The head of the European Union (EU) delegation to Liberia, Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, says it is not enough for the EU and other international partners to financially support Liberia’s infrastructural program. While maintenance remains an integral part, she said that it must, however, be carried out by Liberians.Ambassador Intelmann, expressing this concern last Friday at an interactive forum with the media in Monrovia, said: “We know that good things are going on in Liberia, while at the same time we are not ruling out the presence of corruption. Infrastructures have been built in the country, but why are Liberians not able to care for what they already have?”Ambassador Intelmann, expressing the need for updates on the statuses of infrastructures in the country, then urged the media to be proactive in their reportage; not only to follow political activities, but to report on the fate of the infrastructures and what approaches community members are taking to maintain them.As part of its projects in Liberia, the EU supports maintenance of the roads from the ELWA junction to Buchanan and the one beginning from the St. Paul Bridge to Bo Waterside, terminating at the Liberia-Sierra Leone border.The EU in this process will hire local contractors to brush the sides of the roads and clean the drainages.Other EU diplomats that joined the Ambassador said in separate but concurring views that government is not the only agent responsible for the upkeep of facilities erected around the country, and called on community members and local authorities clothed with the responsibilities to supervise the various functions to also play their part.One diplomat said, “For instance, schools have been built and the buildings are there. The government will not be in every part to supervise the maintenance work, but the DEOs, CEOs, principals, community leaders and members should take the initiative to maintain these facilities by providing oversight.”The EU also has budgetary allocations to design coastal highways in the southeastern counties including Sinoe, Rivercess and Maryland, and the northeast, including the road from Sanniquellie in Nimba County to Dananè in Ivory Coast.The head of the National Authorizing Office (NAO), Jerry Taylor, explaining this aspect of the EU’s projects, clarified that designing these roads is meant to exactly sketch out their future outlook and estimate their construction costs.Following that, Mr. Taylor said the EU can then help to seek funding which when received Liberia will be able to repay.Explaining the EU’s diplomatic mission in Liberia, the Charge d’Affairs, Emma Sundblad, outlined trade policy, foreign and security policy, development policy and political relations as key areas of concern.Besides development policy, including the maintenance of infrastructures and support to the health and education sectors, the EU’s trade link is in the forestry and fishery sectors in Liberia.Also, Liberia and the EU have the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) that governs exporting logs to Europe. Under the agreement, all logs leaving Liberia to the EU are identified with certain inscriptions and licenses before they can be allowed into the EU market.At the political level, the EU supports the National Elections Commission (NEC) in the process leading to the conduct of peaceful elections.According to its current forecast budget, the EU has €279 million (US$310 million) in its budget for Liberia, covering 2014 to 2020.Of this amount, allotments have been made to various sectors including energy, governance, agriculture and education. According to the EU, 107 million euros is set for governance; 100 million for energy; 32 million for education; 30 million for agriculture; and 10 million for the National Elections Commission (NEC).In response to a question about the pending 2017 elections, Charge d’Affairs Sundblad said the EU has no part to play in how Liberians decide, through the democratic process, who leads them after this government.She said the EU’s interest is to see leaders who have integrity, are sincere, honest, transparent and interested in the development of the country.Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
