Harry Winks, left, needs to be careful lest he gets tripped by expectations. Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
Harry Winks, left, needs to be careful lest he gets tripped by expectations. Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
Harry Winks, left, needs to be careful lest he gets tripped by expectations. Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
Harry Winks, left, needs to be careful lest he gets tripped by expectations. Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images

A nudge to Winks: Tottenham's promising star must keep feet to ground


John McAuley
  • English
  • Arabic

England debut on October 8, starting at the Bernabeu nine days later, it has been quite the few weeks for Harry Winks.

The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder emerged from both with reputation burnished. Indeed, his rise has been swift. Before Tuesday's Uefa Champions League encounter with holders Real Madrid, Winks had started five Premier League games. It was his fourth full appearance in Europe's elite club competition.

Yet he belied his lack of experience and his tender years. At 21, and against one of the game’s most accomplished midfields, Winks offered an exceptionally assured performance. Positioned at the heart of the Tottenham line up, he was calm in possession and courageous on the ball, too.

A product of the club’s academy, Winks used to watch with wonder Luka Modric during the Croat’s time at White Hart Lane. Five years on, he was pitted in direct confrontation, on football’s grandest stage. He did not look out of place.

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Impressive throughout, Winks's pass accuracy clocked at 91 per cent. Modric ranked at 88 per cent, teammate Isco at 90. Contrary to consensus, 31 of Winks’s 44 passes went forward. Playing at home and emboldened by three Champions League titles in four years, predictably Modric exerted more control. Alongside him, so too Toni Kroos, a World Cup winner.

But Winks shone even in such exalted company. Mauricio Pochettino found space for him in arguably his greatest test as Tottenham manager. It betrays the confidence the Argentine has in his protege. Granted, there were injuries to Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama, but Pochettino chose instead to revert Eric Dier to centre-back. Winks occupied the middle.

Undeterred by the occasion or the opposition, Pochettino’s faith proved well founded.

A maturity off the pitch was matched by his performance on it. Analysing the game for British television, Frank Lampard compared Winks to Michael Carrick. Within the Tottenham squad, he has been labelled “Little Iniesta”.

If that feels a little fanciful, it stresses that caution is required as well. The English game has been pockmarked by potential unfulfilled. Players are hyped too readily, expected to contribute too much too soon.

A teammate of Winks for Tottenham and now for England, Dele Alli has already justified the attention and the expectation. Yet he has not started this campaign as he concluded the last. Suspended from Tottenham’s first three Champions League group games, he has not featured in Europe at all.

Alli enjoyed a breakout season in 2016/17, scoring 18 goals in 37 Premier League games. In eight thus far in 2017/18, he has found the net twice. In general, his influence has diminished.

The same age as Winks, it emphasises how emergent footballers are open to deep dips in form.

With Winks, it would be wise to pay heed. It is only the beginning, and it will be intriguing to see how he is utilised once Dembele and Wanyama return. What it does, though, is present Pochettino with options. Against Madrid, he deployed three tight in central midfield. Winks expands those permutations.

For England, it remains to be seen where he fits in. Devoid of a deep-lying playmaker, Winks does not appear the obvious answer, not until he is tested again, examined more thoroughly. Gareth Southgate is already an advocate. He is sure to try him out again.

Should England perform admirably at the World Cup next summer, Pochettino will have played his part. Of the national team’s last 21 debutants, his teams have supplied 17. Winks represents the latest.

His most recent display promises much. If Harry Kane made September at Spurs his, then his namesake can lay claim to the first few weeks of October. As the Tottenham supporters like to crow, Winks is one of their own as well.

He has a long way to go yet to match Kane's import, both for club and for country. But the past 10 days have been testament to Winks’s temperament as much as his talent.

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Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting

-      Don’t do it more than once in three days

-      Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days

-      Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode

-      Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well

-      Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days

-      Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates

-      Manage your sleep

-      People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting

-      Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert

SERIE A FIXTURES

Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)

Cagliari v AC Milan (6pm)

Lazio v Napoli (9pm)

Inter Milan v Atalanta (11.45pm)

Sunday

Udinese v Sassuolo (3.30pm)

Sampdoria v Brescia (6pm)

Fiorentina v SPAL (6pm)

Torino v Bologna (6pm)

Verona v Genoa (9pm)

Roma V Juventus (11.45pm)

Parma v Lecce (11.45pm)

 

 

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

If you go

The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.

The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.