Inserting one letter can change a great deal. It is a couple of years since Jose Mourinho, the self-styled "Special One", was first branded "the Special Once". It is a nickname that feels ever likelier to catch on. The Manchester United manager's past is undeniably brilliant. A present framed by a wretched defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion is altogether bleaker.
The knee-jerk reaction was to proclaim it the worst performance of the Portuguese’s reign, perhaps even since Alex Ferguson retired. Without conducting a forensic performance of too many lamentable days under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, the bigger concern should be that, abject as United’s were, it was not so much a new low as a familiar one. Perhaps the worst of all remains the 3-1 loss at Watford in 2016, but that was barely six weeks after Mourinho’s first match. Yet much of the competition is more recent: the losses to all three promoted clubs last season were awful, the Uefa Champions League exit to Sevilla hideous.
If the classic Mourinho teams had such a virtual immunity to shocks, the current one are ever more prone to them, to the extent they scarcely rank as surprises. It is a sign expectations have been lowered. United have lost five of their past 16 league games which, after three defeats in the previous 26, shows regression. It supports the theory Mourinho’s teams are at their best in the first half of his second seasons at a club. If the Portuguese’s past at Old Trafford was brighter than the present, even that peak only secured second spot.
Since then, United have become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Mourinho's weekend began with the jibe at Manchester City that "you can't buy class". The champions, 6-1 winners over Huddersfield Town, then demonstrated class on the pitch. Mourinho spoke in the summer of facing a "difficult" season and seems to be proving himself right. With his lengthy, and ultimately unsuccessful pursuit of centre-backs, he gave the impression his current defenders are not good enough. Suitably undermined, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof, two of his recruits, were duly dreadful at Brighton.
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Read more:
Andy Mitten: Misery for Mourinho as uninspired Man United lose at Brighton
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Manchester United's Paul Pogba: 'There are things that I cannot say'
Mourinho: Second with Manchester United in 2017/18 is one of my biggest achievements
Mourinho looks set for 'third season syndrome' at Manchester United but with a difference
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United have been belittled by their manager, in the manner of a man looking to get his excuses in early. Mourinho has taken an active interest in City’s and Liverpool’s spending, while conveniently overlooking his own. He has implied his team cannot compete, something their performance in Sussex suggested.
So it is worth underlining that United's starting XI, even with Andreas Pereira standing in for Nemanja Matic, cost over £400 million (over Dh1.8 billion). It was not evident in their performance, but then that is part of the problem. Too often Mourinho's United look less than the sum of their expensive parts and players do not play to their considerable potential. The Portuguese hints that this is not truly his side, that he was denied his additions, but he made more summer signings than Mauricio Pochettino or Pep Guardiola. The Catalan missed out on Jorginho and Jurgen Klopp on Nabil Fekir, so Mourinho is not alone in being denied some of his major targets. These are not special circumstances. Rather than passing the buck, Mourinho could do with taking more responsibility.
His sullen streak can be reflected in his team. There can be a joylessness to United, functional when winning and morose when not. Some at United, both among the powerbrokers and in the fanbase, accepted the Faustian pact of employing Mourinho, accepting the football might not be thrilling, but recognising the importance of winning, both because of the post-Ferguson slide and because Guardiola was materialising on the other side of Manchester.
Yet if there was never a great deal of warmth in the relationship, it feels ever colder. Mourinho was United’s pragmatic choice, but there is little pragmatic in a £400 million side losing to Brighton, especially if it is not a one-off. After talking United down, Mourinho is now letting them down.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
The specs: 2019 Audi A8
Price From Dh390,000
Engine 3.0L V6 turbo
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 345hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy, combined 7.5L / 100km
Company%20profile
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Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
The%20specs
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs: 2018 Jaguar F-Type Convertible
Price, base / as tested: Dh283,080 / Dh318,465
Engine: 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 295hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.2L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
RESULT
Deportivo La Coruna 2 Barcelona 4
Deportivo: Perez (39'), Colak (63')
Barcelona: Coutinho (6'), Messi (37', 81', 84')
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The%20specs
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Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
Founder: Ayman Badawi
Date started: Test product September 2016, paid launch January 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software
Size: Seven employees
Funding: $170,000 in angel investment
Funders: friends
SCORES IN BRIEF
Lahore Qalandars 186 for 4 in 19.4 overs
(Sohail 100,Phil Salt 37 not out, Bilal Irshad 30, Josh Poysden 2-26)
bt Yorkshire Vikings 184 for 5 in 20 overs
(Jonathan Tattersall 36, Harry Brook 37, Gary Ballance 33, Adam Lyth 32, Shaheen Afridi 2-36).
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Napoleon
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