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The Baypolue Magisterial Court near Weala was burned by angry motorcyclists— Urges Gov’t to use CSDF to rebuild destroyed propertiesMargibi County Legislative Caucus has termed as barbaric, unacceptable and a flagrant violation of the law the violent incident that took place in Weala, Margibi County on Monday, April 1. The riots resulted in the destruction of the police depots in Weala and in Baypolue, the Baypolue Magisterial Court and several other privately-owned buildings as well as businesses in protest of the death of Moses Wolopaye, a 21-year-old motorcyclist.The secretary general of the Caucus, Rep. Ivar K. Jones (Margibi #2), informed journalists that the actions of the angry protesters are “reckless in disregard to the value of properties and human lives.” The caucus however extended regrets to the bereaved family.“We are exceedingly shocked by the mob violence, which took place in Weala Town, Margibi County early Monday, resulting to the burning of valuable properties including a magisterial court and privately-owned businesses,” Rep. Jones said on behalf of the caucus.“Our law does not support, sanction, or condone mob violence in any form and manner, as well as individuals or institutions taking the law into their hands. We therefore detest those actions,” he said.“In spite of the violence, we also want to extend our regrets and equally sympathize with the bereaved family of the late Moses Wolopaye,” Rep. Jones added.Meanwhile, the caucus has appealed to the government to rebuild the two police stations and the court with money allotted in the County Social Development Fund (CSDF).Rep. Jones warned against ‘trivial arguments among some residents which suggests that the government should use the CSDF to rebuild the two police stations and the magisterial court with urgency.The Margibi County lawmaker said such a decision can only be decided by the people of the county, and the choice cannot be made by the government.The county LINA correspondent on Monday reported that, besides the destruction of the two police stations and the Baypolu Magisterial Court, the motorcyclists also destroyed several other businesses, among them a building owned by local businessman, Stephen Tokpah, (alias ‘Park it Better’).Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
LAS VEGAS – Two women were arrested Tuesday in the fatal shooting of an Altadena man, and a 4-year-old boy who had been cared for by the man was found unharmed, police said. Vanessa Ochoa, 22, and Mesha Arshaz Dean, 25, were taken into custody without incident, Las Vegas police Lt. Ted Lee said. The women had been sought for two days as authorities broadcast Amber Alert bulletins across California and Nevada. Lee said the women were unarmed when found in a West Las Vegas neighborhood in a car driven by a man whose name was not disclosed. Ochoa’s son, Manaen Miles, was turned over to Clark County child-protection officials. “He was fine as far as we could tell,” Lee said. “He didn’t need any medical attention.” Ochoa and Dean were detained as fugitives, Lee said. They were being questioned by Los Angeles County detectives in the Sunday slaying of Monroe Miles, 32, the boy’s paternal uncle, and about the abduction of the boy from Miles’ home in Altadena, a foothill suburb northeast of Los Angeles. Amber Alerts were issued in California and Nevada because sheriff’s investigators believed the women were headed toward Ochoa’s last known address, in Henderson, Nev. Las Vegas police, acting on a tip from investigators in Los Angeles, found the silver Mitsubishi Diamante sedan that Ochoa and Dean were believed to have been driving parked near a home in the West Las Vegas neighborhood, Lee said. Police were watching when the women, the boy and a man emerged from the house on Tuesday and got into another car. They were arrested about 12:30 p.m., several blocks away. Lee said an earlier tip, spurred by the Amber Alert bulletins, prompted a Las Vegas police officer to check the silver Mitsubishi on Monday. But investigators did not know the vehicle identification number of the car being sought and could not tell if it was the one. “It was just a plain car, the same make, model and color,” Lee said, adding that the car had no license plate but a paper one. After the arrest, the man was questioned and released, Lee said. His name was not made public. “He wasn’t involved,” Lee said of the driver. “He was just in the car.”160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department issued an Amber Alert on Sunday, saying Ochoa did not have legal custody of her son. Ochoa “shot and killed a relative who was caring for the child, took the child and left,” a sheriff’s spokesman said in a flier. Another printed statement from the department claimed Dean “has been identified as having been involved in the commission of this crime.” The nature of Dean’s relationship with Ochoa was not immediately known. Both women were sought on felony warrants charging them with homicide and child abduction, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Oscar Butao said. It was not yet known when the women would face an extradition hearing in Las Vegas. Authorities said Miles was found shot in the torso in a home where he lived with the boy’s grandparents. 
AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MORESanta Anita opens winter meet Saturday with loaded card Bain Capital, one of the world’s biggest private investment firms, was winning bidder of what LaPenta called “a handful” of would-be buyers courting the retailer after it announced in June that it was pursuing options to increase the value of the company. Burlington said its board of directors has approved the proposed deal, which still requires shareholder approval. Bain said in a news release it has obtained commitments from members of the Milstein family and related entities representing about 62 percent of Burlington’s outstanding shares to vote all their shares in favor of the deal. No date has been set for that shareholder meeting. LaPenta said the transaction would cause no visible changes to shoppers seeking bargains on coats, clothing, shoes and home furnishings, nor to the retailer’s 29,000 employees. Monroe Milstein said in a statement he was thrilled that the transaction would deliver significant value to stockholders, adding, “We are very proud of what the company has accomplished over the past 30 years.” Ben Strom, a senior analyst with Variant Research Corp., said he thought the company would have no problem attracting new top managers. While some of its competitors, such as Ross Stores Inc. and TJX Co.’s T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, have posted better operating margins, Strom said Burlington benefits by paying some of the lowest prices for real estate in the industry. It has also successfully carved out niches in both outerwear and sportswear, and done well in the challenging home-decor business. A more centralized distribution strategy has reduced clutter on the sales floor, helping to boost same-store sales in recent years, he added. “They’ve got a lot of positive momentum they’re building on,” Strom said. Strom said the drop in stock price Wednesday could be because the market was expecting a slightly higher per share purchase price. His own company’s expectation was $50 per share. Last month, Bain was part of a group that agreed to buy Dunkin’ Donuts and two other restaurant chains for $2.43 billion. Bain is also a one-third owner of Wayne, N.J.-based Toys R Us, which it took private last summer in partnership with Vornado Realty Trust and private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! TRENTON, N.J. – After 34 years as a family-run business, Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. has agreed to a $2.06 billion cash buyout offer from private equity firm Bain Capital Partners LLC. Under terms of the deal announced Wednesday, Bain Capital of Boston will pay $45.50 for each Burlington share, a 2 percent premium to its closing price Tuesday. Burlington shares fell 45 cents to close at $44.13 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Headquarters for the 367-store apparel retailer will remain in Burlington in central New Jersey, but the four family members in top management, including 79-year-old founder and Chief Executive Monroe Milstein, will exit the company, said Robert LaPenta, who will stay on as chief accounting officer and treasurer. Chief Operating Officer Mark Nesci will act as CEO until a decision on a replacement is made. LaPenta said the deal is expected to close within about 90 days. 
Sick kitten Poppy was dumped in a box but is now recovering.A tiny sick kitten is lucky to be alive after she was heartlessly dumped in a box at a roadside near Donegal Town and left to die.Luckily for the kitten, a local woman was outside gardening at the time and witnessed a car pulling over and acting suspiciously near her home.The woman driving the car then ordered three young children aged between 5 and 10 to get out and dump a box at the roadside. Despite the children’s pleas and obvious reluctance to part with the box, the woman, forced them to leave it on the ground, after which the children returned to the car and they drove away leaving the box behind them.The witness then went to investigate what they had dumped and was horrified to find a tiny, extremely sick, 6 week old kitten cowering inside.The kitten, now named Poppy, was rushed to Donegal Town-based animal rescue Animals In Need, where she is now being treated for a severe eye infection and cat flu.An outraged Animals In Need spokesperson said ‘This was such a callous thing to do. The box was only found by chance or that poor little kitten would have suffered a horrific, slow death in there.’ She continued ‘We regularly go round the schools as part of our Education Programme to teach the children to respect and care for animals but what is this woman teaching her poor children? That it is ok to just throw away sick animals and drive off without a backward glance?’The shocked animal rescuer added ‘Why are people still dumping kittens in this day and age? There is help available either by ringing a rescue or a vet. Kittens can’t survive on their own so dropping them off to fend for themselves is sending them to an agonising death where they will starve, become sick or injured and ultimately die. We would ask people to please take responsibility and stop this cruelty.’Thankfully Poppy is responding to treatment for cat flu and it is hoped that she will not suffer any long term damage to her eyes. She is a very friendly little girl and when she has recovered she be able to join the other foster kittens in the cattery and then go on to find a loving forever home.If you would like to help towards Poppy’s medical expenses please donate €2 via your phone by texting the word ‘KITTEN’ to 50300. The helpline for dogs is 087 1356188 and for cat/kitten enquiries please call 087 7644420.OUTRAGE AFTER WOMAN ORDERS CHILDREN TO DUMP KITTEN AT SIDE OF ROAD was last modified: June 15th, 2015 by StephenShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Tags:animals in needDonegal Towndumpedkitten
