MANCHESTER // Dropped and chastised, Adam Johnson has become the latest to experience Roberto Mancini's fondness for imposing his brand of discipline. Unlike some of the others to attract the Manchester City manager's attention, his has been a gratifying response.
A second goal in four days from the winger secured three points for City and lifted them, albeit temporarily, to second place in the Premier League.
As the Newcastle United supporter defeated the club from north-east England, it was reward for a bold piece of management from Mancini. Abandoning his preference for three defensive midfielders, he introduced first Emmanuel Adebayor, the Togolese striker, and then Johnson. For once, he unleashed the attacking armoury at his disposal.
It brought a reward. Because, three minutes after his introduction, Johnson skipped inside two defenders before drilling a low shot into the bottom corner. As Adebayor had already had a shot cleared off the line, it was proof that City possess an enviable array of reserves. All-out attack was the back-up plan, but it worked.
Newcastle's Jonas Gutierrez had cancelled out Carlos Tevez's penalty - one Argentine taking away the lead another had given - but despite the City captain's latest impression of a human dynamo and a forceful display by James Milner, the away team were subduing City until Mancini acted. "You have got to give great credit to the boss," said assistant manager Brian Kidd, speaking because Mancini was headed to Italy to visit his sick father. "He wasn't prepared to settle for the draw. Tactically, I thought he was excellent."
Fiercely competitive as the game was, it was not City's classiest display, as Kidd conceded: "You have got be able to play, to be able to fight and win ugly." Yet while City could enjoy their adaptability, Newcastle were left to lament their misfortune. In a rather erratic performance, referee Martin Atkinson twice favoured City. On both occasions, there were grounds to doubt him.
"The referee has made two horrendous decisions," said Chris Hughton, the Newcastle manager.
The first came when Jerome Boateng's diagonal pass was angled beyond the Newcastle back four and into Tevez's path. A back-tracking Mike Williamson slid in, taking the ball but felling Tevez. The sanction was a yellow card and a penalty, thumped in via goalkeeper Tim Krul's knee. "Mike Williamson played the ball and it was outside the box," Hughton argued. Nevertheless, his side responded positively. Vincent Kompany acrobatically cut Gutierrez's cross out, but the winger had continued his run, bursting into the box to collect the rebound. Taking one touch to control the ball, he dispatched it past Joe Hart with abandon.
After Johnson's goal, Newcastle felt they merited the opportunity to equalise from 12 yards when Joleon Lescott tangled with Shola Ameobi. "Shola had his standing foot taken away," said his manager, but Atkinson ignored appeals for a penalty. Atkinson had not halted the game, either, when a scything challenge from Nigel de Jong left Hatem Ben Arfa with a broken tibia and fibia in his left leg in only his fourth game for Newcastle. He is likely to be out for the season.
"A challenge that didn't need to be made," said Hughton. "Nigel is honest as the day is long," added Kidd.
"It's so sad when you see that happen. We hope it's not too severe. There was no malice in it. Nigel's not that type of lad." Perhaps not, but the repercussions meant that being condemned to defeat by a boyhood Newcastle fan was far from the most painful part of their day.
sports@thenational.ae
Score
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
New Zealand lead three-match ODI series 1-0
Next match: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Friday
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
