Dele Alli has made most of the headlines following England’s win over Slovakia on Sunday, but not for his efforts with the ball.

The Tottenham Hotspur star raised his middle finger during the second half of the 2-1 victory at Wembley.

It was initially thought that the 21-year-old was reacting to the referee’s failure to punish Martin Skrtel for a challenge, but Alli has insisted that his rude gesture was a “joke” between himself and Kyle Walker.

Former Chelsea midfielder Jody Morris, who now works at the club’s academy as a coach, was not impressed with Alli’s performance.

At his tender age, the attack-minded player already has 21 international caps to his name, but Morris believes that the Spurs star failed to influence matters on the pitch.

Plenty of football fans agreed with the 38-year-old’s view.

The result means that England need just two more points to qualify for the finals at the World Cup in Russia next summer.

Liverpool Football Club have given so much to the England national team over the years in terms of talent, ranging from Harry Bradshaw at the end of the 19th century to the likes of Raheem Sterling, who earned his first call-up after emerging from the Reds’ youth set-up.

Gareth Southgate’s latest Three Lions squad contains just two Liverpool players – striker Daniel Sturridge and captain Jordan Henderson – although that number would likely be greater if Nathaniel Clyne and Adam Lallana were both fit.

Considering how involved Liverpool have been with the national team down the years, we’re incredibly keen to hear the fans’ opinions on Gareth Southgate’s squad announcement last week, confirming his team for World Cup qualifiers with Malta and Slovakia.

We’ve put together a list of 53 Englishmen to have made at least one league appearance this season; let us know who would make your England squad by giving each one a simple thumbs-up or thumbs-down.

According to reports in The Telegraph, Everton manager Ronald Koeman is expected to be given time to turn things around following a poor start to the season.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Telegraph says that despite the Toffees losing their last four matches in all competition and lying 18th in the Premier League standings after winning just one of their opening five fixtures, majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri understands that it was a summer of change for the club and therefore is unlikely to make any rash decisions.

Despite spending £130m on new players during the summer having seen Romelu Lukaku leave for Manchester United, the Merseyside outfit have lost 2-0, 3-0, 3-0 and 4-0 against Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Atalanta and Manchester United respectively in their previous four games.

With European football the ultimate aim for the club this season, Koeman and Moshiri will be well aware that their fortunes need to change sooner rather than later.

The Dutchman’s job appears to be safe despite the odds on him being the next English top flight manager to be sacked tumbling over the weekend – he is now the second-favourite with a number of online bookmakers to be relieved of his duties next after West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic.

Are Everton right to give him more time?

Yes, they probably are.

While perhaps the Premier League performances and results have been unacceptable, the Toffees still have faced Everton, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in their last three fixtures.

That is never easy and having failed to effectively replace Lukaku during the summer transfer window, it could take them time to find the formula that will work in front of goal with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Sandro Ramirez.

The manner of the 3-0 loss to Atalanta in the Europa League on Thursday was probably the most worrying, and if a showing like that occurs again then Koeman may well find himself in danger of getting the boot.

Everton will be back in action this evening when they face Apollon Limassol in the group stage of the Europa League.

It will be the club’s second match in this phase of the competition having already lost 3-0 to Atalanta.

The Toffees are already on the backfoot, but there is slightly more optimism given that the team head into the match on the back of a victory.

At the weekend, the Merseyside outfit came from behind to claim a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth thanks to late goals from Oumar Niasse.

The Senegal international has had quite the turnaround at Goodison Park having gone from outcast to reliable goalscorer.

Niasse will not be making an impact this evening, though, as he is ineligible to play due to not being included in the initial Europa squad.

Koeman took to Twitter on Wednesday following the team’s training session, and the fans responded to his message by claiming what they expect from this evening’s match.

It did appear that Jack Wilshere’s Arsenal career was over when the midfielder was sent on loan to Bournemouth for the 2016-17 campaign.

Indeed, the 25-year-old was widely tipped to leave the Emirates Stadium during the recent transfer window, but he stayed with the Gunners beyond the August deadline.

Once regarded as one of England’s best young talents, Wilshere was in the Arsenal team at the age of 16, but has been crippled by injuries in recent seasons.

It does appear that there is some light at the end of the tunnel, however, with the midfielder featuring three times for Arsenal this term since returning from injury.

Indeed, Wilshere, who is valued at £16.2m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has been impressive in the Europa League, and it is surely not too long before Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger hands him some Premier League football.