Apple’s Nearly Non-Recyclable MacBookApple offers a good example of what Davis is talking about. In July, environmentalist denounced the company’s decision to drop 39 products from certification by the Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool. The system measures the environmental friendliness of computers, monitors and laptops.Essentially, Apple believed its products were green enough and didn’t need EPEAT approval. Critics said it wanted to continue with its hard-to-recycle design that reached an apex with the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. In a teardown analysis of the new system, Kyle Wiens of iFixit wrote in Wired that it was the “least repairable laptop we’ve ever taken apart.” Its construction, along with that of the iPad, was also a nightmare for recyclers. (Not to mention tinkerers.)“The design pattern has serious consequences not only for consumers and the environment, but also for the tech industry as a whole,” Wiens added.Apple reversed its decision after organizations that required EPEAT certification said they would either drop Apple or review upcoming purchases.Despite the change of heart, the incident raised questions about the tech industry’s commitment to the environment when it might affect profits. The Electronics TakeBack Coalition released a report in August that found many makers of ultrabooks were heading in the same direction as Apple by not using removable batteries.Whether it is consumer electronics or data centers, the tech industry is going to find it increasingly difficult to defend the green image it has so carefully crafted. Let’s hope it fights back with solutions and not just “greenwashing” PR.Lead images courtesy of Shutterstock. IT + Project Management: A Love Affair Tags:#Apple#Data Centers#Electronics Manufacture#enterprise#Microsoft antone gonsalves 3 Areas of Your Business that Need Tech Now Related Posts High-tech companies like to portray their industry as the greenest of industries – saving everything from paper to business travel. But tech companies continue to be major sources of pollution and waste.These facts have to the fore once again in a yearlong New York Times investigation that found huge amounts of wasted electricity in powering warehouse-size data centers driving the explosion in digital information. Add these findings to the industry’s failure to control the spread of the electronic waste it creates, and it’s easy to question the validity of its commitment to protecting the environment.What The Times FoundIn looking behind the industry’s green mask, The New York Times found that data centers can waste 90% or more of the electricity they draw from the grid. That’s a staggering amount when you consider the world’s digital warehouses use 30 billion watts of electricity, equal to 30 nuclear power plants, according to The Times. Because burning fossil fuels produces a lot of today’s electricity, the tech industry’s contribution to global warming and air pollution is significant.The Times article has attracted critics, including Dan Woods, an author and contributor to Forbes and CITO Research. “The New York Times failed in its mission to accurately explain the important issue of improving efficient use of power in data centers, and instead wrote a confused and incomplete article that is unworthy of its reputation,” Woods wrote for Forbes. Michael Gartenberg, a Gartner analyst, tweeted “Wow. So much assertion with so little facts. Wow.”In general, critics said The Times ignored the high efficiency rates of data centers run by Internet companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Google. In addition, the newspaper was criticized for not giving enough space to efforts underway to improve data center efficiency.But I found the article did a credible job laying out the problem of wasteful energy consumption by the information industry. And the piece is the first in a series, so critics may get the details they want in future articles.(Is Microsoft the worst offender? See Brian Proffitt’s Microsoft’s Energy-Wasting Strong-Arm Tactics Show That Redmond Hasn’t Changed.)The Green ‘Crisis’In the meantime, environmental protection groups that have been battling the tech industry for years remain fierce critics, despite acknowledging some progress. A major complaint is the failure of consumer electronics companies to design products that are easier to recycle so hazardous electronic waste doesn’t end up in dumps in China, India and Africa.“Your average consumer electronics are, unfortunately, still in crisis, in terms of really having an outlet for responsible and sustainable recycling,” said Sheila Davis, executive director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.The problem is in product design, Davis said. Many consumer electronics are too difficult to tear apart to extract and either recycle or properly dispose of the toxic chemicals they contain, including lead, mercury and cadmium. As a result, even though more than two-dozen states have mandatory laws governing the handling of e-waste, recyclers find a lot of the products too expensive to dismantle. So they simply ship the junked electronics to other countries, where the gear is salvaged for components and the rest tossed in dumps. Often, the toxic chemicals contaminate the ground and eventually end up in water supplies.“That’s a pretty horrendous outcome for these high-tech products,” Davis warned. Massive Non-Desk Workforce is an Opportunity fo… Cognitive Automation is the Immediate Future of…
The Rajasthan government on Monday told the Supreme Court that it has written to online search engine Google to take down hate videos uploaded by a man accused of hacking and burning alive a Muslim labourer in the State in December 2017. In the videos, Shambhu Lal Raigar was purportedly seen ranting that he killed Afrazul Khan, a labourer from West Bengal, to stop interfaith marriages. The killing was recorded on camera by Raigar’s minor nephew in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district.The State government told the apex court that these videos were hosted by multiple websites and it would take some time to remove them.A Bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Ajay Rastogi asked the government to file an affidavit about the steps taken by it to remove the videos, including those uploaded by Raigar from inside Jodhpur jail, and adjourned the matter for further hearing. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for Khan’s wife Gulbahar Bibi, said the State government may have taken action with regard to the video uploaded by Raigar before his arrest, but no action has been taken about the video uploaded from inside the prison.
