Some sports put a big emphasis on assists. Take ice hockey's NHL for example. The Art Ross Trophy is given to the player with the most points, which is the combined total of goals and assists in a season.
In football however, it is the goalscorers who get the most accolades.
Alan Shearer is the Premier League's all-time top scorer with 260. With Andrew Cole, he shares the record for the most league goals in a season - 34 for Blackburn Rovers in 1994/95. Every football fan remembers Shearer as one of the greats, but who can recall Jason Wilcox and Stuart Ripley, the two Blackburn wingers who set up most of his goals? Were they not just as important?
The competition to be crowned this season's PFA Player of the Year - an award voted for by every professional footballer in England - was wide open. There was no outstanding candidate as in previous seasons.
However, I feel the award went to the wrong player for the wrong reasons. The award this season was going to divide opinions, because of the wide range of candidates.
But there is a feeling that Gareth Bale came out on top as much because of the hype surrounding one or two performances in the Champions League rather than consistent results on the pitch.
Bale is a winger and his primary role in the team is to create goals. This season he has just one assist in the league, three in total. Compare that to other midfielders who were in the running for either Player of the Year or Young Player of the Year.
Arsenal's Jack Wilshere, who won the young player award, has nine assists in total, Manchester United's Nani has 18, Bale's teammate, Rafael van der Vaart, has eight.
OK, so Bale also scores goals, but so have all the other midfield nominees for this season's PFA awards.
Arsenal's Samir Nasri, Nani, Van der Vaart and Charlie Adam of Blackpool have all scored more league goals in 2010/11. Bale is not even among the top five goal scoring midfielders in the league.
Let's not forget that Tottenham will finish the season without a trophy and, lying in fifth place in the league, they are pushing it to qualify for the Champions League.
In fact, if any Spurs player deserved the award it is probably Van der Vaart. He has more goals and assists than Bale and that is in his first season in English football. Tottenham also have a better win ratio with him in the side (57 per cent) than with Bale in the side (42 per cent).
So why did Bale win the award? The key is in its name. It is voted for by players and most of them are in action on Saturdays or Sundays.
They do not watch 90 minutes of Bale in action in the Premier League week in week out. Where they will have been able to watch Bale is in the Champions League and that is where he put in his two best performances of the season.
It also counts that those games were at the back end of 2010, especially as voting takes place way before the season is over.
A hat-trick away against Inter Milan in the San Siro. Check. Tearing apart Brazilian international right-back Maicon at White Hart Lane. Check. Having television pundit Trevor Francis put you on a par with Lionel Messi. Check.
Bale is a great player, there is no doubt. But a whirlwind of hype has masked the fact that he still has a long way to go before he can be touted as one of the world's best.
Proof of this, I am certain, will come when English football's second Player of the Year award is dished out later in the season.
That is voted for by member of the Football Writers' Association (FWA) and I am positive Bale will not be the winner.
Fitness first
In an age where squad sizes can range from anywhere between 20-35 players, the chances of playing in every Premier League game are hampered by many things over the course of a season. Injuries, suspensions and loss of form aside, there are also the distractions of the cup competitions, international matches, and, if you are one of the top teams, European games. So, as we enter the final run-in of the 2010/11 campaign, it is testament to the fitness, as well as the consistency, of nine top-flight players who have taken part in 33 league matches for their various clubs this season, and it would be no surprise to see that number rise to 38 come the end of the campaign.
Nine men standing
Name team Appearances
Leighton Baines, Everton 33
Sylvain Distin, Everton 33
Stewart Downing, Aston Villa 33
Ian Evatt, Blackpool 33
Brad Friedel, Aston Villa 33
Jonas Gutierrez, Newcastle 33
Tim Howard, Everton 33
Jose Reina, Liverpool 33
Martin Skrtel, Liverpool 33
Where have they been?
QPR were one of the original members of the Premier League in 1992 but have not graced the top tier since being relegated in the 1995/96 season. Assuming Neil Warnock's side – who head the Championship, the second-tier of English football – by eight points with four games to go, win promotion, it will end a 15-year hiatus from the top division for the London club. That is nothing compared to the likes of Swindon Town and Oldham Athletic, now of League One, who have yet to make a return to the Premier League since being relegated in 1993/94.
Longest gap away from the Premier League
Team Years
Swindon Town 17
Oldham Athletic 17
QPR 15
Barnsley 13
Nottingham Forest 12
twoods@thenational.ae
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
Afghanistan Premier League - at a glance
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Fixtures:
Tue, Oct 16, 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Kabul Zwanan; Wed, Oct 17, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Nangarhar Leopards; 8pm: Kandahar Knights v Paktia Panthers; Thu, Oct 18, 4pm: Balkh Legends v Kandahar Knights; 8pm: Kabul Zwanan v Paktia Panthers; Fri, Oct 19, 8pm: First semi-final; Sat, Oct 20, 8pm: Second semi-final; Sun, Oct 21, 8pm: final
Table:
1. Balkh Legends 6 5 1 10
2. Paktia Panthers 6 4 2 8
3. Kabul Zwanan 6 3 3 6
4. Nagarhar Leopards 7 2 5 4
5. Kandahar Knights 5 1 4 2
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
Power: 300hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
Price: from Dh199,900
On sale: now
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Keita 5', Firmino 26'
Porto 0
Sukuk
An Islamic bond structured in a way to generate returns without violating Sharia strictures on prohibition of interest.
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
%3Cp%3EYears%3A%20October%202015%20-%20June%202024%3Cbr%3ETotal%20games%3A%20491%3Cbr%3EWin%20percentage%3A%2060.9%25%3Cbr%3EMajor%20trophies%3A%206%20(Premier%20League%20x%201%2C%20Champions%20League%20x%201%2C%20FA%20Cup%20x%201%2C%20League%20Cup%20x%202%2C%20Fifa%20Club%20World%20Cup%20x1)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
