In the east end of London, close to the north bank of the Thames and just before the river loops around the Isle of Dogs, there is a road called Senrab Street.
It is typical of the district of Stepney, two-storey terraced houses along each pavement. This road has acquired a mystique. Its unusual name is said to come from inverting the letters which spell "Barnes", because there was already a Barnes Street barely 200 metres away.
But largely, Senrab Street has become famous because of the junior football club formed there and named after it. In English football there are few local clubs as productive in making future professionals as Senrab.
Here is a list of some of the current players who passed through Senrab's ranks as they grew up in east London or neighbouring Essex: John Terry, of Chelsea; Ledley King and Jermain Defoe of Tottenham Hotspur; Sol Campbell, of Newcastle United; Bobby Zamora of Fulham; Lee Bowyer of Birmingham City and Jlloyd Samuel of Bolton Wanderers.
To that you can add Ray Wilkins, a former England captain of the 1980s, Muzzy Izzet, the former Turkey midfielder, and Chris Hughton, the ex-Republic of Ireland full-back and now the Newcastle manager. And to complete an international XI there is Paul Konchesky, the Liverpool and England left-back.
As a boy at Senrab, Konchesky, now 29, was a winger, his speed and accurate left foot put to use serving, among others, Zamora, the centre-forward with whom Konchesky would be reunited at Fulham.
He grew up close to Terry and they remain good friends. "It was a tremendous age group," said Gary Northover, who coached Konchesky and his Senrab contemporaries as boys. "We had a great set of young players coming through. They're from the old-fashioned system, if you like: you played for a good Sunday club, then you played for your district, then your county.
"What was also strange is that none of these boys got to play for England as 16-year-olds, and none went to the FA's Lilleshall academy."
Konchesky, who has a strong East End accent, maintained his London roots through most of his career, first with Charlton Athletic, briefly with Spurs, then with West Ham United and Fulham. In August, he moved north, to join what he described to reporters as "the biggest and best club" of his career.
He had become a priority target for Roy Hodgson, the new Liverpool manager, and the fact Hodgson had recruited Konchesky from his old club, Fulham, inevitably put the new signing under scrutiny.
Konchesky had been one of half a dozen footballers whose reputations at Fulham had soared as Hodgson guided a small, modest club to the final of last season's Europa League.
Sceptics at Anfield were curious about whether Hodgson saw Konchesky as a footballer capable of rising still further in more elevated company, or whether he simply wanted to bring in an ally.
So far, the jury on Merseyside is out. Konchesky's strengths have always been as an attacking full-back. He has industry, pace and a fine cross. At a Liverpool side who lurched through various problems on and off the pitch for the first two months of this season, Konchesky's defensive rigour has been examined. He is not, it is fair to report, the most two-footed of full-backs, and while his ferocity in the tackle is usually an asset, he concedes his share of free-kicks.
Hamstring problems also affected his form, but his fitness has improved in tandem with Liverpool's results. After struggling to stay the full 90 minutes until late October, he completed all four of Liverpool's successive wins going into last night's fixture at Wigan Athletic.
Should he go on to achieve form as consistent as with Fulham, Konchesky would be entitled to hope for a possible England recall.
He will be only 31 for the Euro 2012 finals. His previous caps came to him some time ago, in 2003 and 2005, but left-back is not a position where there is an abundance of cover for Ashley Cole, the stand-out English full-back of his generation.
Konchesky has admitted to feeling "gutted" that he has not added to his pair of caps but acknowledges Cole was always likely to be an impediment. Indeed, Konchesky could have foreseen that many years ago. In East End schoolboy football, Senrab matches against a club called Puma were usually tough ones, because Puma had in their line-up a young flier, then playing as striker. He was Ashley Cole.
sports@thenational.ae
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.
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.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Sam Smith
Where: du Arena, Abu Dhabi
When: Saturday November 24
Rating: 4/5
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
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
THE CARD
2pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
2.30pm: Handicap Dh 76,000 (D) 1,400m
3pm: Handicap Dh 64,000 (D) 1,200m
3.30pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh 100,000 (D) 1,000m
4pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (D) 1,000m
4.30pm: Handicap 64,000 (D) 1,950m
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Name: Maitha Qambar
Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Education: Master’s Degree
Favourite hobby: Reading
She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