There is no plan B for Pyeongchang Games, says Bach South Korea IOC president Thomas Bach sought personally to downplay security fears 10 days ago, and a day earlier a confident IOC spokesman insisted: “There is no plan B”. × COMMENT An ice sculpture of the Olympic rings is seen during the Pyeongchang Winter Festival, near the venue for the opening and closing ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. File Photo – Reuters SHARE Winter Olympics 2018: North Korea could send a delegation to South Korea Austria and Germany joined France in raising the spectre of staying away from the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea amid security fears over nuclear-armed North Korea.Despite efforts by the International Olympic Committee to calm the jitters, winter Olympic powerhouse Austria said it was prepared to envisage staying away from the Pyeongchang Games next February if security concerns deepened.Karl Stoss, head of Austria’s national Olympic committee, said that “if the situation worsens and the security of our athletes is no longer guaranteed, we will not go to South Korea.” Stoss’ comments follow those by France’s Sports Minister Laura Flessel, who warned Thursday: “If this gets worse and we do not have our security assured, then our French team will stay here.”The absence of Austria and other leading winter sports powers would be a hammer blow to the Pyeongchang Games. Austria alone took home 17 medals from the previous Winter Olympics Sochi Games in 2014 and has been the dominant force in alpine skiing and ski jumping.A more muted response came from Germany, another winter sports heavyweight that tops the all-time Olympic medal table in biathlon, luge and bobsleigh, and whose team won 19 medals in Sochi including eight golds.The security question and the possibility of keeping the German team at home would be addressed “in good time” by the government, the National Olympic Committee and security authorities, the German interior ministry told AFP subsidiary SID.French sports minister Flessel, a five-time Olympic medallist in fencing, was the first leading politician to publicly cast doubt over a country’s participation at the Olympics which run from February 9-25 in Pyeongchang which is situated just 80km (50 miles) from the heavily-fortified frontier with North Korea.‘No Plan B’On Friday, the IOC issued a statement aimed at calming security fears amid escalating tensions over bellicose North Korea’s recent nuclear test and missile launches. “Athletes safety and security are of course a primary concern for the IOC,” the statement said.“We are in close contact with the heads of government concerned and the United Nations over the past months and there, in none of the discussions, has anybody expressed any doubt about the Olympic Winter Games 2018. We continue to monitor the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the region very closely. We are working with the Organising Committee on the preparations of these Games which continue to be on track.”IOC president Thomas Bach sought personally to downplay security fears 10 days ago, and a day earlier a confident IOC spokesman insisted: “There is no plan B”.However, the situation has since deteriorated, sparking concern among some countries while others say they are preparing for the event as normal.Sweden’s sports minister Annika Standhall, speaking to news agency TT, said it was “very worrying that some countries are imagining not to taking part…” while neighbour Norway said normal preparation were under way.Italy said they had been reassured by IOC chief Bach’s statement on security and were looking forward to a “safe and secure” Olympics while Dutch Olympic Committee spokesman Geert Slot said growing tension on the Korean peninsula was a factor but saw no reason “as things stand at the moment” to follow the French example.The United States Olympic Committee chief executive Scott Blackmun said moving forward as planned and have confidence in Pyeongchang’s organizing committee. “The United States Olympic Committee is very much looking forward to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, and will participate in the upcoming lighting of the Olympic Flame in Olympia to celebrate the approaching Games,” Blackmun said in a news release. “Our preparations continue in earnest and, as with all Games, we will continue to work with our state department and local organisers to ensure that our athletes, and our entire delegation, are safe. “We are confident in the Pyeongchang organizing committee’s ability to deliver a great Games.”Canada, who won 10 gold medals at Sochi four years ago and have claimed 13 Olympic ice hockey titles, also played down the risks. “The safety of our entire Canadian Olympic team is always our main priority, no matter where the Games are held,” said Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) spokesman Photi Sotiropoulos.