Credit: Kevin Jeffers / The National
Credit: Kevin Jeffers / The National

Diego Forlan: Man United fans right to be frustrated but much has changed since Ferguson days



I can understand why Manchester United fans are frustrated. Another 0-0 game at home, the third at Old Trafford in a month, is not what supporters expect.

They are used to seeing their team being one of the best in the world, one of the three or four genuine contenders for the Uefa Champions League. They do not expect 0-0 draws at home to teams from the Netherlands.

United have a history of great European matches; I know, I played in some. Two stick out: Glasgow Rangers, at home, when I scored one of my favourite ever goals. Then a 4-3 win over Real Madrid at Old Trafford, which I did not play in but had the privilege of watching.

European nights were special at Old Trafford. The atmosphere was better than for Premier League games; the floodlights added to the appeal, the top players, the different away supporters, who always made the most of a trip to Old Trafford.

Our strategy was to attack and win. It never changed, home or away. That is how it is at the biggest clubs. When you get two clubs with that mentality you get games like Manchester United 4 Real Madrid 3.

The only time we would change was if we had a man sent off. We did not worry about our opponents, we focused on ourselves because we knew our strengths were greater than theirs. In Manchester, we would come up against some technically excellent European teams and our tactic was to attack them non-stop, at speed.

['Of course I am worried' admits Louis van Gaal as Man United's goal-soring issues continue]

Playing in slower domestic leagues, they were not used to it. We would stun them, the crowd would be on top of them, the balls came straight back in from throw-ins – under strict orders from our manager, Alex Ferguson. Opponents did not have a minute to breathe. I can remember us doing this and beating Juventus in 2003. In fact, we beat them at home and 3-0 away and I played in both. Magnificent results.

And that has changed, but I have some sympathy for Louis van Gaal. United underwent a massive change when Ferguson left. The club did not just lose the man who controlled everything, they also lost the chief executive, several coaches and, in the space of a short time, several players who had spent their lives there, like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, players with thousands of games between them.

It takes time and patience to recover from that and get back to the top, but the demands of the fans did not change. They still expected United to compete with the best, despite United not being the best any more.

Football has changed, too. Teams are more equal, unless they are playing Barcelona. Look at the Premier League table; the fear factor has decreased. It is the same in international football. Teams in the major leagues are full of international players from around the world. That means that the mystique, aura and fear of coming up against world-class players has gone.

If you are a South American player in the Premier League then you will play against every good English player because they all play there. If you are a Uruguayan in Spain then you will play against Lionel Messi twice a year, at least. So when you play for your country against him you are not scared. If you are a PSV Eindhoven player then your paths will have crossed with United players across various leagues.

[Predictions: Spurs inflict more misery on Chelsea, Man United knock Leicester off top spot]

There are other factors that make it harder for United. Because of the huge television deal in England, mid-table Premier League teams are rich enough to afford very good footballers.

Of course, it is better to be a first teamer at the biggest clubs, but most want to become a Premier League player. You are in the best league in the world for an overall package, the most competitive one and the fairest league with the way the television money is distributed, even if La Liga is technically superior. It is the league where the stadiums are always full, the games broadcast around the world.

I can see that United fans are frustrated with the style of football and lack of goals, and the players must take some responsibility, too, especially the big ones, the most talented ones who can change games.

Beating PSV at home is not like beating Real Madrid at home. PSV are a far smaller club than United, yet they beat United in Eindhoven and drewin Manchester on Wednesday. Whatever people say about the missed chances or the possession stats for United, the result is the only thing that people will remember.

Van Gaal knows this and while the Champions League has been disappointing for him so far this season he also knows that the only thing which will keep him in a job is his results.

He is getting those results in the Premier League, though going to Wolfsburg and needing a victory on the final group matchday to stay in the Champions League is probably a bit more uncomfortable than the fans would have hoped for.

It could be much worse, they could be watching Chelsea.

sports@thenational.ae

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What is a Ponzi scheme?

A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.

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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