Manchester United’s trophyless season will end on Sunday at Selhurst Park, with the club at sixes and sevens set to finish in sixth or seventh.
Sixth will mean Europa League football next term – which is better suited to United’s current level than Champions League, seventh will be the Europa Conference League. There was a time when United fans used to mock sides like Liverpool for playing Europa League football.
Sunday is a big game against a Crystal Palace side who still have the potential to jump from 13th to ninth in the league, a difference of £18 million in prize money. Palace have a superior goal difference to the teams above them, they’ve taken four points off Manchester City and Arsenal this season and lost only four of their last 16 games.
The last time United picked up so few points in England’s top division was 59 in 1990-91 when the team finished sixth. The final game of that season was away to Palace, who finished third and beat United 3-0. United’s minds were on a European Cup Winners’ Cup final in Rotterdam four days later. There have been no such cup distractions this season with exits from all three cups by March – and all at Old Trafford, too.
Erik ten Hag has been keen to start his new job early after leading Ajax to a third Eredivisie league title in four years, but the first time he’ll work with his new team is scheduled to be at the end of June for an August 6 start to the season.
United will fly to Bangkok on July 8 ahead of their first pre-season friendly against Liverpool on July 12. United’s pre-season training is due to start one week earlier than usual in Manchester – the only reason for that is because the competitive season commences early because of November’s World Cup finals in Qatar. International players will come back a week later after they’ve had the minimum three weeks off.
Man United's lowest Premier League points tally ever - in pictures
United are at rock bottom and changes are happening aplenty both on the football side and away from it. Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata, Phil Jones, Jesse Lingard and Edinson Cavani are all set to leave, vastly reducing United’s wage bill and freeing up budgets for incoming players. Most of those players were on huge contracts, which were incentivised if the team reached the Champions League. One had a contract that was unchanged whether United played Champions League football or not.
On the coaching side, Rangnick and some of the coaches he brought in will depart. Coach Neil Ryan, a stalwart and son of former assistant manager Jim Ryan, will also leave.
Poor results have meant that negativity has seeped into the dressing room and there are divisions and suspicions. An investigation into leaks from the dressing room was carried out and concluded, with the club satisfied that it will be less of an issue next season.
Ralf Rangnick has failed as interim manager and the idea that he has overseen other decisions at the club in relation to staff or player departures is inaccurate. He had almost no say in the appointment of Ten Hag, he was told to concentrate on coaching the first team at an early stage in his tenure. He’ll become manager of Austria, the 34th ranked team in Europe. Whether his United consultancy becomes a meaningful one, as he hopes, is doubtful.
The players are also culpable. They let Ole Gunnar Solskjaer down in his final two months, but they’re also very frustrated by how they can’t speak out about Rangnick to answer some of the public criticisms he’s putting their way.
Ten Hag needs help and support, but changes continue apace and with that comes shifting plates of power. Since Solskjaer lost his job in November, the following people have left or are about to leave the club: Ed Woodward, the most senior executive, senior coaches Michael Carrick, Martyn Pert and Kieran McKenna; communications chief Charlie Brooks, chief scouts Jim Lawlor and Marcel Bout; director of football negotiations Matt Judge. Some of these exits were the club’s choice, others were not. Days before Judge left, player agents were still being directed to speak to him.
Manchester United 3 Brentford 0 - player ratings
John Murtough is in a powerful decision-making role, Richard Arnold is his boss and will want to make his improvements on the job done by his friend and former colleague, Ed Woodward, who now has no say in how the club is run, but there will be more people leaving, including some long-standing staffers.
While there is much scope for improvement in several areas at United, new does not necessarily mean better. Hemen Tseayo, for example, very highly regarded as the chief strategist, chose to go last week. Some fans cheer every departure out of the door since they associate them with a failing football team and might ask whether United’s chief strategist had any worthwhile strategy, but it’s not quite so simple. Fans didn’t care that three coaches followed Solskjaer out of the door. The players and Rangnick did.
There had to be changes in some areas and not only on the pitch where United have a goal difference of +1 after 37 games. United’s recruitment has been so poor and not streamlined. Top players like Ngolo Kante or Joao Cancelo are identified, then vetoed rather than signed.
This is a club that baulked at paying £36 million for Jude Bellingham but could pay up to £37m for Amad Diallo, another teenager who has mostly been a substitute for Glasgow Rangers. The Ivorian is 19 and has time to come good at a higher level, but United have wasted hundreds of millions on underperforming players and their salaries.
There were mitigating factors – there always are in football – and Bellingham thought he had a better chance of first-team football at Dortmund. Given he became a mainstay in the team that finished second in the Bundesliga this season, he’s entitled to feel vindicated, but United have missed out on too many talents.
Ten Hag may decide to take on board what Rangnick tells him about the failing collection of footballers he’s managed for half of this season but the Dutchman can pick who he wants to speak to and he’ll choose his own way with his own men. He’s worked with sporting directors in the past, he’s told United that he’s comfortable with the structure that he’s entering at the club. He will have a veto over any signing, just as Solskjaer and previous United managers had.
United have a budget to buy new players but there will be no splurge of money of the kind that West Ham United are asking for Declan Rice. Most football clubs are recovering from Covid-19 and United don’t intend to pay a premium on signings – and that includes Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong. The Dutch midfielder, who played under Ten Hag at Ajax, is of interest to United, but it won’t be an easy deal to do given how much the Catalans paid for him and that his manager Xavi Hernandez wants to keep him. Yet Barcelona still need to raise funds.
Ajax’s defender Jurrien Timber is admired, but midfield and attack are United’s top priorities this summer. There’s a hope that Raphael Varane can have a much better second season in England after arriving from Real Madrid and that captain Harry Maguire can get back to the level he was at a year ago before his injury. Victor Lindelof is also rated at Carrington, but the new manager will have his view on all the players.
United’s transfer budget is also dependent on how much is raised from sales. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson has long had suitors from big Premier League sides. Anthony Martial failed to have an impact on loan at Seville, but he’s worth something. Phil Jones still has a year on his contract and as he showed in his brief performances this season, he’s capable enough to perform in the Premier League.
There’s uncertainty about and the mood has been low at the Carrington training ground, though it was boosted by the news that Ten Hag wants to get started early and the FA Youth Cup success of the under 18s in front of a crowd that was almost twice the size of the previous record for the competition.
The domestic season will end on Sunday, but United will remain in the headlines. There’s a constant demand for news given United’s global support with the prospect of potential new players, owners or technical staff going viral and hotly debated – even if the stories can be based on conjecture or wishful thinking rather than fact. United’s main rivals, meanwhile, make their headlines where it matters most – on the pitch.
Most agents will happily see their players linked to United, many are ringing the club with one of the biggest budgets in world football to offer their players – including some very big names, but United have been down this road so many times and big names haven’t equalled big trophies in the past five years – though there have been second and third places in the Premier League.
Ten Hag will need time, support and patience, but he has to find another way of winning.
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.
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
RESULT
Huddersfield Town 2 Manchester United 1
Huddersfield: Mooy (28'), Depoitre (33')
Manchester United: Rashford (78')
Man of the Match: Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
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
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
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Citizenship-by-investment programmes
United Kingdom
The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).
All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.
The Caribbean
Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.
Portugal
The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.
“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.
Greece
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.
Spain
The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.
Cyprus
Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.
Malta
The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.
The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.
Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.
Egypt
A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.
Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties
More on Quran memorisation:
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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
BAD%20BOYS%3A%20RIDE%20OR%20DIE
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J%20Street%20Polling%20Results
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Under-21 European Championship Final
Germany 1 Spain 0
Weiser (40')
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
