Man United manager Erik ten Hag's mission to end trophy drought with League Cup success


Stuart James
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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is determined to end the club's longest trophy drought for 40 years as his side prepare to face Nottingham Forest in the League Cup semi-finals.

United have not won a trophy since Jose Mourinho led them to victory in the Europa League final against Ajax in Stockholm in 2017.

The Old Trafford giants have since reached six semi-finals in different competitions. They lost the 2018 FA Cup final under Mourinho against Chelsea before Ole Gunnar Solksjaer guided them to the 2021 Europa League final, which they lost on penalties to Villarreal.

Ten Hag has transformed United's fortunes since taking over in the summer and is on a mission to end their six-year wait for a trophy. It is the club's longest spell without collecting any honours since the period between 1977 and 1983.

The United manager, who clinched the Eredivisie title with Ajax last season, said: “It’s the best feeling you can have winning a trophy. I had the luck in my career to win some trophies and it’s magnificent, especially for the fans.

“It’s so great and I think the fans here have some experience, especially the older ones. But now it is a period Manchester United didn’t win trophies and it is too long.

“We are aware of that fact and we have to do everything to bring a trophy in.”

United play the first leg of the semi-final on Wednesday at the City Ground. It is a stadium they have not visited since 1999, when Solskjaer came off the substitutes' bench to score four in an 8-1 victory for United.

“It’s a long time ago (since United played there) eh? But I think we like that – a fanatic audience is nice to play for," said Ten Hag.

“It will be a good atmosphere and I think it will motivate the players and we have to get ready for that.

“It’s about winning trophies, so we have a good opportunity, but you have to go game from game, so now we play Forest, two legs, so focus on the first leg.

“Don’t think further, don’t think further ahead because that will distract, so the aim for tomorrow is win that game.”

United are looking to bounce back from a disappointing week in which they dropped five points from a possible six in the Premier League, losing 3-2 at Arsenal after their last-gasp draw away to Crystal Palace.

Arsenal 3 Manchester United 2 - ratings

Forest manager Steve Cooper says the club’s history can motivate the current team to create “new moments”.

Under Brian Clough, Forest won a league title, two European Cups and four League Cups.

Cooper said his players can use the club’s history to inspire them against United.

“I think we embrace it," he said. "We try not to (let) it be a hindrance or an added pressure. We want to use it as a motivation, to understand who we are and what we represent.

“I’ve said from the moment I walked in (in September 2021), you can’t get away from the history of this club, and you shouldn’t, so embrace it, represent it as best you can, but in a modern way, in a way that we’re trying to look forward, trying to create new eras, positive eras, new moments.

“I think that’s a good balance. This club is what it is because of its history and we should always be proud of that. We’re really excited about it, that’s for sure, and to put Nottingham Forest on the stage of the semi-final of an important competition is right, and it’s been a long while.

“We’re really pleased to put the club on this stage again and we just want to make sure we do ourselves justice."

Scores in brief:

Day 1

New Zealand (1st innings) 153 all out (66.3 overs) - Williamson 63, Nicholls 28, Yasir 3-54, Haris 2-11, Abbas 2-13, Hasan 2-38

Pakistan (1st innings) 59-2 (23 overs)

Scoreline

Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)

New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)

Brief scores:

Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf

Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)

Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17

Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)

Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40

Autumn international scores

Saturday, November 24

Italy 3-66 New Zealand
Scotland 14-9 Argentina
England 37-18 Australia

Abu Dhabi GP starting grid

1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)

3 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)

4 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)

5 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)

6 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

7 Romain Grosjean (Haas)

8 Charles Leclerc (Sauber)

9 Esteban Ocon (Force India)

10 Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)

11 Carlos Sainz (Renault)

12 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)

13 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

14 Sergio Perez (Force India)

15 Fernando Alonso (McLaren)

16 Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)

17 Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)

18 Stoffe Vandoorne (McLaren)

19 Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)

20 Lance Stroll (Williams)

Indian construction workers stranded in Ajman with unpaid dues
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Two-step truce

The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.

