Wigan Athletic 3 // West Ham United 2
WIGAN // When Wigan Athletic visited Upton Park in November, West Ham United branded it "Save our Season" day. Now it is beyond salvation, a day of demotion and dismissal culminating in the departure of their manager, Avram Grant.
Unemployment is the reward for underachievement. There was no great escape, no reprieve, no consolation to be taken from a shockingly bad season. They have gone down to the Championship with a team whose pedigree - not to mention their wage bill and spending on signings - suggested a top-half finish was feasible.
Instead, they are officially the league's worst side, one who contrived to squander a two-goal lead against relegation rivals and lose.
It was a match to sum up West Ham's slide; by taking one point from seven games, they have squandered a promising position.
The consequences were swift and brutal: Grant was gone within the hour. The messages from the directors' box and the away fans, chorusing insults, were uniformly negative, the only support a taunt from the sky.
Minutes after Conor Sammon scored the goal to effectively demote West Ham, a passing plane trailed a banner reading: "Avram Grant Millwall legend", no doubt sent by fans of rivals Millwall, a team they will face next season.
"Whatever people will want to say, it's OK," Grant said, conducting a press conference while his employers determined his future. "Football is a game of results. My job was to keep the team in the league and I failed. I take responsibility."
Magnanimous as that sounded, few were in any doubt the Israeli was culpable. A familiar list of excuses followed, incorporating the club's financial situations and injuries, along with refereeing decisions.
He disputed another yesterday, for the free kick that led to Wigan's first goal: not for the first time, his claims did not stand up to scrutiny. West Ham's co-owners, David Gold and David Sullivan, almost sacked him in January. Four months later, they pulled the trigger.
Thus, in all probability, ends a managerial career in England that has been a curiosity - his mumbling persona bemused many - but has resulted in abject failure at Upton Park. This was his second successive demotion, after Portsmouth tumbled a division 12 months ago and, if he escaped censure then, there was no repeat.
West Ham's frustrations have increased in his ill-fated reign. They were apparent again, from supporters causing significant damage to the toilets in the away end to Scott Parker's post-match confrontation with Wigan supporters who had staged a pitch invasion. He had to be restrained by his coaches.
It was a day of extreme emotions. Wigan, when trailing 2-0, were all but relegated themselves.
They rallied, staging an extraordinary comeback and ending the match amid scenes of jubilation
The normally restrained Wigan manager Roberto Martinez was on the pitch after Charles N'Zogbia's 94th-minute winner. "Today's game was something unique, a unique moment in our history," Martinez said.
Three points may be needed at Stoke City on Sunday to rescue his side, but they have earned a chance that appeared impossible.
"At half time it was a real, real mountain to climb," Martinez added. His side trailed to two Demba Ba headers, with Thomas Hitzlsperger involved in both goals.
Wigan rallied. N'Zogbia's rising free kick flew past Robert Green. Ben Watson then set up Sammon, who turned and shot to defeat the goalkeeper. When Ben Watson's 90th-minute shot hit the post and rebounded to Green, victory seemed to have eluded them.
Instead, N'Zogbia fired in an effort that Green allowed to squirm in. A lifeline for Wigan brought the death knell for Grant.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
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Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
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SAUDI RESULTS
Team Team Pederson (-40), Team Kyriacou (-39), Team De Roey (-39), Team Mehmet (-37), Team Pace (-36), Team Dimmock (-33)
Individual E. Pederson (-14), S. Kyriacou (-12), A van Dam (-12), L. Galmes (-12), C. Hull (-9), E. Givens (-8),
G. Hall (-8), Ursula Wikstrom (-7), Johanna Gustavsson (-7)
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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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
