and they wouldn't let me do whatever I wanted. They made me understand that nothing is given to you freely; you have to earn it yourself. These lessons were very important to me.

What did coaches see in you that made them move you to play with an older age group? Was it technical ability, physical condition, or the intensity of your play? Was there one quality that really stood out?

Rogers: I think it was my technical ability as a child. I wasn't the biggest player growing up, and I felt very uncomfortable playing against physically stronger opponents. I was always the first to complain about fouls, being pulled, or being knocked down. So it definitely wasn't because of my physical condition. Fortunately, I grew taller and stronger later, and I could use other aspects of my abilities in the game.

You've spoken before about how a player's development isn't linear. You said you were the best player at one stage in Manchester City's academy; then you were loaned out and spent time progressing through different leagues step by step. How important has this experience been in making you the player you are now?

Rogers: It's everything. I needed the next challenge, the next step, to get out of my comfort zone, and to figure out what kind of player I would become in professional football. If you'd looked at me in the academy, I don't think I'd be the same player that people see every week now. I've changed completely, and it's through the things I learned during my loan spells.

Academy football certainly has its value. It can teach you skills and help you understand the nuances of the game; after all, football is still football, and you certainly learn in matches and training. But how real professional matches are actually played, how badly opponents want to win, what it takes to win, and what methods a team is willing to use to win—these things can't be replicated in academy matches. You can only experience them in senior team football.

I got this experience very young, allowing me to keep progressing and developing over time. By the time I was ready to move to the next level, I'd already experienced both good and bad situations, knew how to handle setbacks, and knew how to play the game in different ways. These experiences have largely shaped who I am today.

Everyone's path is different. I think when I was fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, people might have thought I'd break through at seventeen and progress through England's youth teams. But my path wasn't like that, and it didn't develop that way. I wasn't ready to be that kind of player. Some people, at sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, have enough talent to play professional football, senior football, and shine immediately, but I couldn't back then. I needed time to grow, learn, and understand myself better. Now that I'm here, playing at a level I know I'm capable of, I think my past experience has helped me and made this journey smoother.

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