Tottenham's Son Heung-min celebrates with Vincent Janssen, left, after scoring his third goal during the English FA Cup quarter-final against Millwall at White Hart Lane  in London, Sunday, March 12, 2017. Matt Dunham / AP Photo
Tottenham's Son Heung-min celebrates with Vincent Janssen, left, after scoring his third goal during the English FA Cup quarter-final against Millwall at White Hart Lane in London, Sunday, March 12, Show more

Son Heung-min will have to be the man for all occasions as Spurs face run-in without prolific Harry Kane



The chant had been saved up for weeks, if not months. They were waiting for a special occasion. The fifth goal in a rout of a third-tier side sufficed. “Vincent Janssen, he scores when he wants,” was the chorus at White Hart Lane when, seven months after his debut, the Dutch forward finally mustered a goal that was not a penalty.

Tottenham Hotspur's 6-0 thrashing of Millwall was a tale of two strikers, the sidelined and the scorer, and a third who did a fine impersonation of a forward. Their biggest win of the season has the potential to prove the most damaging if Harry Kane's ankle injury means he is barely seen again in a Spurs shirt before August.

Janssen’s tally of one goal in 30 games in open play – admittedly two-thirds of his appearances have been from the bench – scarcely suggests he can do the job he was supposed to when Tottenham paid £17 million (Dh76m) to secure a deputy to Kane. It was a vote of no confidence from Mauricio Pochettino when, even against Millwall, he did not bring on Janssen for the stricken top scorer.

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Read more

■ Team of the week: Son Heung-min hat-trick sees Spurs run riot in FA Cup

■ White Hart whitewash: Tottenham continue home-ground dominance with FA Cup win over Millwall

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Which suggests that, to a large extent, Tottenham’s fortunes may depend upon Son Heung-min, winger and willing worker, stand-in striker and Sunday’s hat-trick scorer. Before Kane left White Hart Lane on crutches and with his leg in a protective boot, Tottenham had started to look near-certainties for a top-four finish; his departure was a moment to give Arsenal and Manchester United renewed hope of catching Chelsea’s closest challengers.

Kane’s relentlessness can make him seem indestructible. His scoring feats mean he can camouflage Spurs’ striking failures in the transfer market. He rendered the ineffectual Roberto Soldado irrelevant, rather than positioning the Spaniard as the reason why ambitions went unrealised. Last season, Tottenham scored 95 goals. Kane was the only specialist striker to find the net.

Last Sunday, during the course of a Kane-inspired 3-2 win over Everton, Spurs fans’ mocking song was: “Just a one-season wonder.” Because Kane does not exude class at first glance, he was underestimated. He has scored 83 goals in three campaigns; but for two ankle injuries this season, he may have recorded a century.

His last spell out of the team, from September to November, was instructive. Tottenham produced one of the Premier League campaign’s outstanding performances, and Son thus one of the finest individual displays, when the South Korean inspired them to a 2-0 win against Manchester City.

Yet Tottenham only scored two goals in the last five games of Kane’s previous absence. They began by proving they could cope without him and ended up showing that they could not. Not for an extended period, anyway.

Now the fixture list offers the chance of a repeat. Spurs only face two of the top nine in their remaining league games. Yet those potentially destiny-defining games against Arsenal and United, plus the FA Cup semi-final and a possible final, all come in the season’s final weeks.

Perhaps, should the results of Kane’s scan allay their worst fears, he will be available. Or perhaps Son will continue to shoulder a huge burden. A player who asked to leave Tottenham last summer has been one of the transformative figures of their campaign, making crucial contributions off the bench, in attack, between the lines or, most often, veering infield from either flank to shoot.

Such is his impact in a variety of roles that he can feel the best squad player in the division. And while Pochettino pursues cohesion and consistency, finding a side and sticking with them to engineer chemistry, it is simplistic to say Tottenham only have a first XI. Instead, they have a core of about 16. But outside that linger men such as Janssen, Moussa Sissoko and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, all expensive signings, all expected to add other dimensions going forward.

None have done. Kane, in alliance with the excellent Christian Eriksen and the irrepressible Dele Alli, has compensated. Yet one rolled ankle later, they look very reliant on Son.

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While you're here
The specs: 2018 Audi Q5/SQ5

Price, base: Dh183,900 / Dh249,000
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder /  3.0L, turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic / Eight-speed automatic
Power: 252hp @ 5,000rpm / 354hp @ 5,400rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,600rpm / 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy: combined 7.2L / 100km / 8.3L / 100km

About Seez

Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017  

Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer

Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon 

Sector:  Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing

Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed

Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A 

Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds 

EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE

Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)

Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1

Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)

Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)

Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)

Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)

Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)

Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)

Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)

Source: Emirates

Al Jazira's foreign quartet for 2017/18

Romarinho, Brazil

Lassana Diarra, France

Sardor Rashidov, Uzbekistan

Mbark Boussoufa, Morocco

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)

Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt

Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure

Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers

Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised

Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels

Defending champions

World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack

Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica

Best Agent: Jorge Mendes

Best Club : Liverpool   

 Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)  

 Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker

 Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

 Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP

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Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)

Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)

Best Women's Player:  Lucy Bronze

Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi

 Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)

 Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)

 Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs

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Director: Payal Kapadia

Starring: Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam

Rating: 4/5

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David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.

The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.

Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.

Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.

Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.

At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn. 

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Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 118hp
Torque: 149Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Price: From Dh61,500
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Main card
Middleweight:

Robert Whittaker defeated Ikram Aliskerov via knockout (Round 1)
Heavyweight:
Alexander Volkov def Sergei Pavlovich via unanimous decision
Middleweight:
Kelvin Gastelum def Daniel Rodriguez via unanimous decision
Middleweight:
Shara Magomedov def Antonio Trocoli via knockout (Round 3)
Light heavyweight:
Volkan Oezdemir def Johnny Walker via knockout (Round 1)
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Lightweight:

Nasrat Haqparast def Jared Gordon via split decision
Featherweight:
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Welterweight:
Rinat Fakhretdinov defeats Nicolas Dalby via split decision
Bantamweight:
Muin Gafurov def Kang Kyung-ho via unanimous decision
Light heavyweight:
Magomed Gadzhiyasulov def Brendson Ribeiro via majority decision
Bantamweight:
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Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.

Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food + Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."

Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.

In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love". 

There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.

While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."

First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus 

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Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari

Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.

Number of employees: Over 50

Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised

Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital 

Sector of operation: Transport

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Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
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Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying

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