Norwich City manager Dean Smith addresses the media ahead of the Premier League match against Southampton. PA
Norwich City manager Dean Smith addresses the media ahead of the Premier League match against Southampton. PA
Norwich City manager Dean Smith addresses the media ahead of the Premier League match against Southampton. PA
Norwich City manager Dean Smith addresses the media ahead of the Premier League match against Southampton. PA

Dean Smith confident Norwich have the 'quality' to avoid Premier League relegation


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Dean Smith has said he is confident he can help Norwich City avoid relegation from the Premier League as he prepares to take charge of his first match at Carrow Road.

Norwich sit bottom of the league table, five points adrift of safety after 11 games, and on Saturday face an in-form Southampton side who have won three and drawn one of their past four matches.

However, Norwich won their first game of the season just before the international break with a 2-1 win at Brentford, although that was not enough to save Daniel Farke, who was sacked and replaced by Smith.

The 50-year-old Englishman had himself recently been dismissed by Aston Villa and arrived at Carrow Road with a record of never being relegated as a manager in stints at Walsall, Brentford and then Villa.

Despite Norwich facing an uphill struggle to preserve their top flight status, Smith believes the squad has enough quality to avoid an immediate return to the second tier.

"We believe the quality is there but the mentality also needs to be there," Smith told a news conference on Friday. "I looked at the squad, I spoke to Neil (Adams, assistant sporting director) and Stuart (Webber, sporting director) and I liked what I saw. Some people will say it's a risk but I see it as an opportunity.

"The first season after promotion is the hardest, survival has to be the aim. If you survive then you can build."

Smith said that midfielder Todd Cantwell appeared to be fit but that he would be assessed to see if he could play a part in Saturday's game, and stressed the importance of the home fans playing a bigger part in the team's bid for survival.

"We need them to get behind us. The only way we'll win football games is if we all pull together," he said.

Southampton go into the match on the back of two wins - the last of which was a 1-0 victory over Villa that sealed Smith's fate at Villa Park.

Company Profile:

Name: The Protein Bakeshop

Date of start: 2013

Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani

Based: Dubai

Size, number of employees: 12

Funding/investors:  $400,000 (2018) 

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How much of your income do you need to save?

The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.

In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)

Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.

 

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

RESULT

Wolves 1 (Traore 67')

Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')

Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

HWJN
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FIXTURES

Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)

Updated: November 19, 2021, 12:09 PM`