ESPN FC picks out five players to watch in this week's third round of the Carabao Cup ...

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain -- Liverpool

After heading to Merseyside on transfer deadline day for £35 million, Oxlade-Chamberlain is still yet to start a match for his new club. And during his 67 minutes so far, he has not played the central midfield role he left London in search of. He even ended his first Champions League appearance for Liverpool at right-back, but he might be granted his desired role on...

LONDON -- When Roy Hodgson said "I don't really know what I am doing here" the morning after his resignation had followed England's shameful 2-1 Euro 2016 round-of-16 defeat to Iceland in Nice, it crystallised befuddled tournament performances in France last year and at the 2014 World Cup, where Hodgson's team did not even make it out of the group stage. 

Hodgson was not the first manager -- nor will he be the last -- reduced to rubble by "the impossible job" but, at 69 years old, it appeared...

Things change in the blink of an eye in football. The Football Whispers Index takes the latest transfer rumours and gives them a score out of five; the higher the score, the more realistic and reliable the whisper.

Here are today's top five emerging whispers. And keep an eye on Transfer Talk for all the latest gossip.

Alberto Gilardino to Montreal Impact

Former World Cup winner Gilardino has been without a club since leaving Pescara in June. The 35-year-old has been training...

The Premier League is ruthless and relentless. The slightest sign of weakness is pounced upon. Whether Frank de Boer's tactical approach was born out of naivety or pig-headedness, there are reasons why his sacking by Crystal Palace doesn't come as a great surprise.

Here are five reasons why it happened ...

1. The dedication to a 3-4-3 formation was shown up by performances and results

De Boer made it clear that he saw Palace playing in a 3-4-3 formation. He played with it throughout preseason, and...

Two moments in the 1-0 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday seemingly condemned Crystal Palace manager Frank de Boer to the sack. But Lee Chung-yong's "no-look" back-pass, which set up Chris Wood's winner, and Scott Dann's inexplicable late miss were merely straws to break the camel's back. Four defeats in four games, with no goals scored -- the worst start to a top-flight season in 93 years -- spoke for itself.

Palace's executives acted decisively in removing De Boer on Monday, perhaps too...

Frank de Boer is a stranger in a strange land at Crystal Palace. Familiarity has bred increasing contempt for Slaven Bilic at West Ham. Two London managers enter the international break with their teams pointless in three Premier League matches and both spent last Monday in talks with their chairmen.

For the moment, both survive. Indications from West Ham are that Bilic will be given more time to arrest the slide, though a Sept. 11 home match with Huddersfield, the first able to be staged at the...