Reaction from Premier League managers after Saturday’s action
Tottenham ‘still fighting for title’
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino. Jan Kruger / Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino insisted his side were “still fighting” for the Premier League title after a 2-0 win at Burnley secured a “massive” three points.
Spurs’ success at Turf Moor, with their goals scored by Eric Dier and Son Heung-Min, came as league leaders Chelsea suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace.
The results saw Spurs close to within seven points of London rivals Chelsea, with both sides having nine league games remaining this season.
“It was difficult to play the way we normally play,” Pochettino said. “It’s a massive three points for us and we have to still believe and fight for the title.
“We showed great belief and faith and character and that makes me very proud.
“I think the performance was great, not brilliant, very professional and this is a difficult place.
“We knew very well how difficult Burnley have made it for other teams here so I give a lot of credit to my team.
“They battled for every ball — we knew that Burnley are very direct and very physical, but we stopped them and then in the second half started using the ball.”
Manchester United ‘not consistent’
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho. Lee Smith / Reuters
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho openly criticised four of his key players after yet another frustrating Premier League game at Old Trafford ended in a 0-0 draw with West Bromwich Albion.
Mourinho’s side have now drawn eight league games at home this season, and in seven of them they were comfortably the more dominant team but ultimately failed to turn possession and chances into goals.
The latest disappointment followed that pattern with United enjoying 75 per cent possession but failing to end a run of home draws that has left them facing an uphill task to finish in the top four.
And Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial found themselves publicly criticised by Mourinho as a United team without six key players through injury or suspension, took their total of home points dropped in drawn games to 16 for the campaign.
“This is déjà vu all season,” Mourinho said. “We’re not consistent. We miss easy chances. We have moments or periods when we push but then a couple of players disappear for 10 minutes, when you don’t see them.
“You always see the same people, the same guys in front of the train, pulling the train. It’s disappointing.
“We need to kill off teams. When you see the number of goals we score compared to our domination, it’s a big contradiction.
“If you’re somebody who doesn’t know, you would think we’re a defensive team, a counter-attack team, waiting for opponents’ mistakes. And it’s completely the opposite.
“But see how may goals our guys score during the season — Rashford, Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Martial. See how many goals they score and then Zlatan and Mata are the ones with more goals.
“If they are not, the situation gets more difficult.”
Title race ‘more interesting’ for Chelsea’s rivals
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte. Tony O’Brien / Reuters
Antonio Conte said Chelsea’s shock 2-1 defeat against Crystal Palace has blown the Premier League title race wide open.
Conte’s side went into Saturday’s clash with relegation-threatened Palace sitting 10 points clear at the top of the table and having won their previous 13 fixtures at Stamford Bridge.
But after goals from Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke fired Palace’s stunning upset and second-placed Tottenham won at Burnley, Chelsea found their lead cut to seven points with nine games remaining.
“For others this is a good result. It makes it more interesting, the championship,” said Conte, who’s side face Manchester City on Wednesday.
“But I always said that the league finishes when it is mathematically sure you have won. Otherwise you must play every game to try to win because, I repeat, in England easy games do not exist.
“We have to play on Wednesday against Manchester City and we all know the strength of this team.
“But, now, the most important thing is to recover very well and rest.
“It’s important to prepare in the right way for this game, but I think, in England, there are no easy games.
“You could see that today against Crystal Palace. Every game will be very tough from now until the end.
“Also, if the team is Manchester City or a side fighting in the relegation zone.”
Liverpool wait on Mane injury after ‘deserved victory’
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. Paul Ellis / AFP
Sadio Mane looks set to miss Liverpool’s match against Bournemouth on Wednesday after suffering a knee injury during their 3-1 victory over Everton.
The Senegal forward scored an early goal as Jurgen Klopp’s side strengthened their hopes of Uefa Champions League qualification with a deserved win in the 228th Merseyside derby at Anfield.
Mane limped off in the second half following a collision with Everton defender Leighton Baines, but did not leave the ground on crutches, giving Liverpool hope he will not be out for long.
“Today nearly everything was perfect, then we lose Sadio Mane,” Liverpool manager Klopp said.
“When I saw him in the dressing room, it didn’t look as if he would be ready for Wednesday. We will see. We hope it’s not that serious, but it does not make our life easier.
“Obviously he has pain and it didn’t look like it’s only a knock or a muscle or something, but we have to wait.”
Commenting on the game, Klopp said: “It was a deserved victory. We controlled the ball after the first few minutes. I told the boys to be really smart and emotional.
“The last 20 minutes were a bit wild. When organisation doesn’t work any more, you have to defend with passion.”
Shakespeare ‘very proud’ to join elite company
Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare. Andrew Boyers / Reuters
Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare moved within touching distance of achieving his main goal of top-flight survival and joined managerial royalty in the process as the Premier League champions beat Stoke City 2-0.
But Shakespeare admitted he has having to pinch himself after extending his perfect start to life at the helm of the club with a fifth successive win.
Saturday’s home success at the King Power Stadium saw Shakespeare become the first Englishman to win his first four games as a Premier League manager.
In doing so he joined serial winners Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Guus Hiddink and Pep Guardiola as the only managers to achieve the feat.
“I’m very proud,” said Shakespeare, whose other win came in the Uefa Champions League.
“You sometimes have to pinch yourself in terms of the names being mentioned.
“I’m at a very, very early stage in my management career but to be mentioned in the same breath of them makes me very proud.
“I realise there’s a lot people to thank along the way, in terms of my previous managers when I’ve been an assistant, but also the players.”
* Agencies
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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.”
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
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