I've also asked the question as to why the researchers in England's context have not apparently 'been professionally curious' to find out more about the 'DfE validated' phonics programmes - and comparing the 'Letters and Sounds' publication (DfES, 2007) with the recognised commercial phonics programmes. Note I don't even like to describe 'Letters and Sounds' as a 'phonics programme' because it has no teaching and learning resources and therefore it has to be equipped with freebies or other phonics resources - made or bought.
Anyway, I was glad to see this article at long last...
Why we need to talk about phonics
The debate around phonics is usually around whether it should be used or not, when actually we need to discuss how best to use it, argues Julia Carroll in this week's Tes Podagogy Podcast
https://www.tes.com/news/why-we-need-talk-about-phonics
When I get a spare moment (LOL), I'll listen to the podcast...