• More: 2016/17 Premier League fixtures in UAE time
The National's sports team is counting down the days until defending champions Leicester City take on newly promoted Hull City in the opening fixture of the 2016/17 English Premier League season by looking at one team a day. Today, Bournemouth.
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One of last season’s feel-good stories emerged from England’s south coast as the smallest club in the league, expected by many to battle relegation all season, comfortably secured their top-flight status, and did so playing attacking, expansive football.
Yes, they did suffer a poor run of form in the latter stages of the campaign, but they can be forgiven a late season lapse. The job for Bournemouth and manager Eddie Howe is to build on that impressive debut season.
There is certainly no lack of ambition at the club, and £15 million (Dh72.3m) has already been spent on exciting winger Jordan Ibe from Liverpool. Highly rated midfielder Lewis Cook has also been signed from Leeds United, as has young French forward Lys Mousset from Le Havre, so the club are wasting little time in bolstering their squad with promising youth.
Big money was spent in January on striker Benik Afobe, and after an encouraging start at the club, he will be expected to fire the goals for Bournemouth this season. The Premier League is a tough place but Bournemouth seem to be doing all they can to solidify their status.
Pessimists may predict Bournemouth to suffer from second season syndrome, and given the fierce competitiveness of the Premier League, it is certainly possible, particularly if injuries are sustained by key players.
Yet, there is an air of optimism around the club, and as long as Howe guides them through the inevitable rough patch suffered by most bottom-half clubs during the course of a season, they should be fine.
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Previously
• Hull City: Promoted club had unstable summer
• Middlesbrough: Hopes lie largely in Spaniards
• Burnley: Third time the charm?
• Sunderland: Moyes the make or break factor in survival hopes
Still to come
• Tomorrow: Crystal Palace
• Saturday: West Bromwich Albion
• Sunday: Watford
• Monday: Swansea City
• Tuesday, Aug 2: Everton
• Wednesday, Aug 3: Chelsea
• Thursday, Aug 4: Stoke City
• Friday, Aug 5: Liverpool
• Saturday, Aug 6: West Ham United
• Sunday, Aug 7: Southampton
• Monday, Aug 8: Manchester United
• Tuesday, Aug 9: Manchester City
• Wednesday, Aug 10: Tottenham
• Thursday, Aug 11: Arsenal
• Friday, Aug 12: Leicester City
• Saturday, Aug 13: Premier League season begins
jturner@thenational.ae
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Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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Match info
Wolves 0
Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')
Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)
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
