England manager Sam Allardyce gave his verdict on Monday (29th August) the day after leaving Ross Barkley out of his first squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier versus Slovakia.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Sam Allardyce, England manager (on Everton midfielder Ross Barkley missing out):

"We've been in deep discussions regarding the squad over the last few days and we've had to make some very difficult decisions and none more so than obviously Ross Barkley which is obviously for him disappointing. For me you have to make these decisions and in this moment the door will always be open for Ross but at this moment I felt the squad I picked is the right one."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Sam Allardyce, England manager (on naming his first squad):

"It was much more difficult picking this squad than picking a team in the Premier League. Hopefully the players will make it a lot easier as time goes on or maybe make it a lot more difficult like the Ross Barkley decision and I would hope that every decision I make would be questioned on the form of the player at the time but I can only pick 23."