Marco Reus, Mats Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan … when Liverpool appointed Jurgen Klopp, it permitted their fans to salivate about the prospect of Borussia Dortmund's greatest talents arriving at Anfield.
The gulf between great aims and a more mundane reality has been a recurring theme at Liverpool for many a year.
Never greater, seemingly, than when news emerged on Tuesday of Klopp’s centre-back target: not the World Cup winner Hummels, but the relegation specialist Steven Caulker, who turned in an appalling performance against Liverpool when they won 6-1 at Southampton.
Read more: Dele Alli signs new contract at Tottenham; Liverpool target QPR's Steven Caulker
Yet the move for Caulker, a past target of former manager Brendan Rodgers, is the product of extraordinary circumstances.
It has to be placed in the context of Klopp’s baptism of fire in England, when a crowded fixture list has been compounded by almost unprecedented injury problems.
If 13 were sidelined, and others rested, for Friday's FA Cup draw with Exeter City, the probability is that the absentees for Wednesday night's game against Arsenal will number at least eight.
There has been a backdrop of debate if Klopp’s training methods or high-energy, gegenpressing style of football has rendered so many of his players hamstrung.
The reality is that other injuries – knee problems in particular – are also a significant factor.
Yet while Jordon Ibe, Jordan Henderson and James Milner should be fit, and Mamadou Sakho could be, the consequence is still that Liverpool enter a defining week, where they face Arsenal and Manchester United, severely weakened.
Klopp’s team have been inconsistent in the extreme in his three-month reign, veering from displays of barnstorming brilliance at Chelsea and Manchester City to utterly abject displays against Watford, West Ham United and Newcastle United.
The most encouraging element is that Liverpool have been at their best when the spotlight has shone brightest.
It has suggested Klopp is a big-game manager, who is capable of calibrating his tactics perfectly for the major occasions.
Liverpool have excelled at Stamford Bridge and the Etihad Stadium. They won the first leg of their League Cup semi-final at Stoke City last week.
They ran riot at St Mary’s against Southampton, where a tougher test had been anticipated. The common denominator is that each was away from home.
Read more: 'Legs are fine' for Arsenal as they face ravaged Liverpool + Premier League kick-off times UAE
Arguably – and some may dispute this in the case of the Stoke and Southampton games – they were outsiders on each occasion.
Anfield is yet to witness a truly outstanding performance under Klopp. It does not feel a coincidence. Roberto Firmino has only scored once but has flourished as a false nine on the road. He has not at home.
Anfield matches seem to call for a more conventional centre-forward, but the fact that Christian Benteke started in an otherwise depleted team at Exeter would suggest he is bound for the bench again on Wednesday night.
A criticism of Rodgers was that he crowbarred midfielders into his team in all sorts of unsuitable positions. Now Klopp, albeit when his decisions are complicated by injuries, could inadvertently copy his predecessor.
Strikers Daniel Sturridge, Danny Ings and Divock Origi are out. So are centre-backs Dejan Lovren and Martin Skrtel. Should Sakho join them in the stands, midfielder Lucas will be deployed in the middle of the defence.
He improvised manfully in an unfamiliar role at Stoke alongside an ageing and injury-prone Kolo Toure.
For title-chasing Arsenal and under-pressure United alike, Liverpool’s injuries present an opportunity.
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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.”
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
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Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Hotel Data Cloud profile
Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)