With next summer’s World Cup on the horizon, England boss Gareth Southgate will also be keeping a keen eye on the midfielder’s progress.

Whatever happens with England, it seems that the Arsenal supporters are very much behind Wilshere.

Liverpool play host to NK Maribor at Anfield in their latest Champions League group game on Wednesday night, and Reds fans want Andrew Robertson to start against the Slovenian outfit.

Jurgen Klopp’s men beat Maribor 7-0 a fortnight ago to move top of Group E on goal difference, and the German could choose to ring the changes on Merseyside.

BBC Football says that left-back Alberto Moreno is being assessed after suffering from cramp, which could give Robertson a rare chance to impress following his summer move from Hull City.

The Scotland international has been restricted to just three appearances in all competitions for the Reds this term, with Moreno often preferred on the left side of the defence.

Liverpool supporters were quick to have their say on Robertson via social media, and while some said ‘if he doesn’t start I’m going to be annoyed’, others believe it will be ‘hard to see where he will get an opportunity if he doesn’t get one on Wednesday’.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

It would not be a huge surprise if Henrikh Mkhitaryan was met with an awkward greeting from Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho on Tuesday morning.

Following the previous night’s ceremony in London crowning FIFA’s winners in ‘The Best’ awards, details of the votes were revealed.

Mourinho was a contender for the Best Coach of the Year, but it was Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane who picked up the gong for guiding the Spanish club to the La Liga title and Champions League glory last season.

With regards to the voting process, most players tend to stay loyal to their managers, but on this occasion, Mkhitaryan decided to snub Mourinho.

Instead, the Armenian international voted for Zidane, Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri and Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim, according to the Metro.

Even Mourinho’s former player at Chelsea, Eden Hazard, voted for the Portuguese coach.

As expected, United fans had something to say about Mkhitaryan’s rejection.

Former England midfielder Jamie Redknapp has hailed the performances of Manchester City attacker Kevin de Bruyne in the early stages of the 2017-18 campaign.

De Bruyne has managed two goals and nine assists in 15 appearances for City this season, with his form key in his team rising to the top of the Premier League table.

The 26-year-old, who is valued at £67.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, had previously struggled to make his mark in English football at Chelsea, but has now become one of the best players in the Premier League.

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Redknapp has said that both Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus will be delighted to have De Bruyne as a teammate, with the Belgian capable of threading the ball through the eye of a needle.

Redknapp told Sky Sports:

“It must be a dream for Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus playing in front of him. They know that every time De Bruyne gets the ball, he will look to play them in.

“His pass completion rate in the opposition half is not as high as some of his teammates’ but that’s because he takes risks.

“He told me that he loves to take those risks. If he gives it away he doesn’t mind because he knows that next time he will make that pass and it could lead to a goal. We’ve seen that time and again this season. Some of his passes have been incredible.”

City will look to continue their unbeaten start to the 2017-18 Premier League campaign when they welcome Arsenal to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

With second-placed Manchester United not in action until the late kickoff against Chelsea, victory for City over the Gunners would see them move eight points clear at the summit.

West Ham United’s first game in the David Moyes era resulted in defeat on Sunday as Watford ran out 2-0 winners at Vicarage Road.

Will Hughes and Richarlison were the heroes for Marco Silva’s side, scoring in each half to demonstrate to Moyes the size of the task ahead of him at the Irons.

Having ended the weekend in the relegation zone, West Ham are at serious risk of being embroiled in a relegation battle heading into the new year and fans are growing increasingly concerned with the situation.

Supporters were of course gutted with the result, left fuming by the performances of their senior stars including the likes of Andy Carroll, who came under serious criticism.

The striker failed to offer much before being subbed off in the 65th minute and fans are calling for him to stop being picked in Moyes’ starting eleven from here on out.

They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his performance…

Former Everton striker Kevin Campbell has claimed that new manager Sam Allardyce will need to get “ruthless” when it comes to cutting players from the squad.Ronald Koeman brought in a handful of new players in the summer transfer window before he was sacked in October.A reliable striker was not one of those purchases, with the void left by Romleu Lukaku being severely felt.The number 10 role, though, has plenty of contenders, including Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wayne Rooney.With a new manager entering the fold, it is always an anxious time for players, particularly those on the fringe.While speaking to fans on Twitter, Campbell suggested that Allardyce may have to be cut throat in order to shape the team that he wants.

Allardyce, who decided to take a brief break from football after stepping down from his job at Crystal Palace at the end of last season, was officially appointed by Everton on Thursday and has signed an 18-month contract.

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