Comebacks can obscure the reasons they are required.
When they are as dramatic as a recovery from 3-0 down to procure a point at Chelsea and when they follow the familiar narrative of Manchester United's refusal to accept defeat, they can prompt more praise than a regulation victory.
Wayne Rooney's marauding bullishness, Javier Hernandez's predatory ebullience, Ryan Giggs's wonderful delivery, Paul Scholes's timelessly classy passing: all are deserving of acclaim. Yet the fact remains that United trailed 3-0 to the least distinguished Chelsea side of the Roman Abramovich era.
Sir Alex Ferguson argued that one was a magnificent strike - Juan Mata's volley - and the other two were own goals, even if David Luiz was credited with Chelsea's third, despite a hefty deflection off Rio Ferdinand.
His analysis is true up to a point.
Yet examine United's defensive record and it is decidedly mixed. This is the team with the most clean sheets in the Premier League. Yet they have also conceded six times to Manchester City and three each to Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea and Newcastle United. This is a side that veers between frugality and fragility.
When Nemanja Vidic has played, however, United have only been breached twice in six games and even those were the consequence of a goalkeeping error and a penalty that should not have been awarded. When the captain has been missing, they have let in 22 goals in 18 games.
Now the Serbian is sidelined for the season and, while every team would lament the loss of the best defender in the country, United miss his brand of defiance. They have been further hindered by the injuries that have made continuity impossible, yet each of the four other central defenders appears a superior player when Vidic is by his side.
In Chris Smalling's debut season at United last year, he looked assured alongside Vidic and inexperienced without him. Ferdinand's finest form of his career has come as the Serb's sleeker partner; without him, decline is more apparent.
For all his abundant promise, Phil Jones's best United displays have come at right-back or in midfield, not in the central defensive role he is likely to adopt in the long term.
And while his own goal was unfortunate, Jonny Evans lacks presence and is often error prone.
With Patrice Evra below par on the left, a rotating cast of right-backs and the uncertain, if occasionally brilliant, David de Gea behind them, the men in the middle merit sympathy. Their counterparts at other elite clubs may be protected better.
Of late and of necessity, Sir Alex Ferguson's midfield pairings, Michael Carrick alongside either Scholes or Giggs, have been essentially constructive. The advantages of a more destructive player were clear last month when Newcastle's enforcer Cheik Tiote turned in a performance of awesome power in their 3-0 defeat of United. Ferguson, however, has long been reluctant to sign such a midfielder.
There were hints that the defence needed rather more shielding when Ferguson played an ultra-defensive 4-5-1 at Liverpool in October. Otherwise, however, the manager's tactics get bolder as he grows older.
It provides an invitation to opponents, if they are brave enough to accept it.
As Blackburn, Newcastle, Chelsea and City have shown, attacking United can be a profitable policy. It is stretching it to say they have a soft underbelly but Ferguson's defence is far from watertight.
Swansea City
One of the transfer window's lower-profile signings appears among the most effective. Apart from in his native Iceland, or among supporters of Reading, Hoffenheim and Swansea City, few may have noticed Gylfi Sigurdsson's arrival at the Liberty Stadium.
Borrowed from the Bundesliga club, Sigurdsson played for Brendan Rodgers at Reading. Their reunion appears a masterstroke: the Icelander provided the pass for Danny Graham's winner against Arsenal, scored one and made one in Saturday's victory against West Bromwich Albion and has slotted in seamlessly to Swansea's passing game.
Referees
When, to Stoke City's fury, Robert Huth was dismissed in Saturday's defeat at the Briannia Stadium to Sunderland, he became the seventh player sent off by Martin Atkinson in the Premier League this season. He showed a further 11 red cards last year. Both totals are far higher than those of any other official.
It all suggests he is applying the laws very differently. That should be a worry.
sports@thenational.ae
More Premier League, s10-11
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
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
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
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.”
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Brief scoreline:
Al Wahda 2
Al Menhali 27', Tagliabue 79'
Al Nassr 3
Hamdallah 41', Giuliano 45 1', 62'
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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
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
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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.
