Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, is to follow the example of Arsene Wenger and give youth a chance in tonight's Carling Cup north London derby clash against Arsenal.
Wenger has long seen the Carling Cup as a platform to blood youngsters and give squad players a run out.
It is a measure of Tottenham's progress under Redknapp that Spurs no longer see the competition as one of their priorities now that, like Arsenal, they are involved in the Champions League.
So Redknapp is more interested in how Sandro, his summer recruit from Brazil, or Giovanni Dos Santos, the young Mexican, perform than the result.
Redknapp said: "Because we have a big Premier League game against West Ham [United] coming up then the Champions League against FC Twente next week then another tough league game against Aston Villa, I have to give some of my players a rest.
"That's just how it has to be. But, like Arsenal have done over recent years, the Carling Cup gives me the chance to give younger players a chance and also give some of my fringe players a much-needed game.
"I am really excited to see what Sandro can do. I can't lie and say he is a player I have unearthed.
"His arrival from Brazil is down to our scouting staff. But the boy has a lot of talent. You don't get into the full Brazil squad at such a young age if you are a mug.
"He is not the usual sort of Brazilian midfielder though. He is a tall player who runs bit strange. He is not, say, a Robinho.
"If you want a comparison he looks, runs, passes and plays a bit like the famous Socrates. If he can be half as good as him then we really will have a player on our hands. But we need to find out if he can cut it and this is a game that gives us a chance."
Three years ago, a strong Spurs side beat a second-string Arsenal 5-1 in the semi-final of the competition and went on to lift the trophy. But Redknapp said: "That was before I was here but it was actually a bad thing for the club. After that the club couldn't win a game, which eventually led to me coming here."
He added: "For all that, given the rivalry of both our clubs, I am still sure it will be an exciting occasion for both sets of fans. And while we will be giving some younger players a chance, we will still give it a go and if you consider that we will have the likes of David Bentley and Wilson Palacios in our team, then I don't think you can call it a weak team. It actually shows that we now have the sort of strong squad to compete with the best even when we don't play all our best players."
@Email:sports@thenational.ae
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The Roundup : No Way Out
Director: Lee Sang-yong
Stars: Don Lee, Lee Jun-hyuk, Munetaka Aoki
Rating: 3/5
UAE medallists at Asian Games 2023
Gold
Magomedomar Magomedomarov – Judo – Men’s +100kg
Khaled Al Shehi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Faisal Al Ketbi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Asma Al Hosani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -52kg
Shamma Al Kalbani – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -63kg
Silver
Omar Al Marzooqi – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Bishrelt Khorloodoi – Judo – Women’s -52kg
Khalid Al Blooshi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -62kg
Mohamed Al Suwaidi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -69kg
Balqees Abdulla – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -48kg
Bronze
Hawraa Alajmi – Karate – Women’s kumite -50kg
Ahmed Al Mansoori – Cycling – Men’s omnium
Abdullah Al Marri – Equestrian – Individual showjumping
Team UAE – Equestrian – Team showjumping
Dzhafar Kostoev – Judo – Men’s -100kg
Narmandakh Bayanmunkh – Judo – Men’s -66kg
Grigorian Aram – Judo – Men’s -90kg
Mahdi Al Awlaqi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -77kg
Saeed Al Kubaisi – Jiu-jitsu – Men’s -85kg
Shamsa Al Ameri – Jiu-jitsu – Women’s -57kg
Top 10 most competitive economies
1. Singapore
2. Switzerland
3. Denmark
4. Ireland
5. Hong Kong
6. Sweden
7. UAE
8. Taiwan
9. Netherlands
10. Norway
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