By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National. 

The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.

The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.

The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.

Brief scores:

Pakistan (1st innings) 181: Babar 71; Olivier 6-37

South Africa (1st innings) 223: Bavuma 53; Amir 4-62

Pakistan (2nd innings) 190: Masood 65, Imam 57; Olivier 5-59

The specs: 2019 Cadillac XT4

Price, base: Dh145,000

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged in-line four-cylinder engine

Transmission: Nine-speed automatic

Power: 237hp @ 5,000rpm

Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km

Race 3

Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars

MATCH INFO

First Test at Barbados
West Indies won by 381 runs

Second Test at Antigua
West Indies won by 10 wickets

Third Test at St Lucia
February 9-13

 

Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained

Defined Benefit Plan (DB)

A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.

Defined Contribution Plan (DC) 

A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.

The biog

Name: Capt Shadia Khasif

Position: Head of the Criminal Registration Department at Hatta police

Family: Five sons and three daughters

The first female investigator in Hatta.

Role Model: Father

She believes that there is a solution to every problem

 

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:

Juventus 1 Ajax 2

Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate

Brief scoreline:

Manchester United 0

Manchester City 2

Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'

The bio

Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions

School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira

Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk

Dream City: San Francisco

Hometown: Dubai

City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala

EGYPT SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Ahmed El Shennawy, Mohamed El Shennawy, Mohamed Abou-Gabal, Mahmoud Abdel Rehem "Genesh"
Defenders: Ahmed Elmohamady, Ahmed Hegazi, Omar Gaber, Ali Gazal, Ayman Ahsraf, Mahmoud Hamdy, Baher Elmohamady, Ahmed Ayman Mansour, Mahmoud Alaa, Ahmed Abou-Elfotouh
Midfielders: Walid Soliman, Abdallah El Said, Mohamed Elneny, Tarek Hamed, Mahmoud “Trezeguet” Hassan, Amr Warda, Nabil Emad
Forwards: Ahmed Ali, Mohamed Salah, Marwan Mohsen, Ahmed "Kouka" Hassan.

THE BIO

Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.

Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.

She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.

Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring  the natural world.

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

End of free parking

- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18

- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued

- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket

- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200. 

- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200

- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)

What is THAAD?

It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.

Production:

It was first created in 2008.

Speed:

THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.

Abilities:

THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".

Purpose:

To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.

Range:

THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.

Creators:

Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.

UAE and THAAD:

In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.

Two products to make at home

Toilet cleaner

1 cup baking soda 

1 cup castile soap

10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice) 

Method:

1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.

2. Add the essential oil to the mix.

Air Freshener

100ml water 

5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this) 

Method:

1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.

2. Shake well before use. 

Fight Night

FIGHT NIGHT

Four title fights:

Amir Khan v Billy Dib - WBC International title
Hughie Fury v Samuel Peter - Heavyweight co-main event  
Dave Penalosa v Lerato Dlamini - WBC Silver title
Prince Patel v Michell Banquiz - IBO World title

Six undercard bouts:

Michael Hennessy Jr v Abdul Julaidan Fatah
Amandeep Singh v Shakhobidin Zoirov
Zuhayr Al Qahtani v Farhad Hazratzada
Lolito Sonsona v Isack Junior
Rodrigo Caraballo v Sajid Abid
Ali Kiydin v Hemi Ahio

The bio

His favourite book - 1984 by George Orwell

His favourite quote - 'If you think education is expensive, try ignorance' by Derek Bok, Former President of Harvard

Favourite place to travel to - Peloponnese, Southern Greece

Favourite movie - The Last Emperor

Favourite personality from history - Alexander the Great

Role Model - My father, Yiannis Davos

 

 

Ashes 2019 schedule

August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston

August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's

August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley

September 4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford

September 12-16: Fifth Test, Oval

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Updated: January 24, 2023, 4:05 PM