Though the anger has not touched the levels of two years ago after Manchester United lost four successive games in December under Louis van Gaal, it has not been a good month for the club or manager Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho, the club and the players have all been criticised by fans doubly frustrated by their own woes and also because Manchester City are galloping into the distance towards a fifth top-flight title in 137 years with a 15-point advantage at the top.
Beaten 2-1 at home by City on December 13 to lose their 100 per cent home record was the start of the frustration this month.
A last-minute elimination from the League Cup at second tier Bristol City was another setback, before they conceded a late goal against the 10 men of Leicester City to be held to a 2-2 draw.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Read more
Winning Champions League title Jose Mourinho's best chance to cement legacy at Manchester United
Bailly's ankle injury caused by accidental challenge in training from Manchester United teammate Ibrahimovic
_________________________________________________________________________________________
That was followed on Tuesday by another 2-2 draw, this time at home to Burnley. This time it was United who got the last-gasp leveller through Jesse Lingard to earn a share of the spoils after they had been two goals down at the break.
Mourinho’s claims in his news conference after the Burnley game that he needs more money to strengthen the side which had already had £300 million (Dh1.4bn) spent on it invoked mirth and mockery, but his United, while an improvement on last season when they finished sixth, and the season before that when they were fifth under Van Gaal, clearly do need improvements.
Too many signings in the post Sir Alex Ferguson era have failed to convince, including Luke Shaw and Morgan Schneiderlin, who cost over £50m – and that was before the rampant transfer inflation of 2017.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Matteo Darmian, Memphis Depay and Bastian Schweinsteiger cost a lot of money in transfer fees and wages.
You will not find many people arguing that they were worth it. Other players are still struggling to convince that they are top level Manchester United class.
Ander Herrera or Daley Blind are decent footballers, but they do not compare with the best in their position globally. You can go through the majority of the United squad and say the same.
Perhaps only David de Gea and Paul Pogba would be considered in the world’s top 30 players – and Pogba’s game still has to improve, with better positioning, more accurate shooting and less emotional recklessness.
Southampton, who lost 1-0 to United in September, thanks to a goal from Romeleu Lukaku, could be ideal opponents for a United side on Saturday, who need to prove their many doubters wrong.
United only have a single point advantage over Chelsea in third and are desperate for a win to at least go into 2018 on a high.
Southampton were rocking well before they sold yet another player to Liverpool with Wednesday’s £75m sale of Virgil van Dijk.
Mauricio Pellegrino, who took over in the summer from Claude Puel, started solidly enough and they were tenth at the end of November. But results have been poor in the last month, with four defeats and three draws, the latest a 5-2 hammering at Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday.
Fans have started calling for Pellegrino’s head and the trip to Old Trafford looked daunting.
Southampton have only won once away all season and that was at a Crystal Palace side who were pointless, and low on confidence, at the time.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
Power: 300hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
Price: from Dh199,900
On sale: now
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Empire of Enchantment: The Story of Indian Magic
John Zubrzycki, Hurst Publishers
QUARTER-FINAL
Wales 20-19 France
Wales: T: Wainwright, Moriarty. Cons: Biggar (2) Pens: Biggar 2
France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)
The view from The National
The results of the first round are as follows:
Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent
Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent
Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent
Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent
Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
Emirates exiles
Will Wilson is not the first player to have attained high-class representative honours after first learning to play rugby on the playing fields of UAE.
Jonny Macdonald
Abu Dhabi-born and raised, the current Jebel Ali Dragons assistant coach was selected to play for Scotland at the Hong Kong Sevens in 2011.
Jordan Onojaife
Having started rugby by chance when the Jumeirah College team were short of players, he later won the World Under 20 Championship with England.
Devante Onojaife
Followed older brother Jordan into England age-group rugby, as well as the pro game at Northampton Saints, but recently switched allegiance to Scotland.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Pathaan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Siddharth%20Anand%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Deepika%20Padukone%2C%20John%20Abraham%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
MORE ON THE US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES
