I was looking forward to watching Liverpool against Manchester City last weekend. I thought that two teams desperate for the fourth place in the Premier League and a spot in the Champions League would be fighting tooth and nail for victory.
Instead, I witnessed one of the most forgettable games of the season. In 94 minutes, I counted two shots on goal and a lack of ambition from both sides. The managers seemed content with the draw, but I doubt the fans felt the same.
City have to take on Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United, Arsenal and Aston Villa over the next few weeks. Not only that, their games against teams struggling against relegation will be demanding for different reasons. They have no option but to raise their game otherwise they are heading for a very disappointing season.
Wednesday's FA Cup defeat by Stoke City ended any hopes they had of winning their first trophy since 1976. That's 34 years. I know it was in the cup, but City are poor away from home having won just three times in 13 league games.
Only Everton have conceded more goals than City in the top 10 and most of those were when they were injury hit at the start of the season. It's being unbeaten at home, which leaves City fifth in the table, level on points with fourth place Tottenham but with a game in hand.
City were hoping for a top-six finish at the start of the season but given the money spent, that was conservative. Sixth is now looking more likely than fourth if City don't take risks and make better use of their talented squad of players.
Liverpool could have been beaten, but City are lacking direction and the players don't seem to know what they are aiming for. And publicly saying that they were expected to finish in the top six set the standard too low.
I always remember Kevin Keegan telling us at Newcastle that we were going to win the league at the start of every season. It was a bit surreal hearing him, but such ambition and confidence breeds a belief lacking at City and there are already murmurings about the new manager, Roberto Mancini.
Fans do have to realise that spending money doesn't equate to instant success though. Real life football is not like a computer game and teams need time to gel. I don't think that Mark Hughes was given enough time and I hope the same fate doesn't befall Mancini.
He is not doing that much different to Hughes and got off to a flying start with six wins in his first seven games, but City have won just twice in the last seven. Better is expected, but a manager needs time and not speculation about his job. City have now changed managers around once a year and that doesn't lead to a stable football club.
Liverpool are the side most threatened by the new Manchester City. The top three positions already look decided by Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, but Rafa Benitez's side have been dreadfully inconsistent all season.
Less was expected of Arsenal, but I think Arsene Wenger has again done superbly on more limited resources than United or Chelsea, though Theo Walcott is the player who most intrigues me at The Emirates.
He was labelled as the new Thierry Henry when he signed from Southampton as a 16-year-old, but he has a long, long way to go before he can compared to my friend Henry.
Put simply, I'm not convinced by Walcott. I know he has been frequently injured, but he has failed to produce on a consistent basis when fit. He has speed, but he can sometimes run the ball out because he doesn't know where to go with it.
People have cut him a lot of slack because of his age, but he's 20 now. He is light years behind where Wayne Rooney was at that age and needs to show a big improvement if he's to be international class.
Walcott was a surprise call-up in the England squad for the 2006 World Cup, where he was a spectator. Fabio Capello will be making the decision this time about whether he goes to the South Africa or not, but I'm not sure if he - or anyone - knows what his best position is.
Wenger is usually such a shrewd judge of a player, but he doesn't appear to know either whether Walcott is better used as a winger or centre forward.
I trust Capello to make the right decision, one of many he's got to make at the moment. I don't envy him.
@Email:sports@thenational.ae
Results
ATP Dubai Championships on Monday (x indicates seed):
First round
Roger Federer (SUI x2) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x4) 6-4, 6-1
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x7) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.
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"
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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
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
RESULT
Bayern Munich 5 Eintrracht Frankfurt 2
Bayern: Goretzka (17'), Müller (41'), Lewandowski (46'), Davies (61'), Hinteregger (74' og)
Frankfurt: Hinteregger (52', 55')
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
