An injury-free Andy Carroll can be just as lethal as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo

Who is better? Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? The eternal debate will rage on over which is superior long after both football super freaks hang up their boots.

Maybe both will be eclipsed by the goalscoring exploits of Luis Suarez. Perhaps Neymar will also come into the equation. Anyone seen Paul Pogba boss a midfield like, well, a boss?

Whatever your personal preference let’s at least all agree that we are blessed to witness so many great talents all in one era. What a time to be alive!

But not every player has the sublime skills and mercurial talent of Messi, who sits on the brink of reaching 500 goals for both Barcelona and Argentina.

Not every player can scale the record-breaking heights of Ronaldo, whose goal in a 4-0 rout of Eibar on Saturday saw him become the first player in the history of La Liga to score 30 goals in six consecutive seasons. He usually adds about 20 more on average to that tally for good measure as well.

Take Andy Carroll as a case in point.

Nobody is going to make the case that the West Ham United striker is on the same level as any of those already mentioned. Carroll is never going to ghost past players and leave a trail of defenders chasing his shadow. He is never going to be the goal machine that separates the good from the ridiculously good. Playing 30 Premier League games a season would represent an achievement for the injury-prone frontman.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place in football at the highest level for the Andy Carrolls of this world.

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One glance at the former Newcastle United and Liverpool striker will tell you exactly what his strengths are: holding the ball up, physicality and as with anyone who stands 1.93-metres tall, heading the ball. A classic English centre-forward.

That last attribute is something that Carroll can make genuine claims to be the best in world football at. Carroll's forte is playing on the shoulder of a team's shortest defender, invariably a full-back, and lurking with menacing intent waiting for the kind of deliveries Aaron Cresswell and Michail Antonio supplied for two of his headed goals in Saturday's thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Arsenal.

His third, also via a cross into the box, was dispatched with the skill and technique for which he is so underrated for and the velocity that goalkeepers simply don’t save. As his manager Slaven Bilic gushed after watching his striker’s eight-minute hat-trick: “Andy Carroll has everything. It’s impossible to stop him.”

And in that kind of form, Carroll is simply unplayable and just as terrifying for defenders to face as Messi or Ronaldo. They say defenders fear speed more than anything, but dealing with a giant battering ram, one who towers over your most towering centre-back and is a constant threat from set pieces, is no picnic either.

But Bilic’s words of praise also came with a caveat: “He has to stay away from those injuries.”

Those injuries – it seems Carroll has been sidelined by everything from galloping lergy to Saturday Night Fever – have limited him to just 21 Premier League appearances this season and 74 in total since joining West Ham, initially on loan, in the 2012/13 season.

Keep him fit and West Ham have a weapon every bit as nuclear as anything Barcelona or Real Madrid have in their armoury.

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How green is the expo nursery?

Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery

An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo

Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery

Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape

The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides

All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality

Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country

Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow

Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site

Green waste is recycled as compost

Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs

Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers

About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer

Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.

Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months

Managing the separation process

Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.

Tickets

Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

MIDWAY

Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index

Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.

The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.

“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.

“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”

Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.

Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.

“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.

Leaderboard

15 under: Paul Casey (ENG)

-14: Robert MacIntyre (SCO)

-13 Brandon Stone (SA)

-10 Laurie Canter (ENG) , Sergio Garcia (ESP)

-9 Kalle Samooja (FIN)

-8 Thomas Detry (BEL), Justin Harding (SA), Justin Rose (ENG)

On Women's Day

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

EPL's youngest

Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old

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