Brendan Rodgers left Liverpool last week after three seasons in charge. Phil Noble / Reuters
Brendan Rodgers left Liverpool last week after three seasons in charge. Phil Noble / Reuters

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Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers lined up to replace Tim Sherwood at Aston Villa — reports

Brendan Rodgers is in line to replace Tim Sherwood at Aston Villa if the current manager fals to reverse the club's poor form, according to reports.

The National staff

October 11, 2015

Brendan Rodgers is in line to replace Tim Sherwood at Aston Villa if the current manager fails to reverse the club’s poor form, according to reports in the British media.

Sherwood took over at Aston Villa seven months ago, and despite guiding the club to the FA Cup final, is finding himself under increasing pressure due to a disappointing start to the season.

Villa have won just one league game this season — against promoted Bournemouth on the opening day — and the Daily Mirror are reporting that Sherwood has been told to win at least one of the next two games or face getting sacked. Those matches will be a trip to Chelsea and a home tie against Swansea City.

According to reports, Villa owner Randy Lerner is becoming nervous at the prospect of relegation, particularly with the record TV revenue Premier League clubs can expect at the end of the season.

As well as within the club hierarchy, fans are also becoming concerned with the leadership of Sherwood and his tactical ability, demonstrated by Villa surrendering a two-goal lead against Leicester to lose 3-2.

Should Sherwood vacate his position, former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is reportedly in the frame to fill the role.

Rodgers was sacked by Liverpool last week after three seasons in charge, but The Sun claim he could be back in work imminently, with Villa keen on his services.

The National view

Tim Sherwood was the darling of the Villa Park terraces last season, with his emphasis on attacking football providing a much-needed breath of fresh air into the place after Paul Lambert’s dour reign. Securing Premier League status and reaching the FA Cup final should have given Sherwood plenty of room for manoeuvre this season, but having lost his two key players in Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke, the current campaign has started poorly. While a degree of sympathy can be felt for Sherwood losing his best players, the fact Villa are struggling will cause the owner to panic. Whether another manager could do better with the tools at their disposal is what Randy Lerner must decide, and if the American feels he could lure Brendan Rodgers to Villa Park, then Sherwood’s days could be numbered.

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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.”

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Was a middle distance state athletics champion in school

Enjoys driving to Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah with family

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Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.

The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.

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