Manchester United will conclude their worst season in 51 years with Sunday’s Premier League game against Aston Villa. Ruben Amorim’s side will finish 16th or 17th, having shown relegation form since the Portuguese was appointed in November.
On Wednesday in Bilbao, a limp United side lost 1-0 in the final of the Europa League to Tottenham Hotspur and a chance to play Champions League football next season went with it.
The loss of broadcast revenue, prize money, matchday receipts and sponsorship will be in the region of £80 million for next season when the club won’t be playing continental football for only the second time in 35 years.
The mood among United fans is on the floor. The players are hardly buoyant either. An hour after the game on Wednesday, Luke Shaw admitted in a TV interview with India’s Sony Sport that the club had reached a new low.
He said: “That outcome goes with how our season has been. We’re nowhere near good enough and we must take responsibility for that – us as players. It’s nowhere near good enough for a club like Manchester United. We must question ourselves and ask, ‘Are we good enough to be at this club?'. Because this season is nowhere near acceptable.
“I can only apologise to the fans. They’re probably bored of hearing the same things because there has been a lot of apologising this season because most of it has not been good enough. But I’d like to thank them for sticking by us in the worst season ever, even through every bad result we’ve had.”
Shaw pulled no punches, as he continued: “This is the lowest we can get. A club like Manchester United being closer to relegation is nowhere near good enough. There is no room for optimism, the only room is for questioning ourselves. The manager is 100 per cent the right person to take this club back to where it should be.
“He knows exactly what needs to be done. So much must change not just on the pitch but outside it. Inside the club there needs to be so many changes. But us as players need to change: the mindset, the mentality, the belief that in games like this we can win. We lack that at times tonight, we didn’t believe that we were going to score, but Ruben [Amorim] will turn this club around and this club will be successful again. It’s not something that changes in a day or a month or even a year, but Ruben is for sure the right person to do it.”
Amorim is set to be backed this summer. Despite the results, he’s popular with fans. They like his public honesty, the proclamations of what’s needed because they feel the same. But we’ve had these before and the club has already undergone several massive changes of staff and ideas. There was no improvement.
Amorim’s honesty and communication skills will only carry him so far. He has talented players at his disposal and he’s made the team worse, not better. There isn’t a coach on the planet who gets a job on the proviso that he’s allowed to be bad until he gets his own players in.
Amorim was hired partly because it was felt that Erik ten Hag wasn’t getting as much out of his players as he should be. United must improve next season or Amorim will become the latest United manager to lose his job.
United are likely to spend and then sell. If they join, the arrivals of forward Liam Delap (who has many options) and attacker Matheus Cunha should bring goals. United need to get good money for Marcus Rashford and Antony.
Selling academy talents like Alejandro Garnacho or Kobbie Mainoo is attractive financially, but would anger some supporters. But not all, since no United players are immune from the ill-feeling around this squad.
And at some point United must draw a line on overpaying underachieving players and over rewarding young players, a tactic that has not served the club well.
For many fans, losing on Wednesday felt as bad as it has got in their lifetime. United are a 16th place Premier League team, but not in the normal sense. Instead, the eyes of the world are on United, for better or worse, with all the pressure that comes with it.
The club will finish the season as the best supported in the Premier League, with average crowds of 73,000 – the same as the Old Trafford capacity.
United’s decision makers have gone public to say that the aim is to win the Premier League within three years. It seems far-fetched right now and for that to happen, there must be an environment for talented young players to flourish, players like defender Leny Yoro and forward Amad Diallo.
Yet a malaise is still present at the club, with little evidence so far that Amorim and his young coaching staff can improve United.
Staff are still leaving the club, either by choice or as part of two waves of redundancies. Fat needed to be trimmed at a loss-making football club, but talented people are leaving too as it cuts into the meat of Manchester United.
Fortunes can change quickly in football, but United are miles away from where they need to be. The worst Tottenham Hotspur team for decades played United four times this season and won all four games. It’s that bad.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
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Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
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Take your litter home with you
Specs
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
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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.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Madjani Stakes Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
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8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,900m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,400m
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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
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Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
Liverpool v Roma
Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)
Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
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Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
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RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
