If you think things are bad at Manchester United, who sit nine points behind their arch-rivals Manchester City and Liverpool after only seven league games of the Premier League season, take a look at the fortunes of another giant United, Newcastle.
The fifteenth best-supported football club in the world, with average sell-out crowds of 51,000, have not won a trophy since 1969.
They have not won a game in the league this season, drawing two and losing five.
Manchester United fans rightly complain about the lack of goals, wins and the style of football under Jose Mourinho, yet the Tynesiders have managed only four goals so far.
Fans firmly blame the club’s owner Mike Ashley for their woes. They think he doesn’t invest enough, has long lost interest and have long sided with manager Rafa Benitez.
It’s not as if they have not been in a similar situation before – Newcastle have been relegated twice in the last decade.
A year ago, Newcastle fans were optimistic that their club was going to be taken over, but they have been let down so many times and nothing has materialised.
_______________
Read more
Manchester United's struggles continue after one-dimensional and ponderous display against Valencia
Richard Jolly: Short-termist Mourinho sadly fits in at what feels like a soulless Manchester United
Pogba's form and a lack of goals: The problems facing Jose Mourinho and Manchester United
The problem with Newcastle United is ... how long have you got?
_______________
Yet still they go, tens of thousands of them, week after week. Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby wasn’t a million miles from the truth when he advised his former player Charlie Mitten in 1958 to take the Newcastle top job because “30,000 would turn up to watch the team shirts dry”.
There are higher expectations at Old Trafford, where Newcastle visit on Saturday evening for the final Premier League game before a two-week international break, but these are not being met.
Another defeat for a Manchester United side who have won only one of their five home matches this season in all competitions is unthinkable.
They are expected to bounce back from last Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of West Ham United, as well as to make amends for Tuesday’s disappointing goalless draw against Valencia at Old Trafford in the Uefa Champions League.
The stadium will be full and the fans will get behind their team. They will sing for the beleaguered Jose Mourinho.
In their hearts they still hope that he can turn the club’s fortunes around, even if in their heads they have serious reservations.
Too many players are not performing for their manager, for themselves or for the loyal supporters. Seven games into the 38 game league season and United fans do not expect their team to win the league, making it a sixth year without a title.
It is not close yet to the 26-year wait between 1967 and 1993, nor to Liverpool still waiting for a first title since 1990, but the worry is that United are going backwards, not forwards.
Nobody knows how long Mourinho will remain in his job. You hear statements like “He won’t reach Christmas” at United matches, but they’re based on hunch rather than fact.
United dismissed David Moyes in 2014 after it became mathematically impossible for his side to qualify for the Champions League, one of the key minimum requirements for United’s commercial machine.
The club stood by Louis van Gaal for months after his team went eight games without a win in November and December 2015.
The Dutchman learned of his dismissal minutes after winning the 2016 FA Cup. That was not enough to save his job since he too had failed to get United into the Champions League with a top-four finish.
Fans had long tired of the football under Van Gaal, but he was given every chance to turn fortunes around.
Mourinho’s having his toughest spell since taking charge in June 2016, but the club gave him a contract extension in January – after he was successful in his first year and his team played well up to the halfway point in his second. And, to spin the current negativity around, his side are still only five points off a Champions League place.
Though Mourinho almost sounded like his side had reached their best under him last season when he spoke after the Valencia game.
There was a sense of resignation, but he is determined to fight on. Why should he step down from his job, when he’d receive £15 million (Dh71.5m) in compensation if United were to sack him?
That is still cheaper than replacing a team – the next manager might want to do that as Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho said they needed to.
Mourinho’s men must beat a Newcastle side who defeated them when they last met in February.
Not much will change if they do, but the consequences are beyond thinking about for Manchester United fans if they do not and the negative vibes are allowed to continue festering.
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.”
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20The%20Cloud%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20George%20Karam%20and%20Kamil%20Rogalinski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Food%20technology%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%2B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Middle%20East%20Venture%20Partners%2C%20Olayan%20Financing%2C%20Rua%20Growth%20Fund%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Tiger%20Stripes%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amanda%20Nell%20Eu%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zafreen%20Zairizal%2C%20Deena%20Ezral%20and%20Piqa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
Results
2.30pm: Dubai Creek Tower – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Marmara Xm, Gary Sanchez (jockey), Abdelkhir Adam (trainer)
3pm: Al Yasmeen – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: AS Hajez, Jesus Rosales, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.30pm: Al Ferdous – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Soukainah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
4pm: The Crown Prince Of Sharjah – Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: AF Thayer, Ray Dawson, Ernst Oertel
4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup – Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: George Villiers, Antonio Fresu, Bhupat Seemar
5pm: Palma Spring – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Es Abu Mousa, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
