Gary Neville believes Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal hasn’t “cracked” despite showing signs of pressure -- and insists he’ll win the Premier League within three years.
Neville, speaking in Singapore ahead of the opening of his Hotel Football project at Old Trafford, said the Dutchman was on track and that criticism was wide of the mark.
A frustrated Van Gaal this week issued a four-page dossier to combat claims United were playing a “long-ball” game, a move seen as a sign that the pressure was starting to tell.
“He’s quite clearly not cracked,” former defender Neville told AFP in an interview.
RELATED:
[ - Aguero splendid for City; Willian fires up Chelsea – EPL action in pictures ]
[ - Diego Forlan: Godin should be regarded as one of the best in the world ]
“He’s an experienced manager, he’s probably just got to the point where he thinks, ‘I’ve had enough, I’m going to bite back a little bit’.
“I didn’t see it as someone who’s cracking, personally. I thought it was something he won’t do again, on the other hand I didn’t think it was so bad.
“But I understand the reaction.”
Neville said United’s league position of third, and with an FA Cup fifth round tie this weekend, showed Van Gaal was on course for a “sensational” debut season after they finished seventh and trophyless last year.
“I like what he’s done. A lot of people have been criticising him but he’s been pragmatic, he’s changed his style to suit,” Neville said.
“It’s not always been the best football in the world but then what Manchester United need this season is a Champions League finish and then hopefully an FA Cup run and maybe an FA Cup victory. That would be a sensational season.”
He added: “People have been critical because he’s not playing this way or that way (but) it takes time, he’s only been there seven months.”
Neville said he wanted to see former team-mate Wayne Rooney restored to the attack from midfield -- but that the England forward would not complain about his new, withdrawn role.
“I played with Wayne for many many years and he’ll play left wing, he’ll play right wing, he’ll play wherever you ask him to play and he never complains,” Neville said.
“He always does the job for the team, he’s a team man.”
He added: “Because of (Van Gaal’s) track record and the fact that there’s been progression already, I think that they will win the league inside three years.
“He’s done it everywhere that he’s been and I’ve got no reason to doubt him.
“The first thing you do when you build a house is put the foundations in. Manchester United are tough to beat... so he’s put in a very good foundation of resilience.
“The flair, the nice bits, come after, and that’s what I think we’ll see.”
The 133-room Hotel Football, which flanks Old Trafford, is backed by former Manchester United team-mates Neville, his brother Phil, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt, along with Singapore billionaire and Valencia owner Peter Lim.
The football-themed, four-star hotel, with a five-a-side pitch on its roof, opens for business on March 2.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
Stan Lee
Director: David Gelb
Rating: 3/5
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder mild hybrid
Transmission: 7-speed S tronic
Power: 265hp / 195kW
Torque: 370Nm
Price: from Dh260,000
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
How to tell if your child is being bullied at school
Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety
Shows signs of depression or isolation
Ability to sleep well diminishes
Academic performance begins to deteriorate
Changes in eating habits
Struggles to concentrate
Refuses to go to school
Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings
Begins to use language they do not normally use
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
