Liverpool rarely need a reason to reminisce about the past, but this week offers two anyhow. A plight that was compounded by Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Arsenal can render their history infinitely more preferable, even without a landmark.
But yesterday, 28 years after his death and in the month of the 50th anniversary of his appointment at Anfield, Bill Shankly was made an honorary citizen of Liverpool.
In December 1959, a promising but unexceptional managerial career ended and a legend began. It is the fate of every subsequent Liverpool manager to be measured by the standards Shankly set. With the notable exception of Bob Paisley, none are flattered by the comparison.
Now it is Rafa Benitez's turn. The charismatic Scot and the stolid Spaniard may seem to have little in common.
Indeed, the former said: "If you are second, you are nothing." Benitez, at the moment, is seventh in the Premier League.
Shankly, too, stated that the two finest teams on Merseyside were Liverpool and Liverpool reserves. That, of course, was before a second-string 11 that included Andriy Voronin and Sotirios Kyrgiakos.
Yet Shankly's legacy goes far beyond that. Since he transformed a struggling second- division club, Liverpool supporters have liked to believe their manager has mystical powers. In the subsequent half-century, only Graeme Souness and, to a lesser extent, Gerard Houllier, have been hounded out of a job.
The mystique of the boot room has seduced some while others are fervent believers in what they termed the Rafalution. It explains why, to the bemusement of supporters of some other clubs, the Kop is not calling for Benitez's head.
So, too, does the financial situation.
Benitez's admission on Friday that the priority in the summer was to reduce the club's debts, caused by co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, rather than strengthening his squad, was notable, if only because it confirmed what was long suspected. Shankly, it is worth remembering, walked out of other clubs - Grimsby, in his case - because of a lack of investment. Benitez, despite the restrictions placed upon him, has not.
While the Scot often threatened to resign as manager before eventually handing in his notice in 1974, the Spaniard has passed over the chance to lead Real Madrid to stay on Merseyside. Commitment is not confined to the past.
And while the three decades after Shankly's arrival brought unparalleled success to Anfield, it is easy to forget that Liverpool went seven years without a trophy, between 1966 and 1973, under a manager whose status was secure. It puts Benitez's position - in his fourth year without silverware - in context.
But Shankly's greatness was ensured at the end of his reign. His third league title came in 1973, when the Uefa Cup was also won. The FA Cup followed in his final year. That was his second outstanding team.
For Benitez, who has only two survivors of his 2005 Champions League-winning side, it illustrates the task with a newer group of players. A constancy of purpose served Shankly well and Benitez, a similarly obdurate if rather less quotable character, has to show the same determination.
Because, if he completes the five-year contract he signed in March, Benitez will become Liverpool's longest-serving manager since Shankly. To finish it, however, he must oversee an improvement, rather than the meltdown Souness apocalyptically predicted last week.
With Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres back, there is a solitary crumb of encouragement. But confidence is lacking as Benitez admitted after the defeat to Arsenal.
Shankly, the master motivator, excelled at making his charges believe.
Now the most vocal protest group among fans is called Spirit of Shankly. More than ever, Benitez needs to demonstrate that he possesses the spirit of Liverpool's most iconic manager to rouse his struggling team.
Chelsea's defence has been breached only 13 times this season, but that includes 11 set-pieces.
Each of Everton's goals in Saturday's 3-3 draw came from dead-ball situations and, while Chelsea fielded such sizeable players and such able headers as Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, Branislav Ivanovic, Ricardo Carvalho and John Terry, uncertainty has been spread from the back.
For years, Petr Cech's teammates have regularly proclaimed him the best goalkeeper in the world. On his current form, he is a long way from being the finest in England.
"I always said that Chelsea would drop points. They have and they will. Everybody will," he said.
Arsene Wenger is emerging as the most astute analyst of an unpredictable title race. While others regarded Chelsea as invincible, the Arsenal manager retained a quiet confidence.
Victory at Anfield on Sunday leaves Arsenal only six points behind the leaders and with a game in hand. Written off after their defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea, Arsenal remain very much in contention.
Goal of the weekend, and perhaps of the season, came at Stoke's Britannia Stadium on Saturday when Wigan's Maynor Figueroa's quick thinking and combination of precision and power enabled him to score from a 61-yard free kick.
He joins David Beckham and Xabi Alonso in an elite group of Premier League players who have scored from their own half.
Richard Jolly is an authority on the English game and has written about all four professional divisions for, among other titles, The Guardian and The Sunday Telegraph
rjolly@thenational.ae
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
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Initial investment: $2.45 million
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Buyers should try to pay as much in cash as possible for a property, limiting the mortgage value to as little as they can afford. This means they not only pay less in interest but their monthly costs are also reduced. Ideally, the monthly mortgage payment should not exceed 20 per cent of the purchaser’s total household income, says Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching.
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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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