LONDON // As Harry Redknapp conducted his post-match press-conference, his mobile phone went. He took a glance at it and turned it off. “It’s Charlie Austin’s grandad,” he said. “He’ll be happy tonight.”
It was a moment that seemed to sum up the day. For Queens Park Rangers this was a return to basics, to the family feeling that Redknapp is so good at generating. In a sense, it had to be.
Redknapp had said after the shambles at Tottenham last week that he used a 3-5-2 because Loic Remy cannot operate as a lone striker and that 3-5-2 is the only way of playing two forwards without deploying a 4-4-2 with its inherent risk of using only two central midfielders.
With Remy on his way to Chelsea for £10.5 million (Dh64m), perhaps it made the decision to go to a 4-4-1-1 easier.
“I got a phone call at 12 o’clock to say Loic was leaving,” Redknapp said. “I never had any idea he might be leaving. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the player and he’s got to take it: he’s gone for Champions League football and you can’t blame the lad. He had a buyout clause and he’s got to be the cheapest signing of the century.”
With no Remy, Austin led the line with Leroy Fer playing behind him. Fer was critical. His 25-yard drive against the crossbar, lifted the whole mood of the stadium after a cagey opening, prompting a QPR surge that culminated in the only goal, Fer heading down a corner for Austin to smack in.
“I don’t think there was too much difference between the two teams,” said the Sunderland manager Gus Poyet. “We started well. Then they had that 15 minutes after the shot by Fer. We put ourselves under pressure giving the ball away cheaply and that gave the momentum to QPR.”
Chasing the game, Sunderland put the ball in the box repeatedly, but lacked the quality to carve out clear chances. Clint Hill, recalled to the squad to play at left-back, turned one cross-shot by Adam Johnson over his own bar and Rob Green meet a decent save from an Emanuele Giaccherini snapshot, but that aside it was a lot of effort for little reward.
Poyet spoke of a couple more signings before the window closes on Monday.
“It was well-deserved,” said Redknapp. “You’ve got to work hard to get results. The big problem we had in the first couple of games was I had to throw a team together with players who weren’t fit. They need to play together. When you’re down got to pick yourself up.”
He’s done that for now, but the suspicion is that both these sides will be down a lot more before the end of the season.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on Quran memorisation:
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 715bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,289,376
On sale: now
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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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
