When Randy Lerner put Aston Villa up for sale last May, the end game of the American billionaire’s reign was predicted to cause only further doom and gloom for the Premier League strugglers.
Instead, even those with a bit of blue blood in their claret could hardly have credited how, rather than worsening the dispiriting climate of uncertainty, Lerner’s announcement has, almost perversely, given his grand old Midlands club a new lease of life.
The idea of Villa lying second in the table and still unbeaten after four games – topped by a win at Liverpool at the weekend – would have been considered a wild fantasy by most supporters when Lerner revealed his plans to look for a buyer.
Yet, even if Villa fans do not feel quite so dizzy after a tough run of upcoming games including tests against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, manager Paul Lambert is adamant that, by making his intentions clear, Lerner has somehow helped provide a fresh “feelgood factor” at Villa Park.
“The fans have had a hard time of it of late, everybody knows the situation at the football club,” Lambert said at Anfield.
“I think the chairman coming out and saying what he has said has actually galvanised the supporters and I really think they’re behind the team.”
Of course, the cloud of uncertainty over Villa’s future cannot evaporate until a buyer is found to take over from Lerner, whose £300 million (Dh1.78 billion) investment in buying, modernising and professionalising the club has marked him out as one of the worthier Premier League owners.
Yet while the search continues, nobody could accuse the 52-year-old Lerner of losing his focus on Villa and of not trying to ensure that he leaves behind a thriving concern.
He has chosen the final days of his regime to appoint a new chief executive, the former Arsenal high flyer Tom Fox, who has been instrumental in trying to pin down key players to long-term contracts.
Striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has already signed for another four years and Villa are confident midfielder Fabian Delph will follow suit.
After one of the least distinguished spells for Villa in a generation – the club have finished 16th, 15th and 15th in the last three seasons – it seems a strange accident of timing that Lambert should finally hit upon the right recipe for onfield success.
The “feelgood factor” he talks about stems largely from the sense that, as he suggested after the Anfield triumph, his team had finally come of age, with the club’s thrusting young talent having “grown up and become men this season” in front of some streetwise defenders such as Philippe Senderos and Alan Hutton.
It appears an encouraging mix with the new loan signing from Manchester United, Tom Cleverley, looking as if he may enjoy being freed from his Old Trafford difficulties.
By the way the trio suffocated Liverpool’s midfield, he is going to savour playing alongside the ever-improving Delph and Ashley Westwood.
Behind the scenes, Lambert’s decision to appoint Roy Keane to his coaching team has evidently been a roaring success too.
Villa’s highly-rated teenage midfielder Jack Grealish has talked about how the former Manchester United captain’s presence “flooded” him with confidence, even if their first meeting evidently gave a reminder of how Keane also comes armed with a touch of the fear factor.
“On the first day of training, I didn’t start the session that well,” recalled Grealish. “He tapped me on the shoulder after a half an hour, saying ‘Are you all right?’ and I replied ‘yeah’. Then he asked me: ‘When do you start training then?’”
You can imagine that, combined with the terrible cold-eyed Keane stare, that might have been a little intimidating but it may be more than coincidence that even with the future far from clear, Villa are learning winning ways again with a serial winner on their case.
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Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
SPECS
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SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli
Price, base / as tested: Dh269,000 / Dh369,000
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 355hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.9L / 100km
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
THE RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Alnawar, Connor Beasley (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Raniah, Noel Garbutt, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 2,200m
Winner: Saarookh, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (PA) Rated Conditions Dh125,000 1,600m
Winner: RB Torch, Tadhg O’Shea, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: MH Wari, Antonio Fresu, Elise Jeane
7.30pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,600m
Winner: Mailshot, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
The Vines - In Miracle Land
Two stars
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Vikram%20Vedha
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.