“The COC and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have representatives in South Korea and have routinely done site visits to the country. The government of Canada does not currently have travel advisories in place for South Korea and recommends that Canadians exercise normal security precautions, which is the lowest of four risk levels.” RELATED SHARE SHARE EMAIL
September 23, 2017 An ice sculpture of the Olympic rings is seen during the Pyeongchang Winter Festival, near the venue for the opening and closing ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. File Photo – Reuters null North Korea likely to participate in Winter Games North Korea 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and Paralympics will be safe: S Korea sport Published on COMMENTS
Twitter Twitter Share on LinkedIn Veni, Vidi, City. With the Premier League title retained and an FA Cup final to follow there is already something imperial about the climax to Pep Guardiola’s first three seasons in English football, a sense of nation-building zeal.This has always been a part of the grander plan, the intention not just to win but to win right, to embody a vision, a way of winning. There have been minor bumps in the road along the way, most notably some disorienting defeats in the first Pep-season, the what-is-tackles, let-them-eat-cake days at Leicester and Everton. But Guardiola has refused to bend and two years later English football has in effect been brought to heel, a stage for that relentless will-to-power.Victory in Saturday’s FA Cup final against Watford would make Guardiola’s City the first English men’s team to complete a domestic league and cup treble in 58 years since the League Cup was first called into being. Winning the FA Cup would make it five domestic trophies out of six for City over two seasons, a spell of dominance that is also unmatched in the Premier League era. Read more Manchester City need Champions League win to be the best, says Guardiola Pinterest There has never been a cross-border run quite like this, a spell of sustained domestic dominance that has, for the last eight years, been soundtracked by regular late-stage exits in the Champions League. Something is happening here. But what and why?It is worth noting that this was never really the plan for Guardiola. No matter what he might say, irrespective of the genuine pleasure at edging out Liverpool over 38 games, Guardiola’s obsession has always been with the Champions League. The Barça team of 2011 will remain his deepest pleasure, the furthest peak of achievements to date.And yet 2011 is also the last time Guardiola reached a Champions League final, a performance from the Messi-Xavi-Iniesta godhead, that appeared to have been beamed in from some distant future-world. At the time it seemed a given that Pep teams would continue to thrive in that most rarefied air. Successive ambitious Euro heavyweights have hired him with precisely this dream of global domination in mind. Lionel Messi celebrates scoring for Barcelona against Manchester United in Guardiola’s last Champions League success in 2011 Photograph: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images Pep Guardiola’s thirst is driving force in City’s quest for more titles Share via Email The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email. FA Cup For Watford the task will be to disrupt that, to insert a note of tension in the works. They have power and craft in midfield in Abdoulaye Doucouré. Troy Deeney remains a vital influence. Gerard Deulofeu has the skill and incision to punish City’s high full-backs. For City Kevin De Bruyne could be back after his hamstring strain eased. And Raheem Sterling will be keen to extend his run of fine Wembley performances, taking in a hat-trick for England and the winning penalty against Chelsea in the other domestic cup final. There will still be suggestions, whatever happens on Saturday, that only European success, bans notwithstanding, will define this City project. But that span of domestic dominance is not to be undersold. One more City victory would crown what has been a remarkable two-year surge across the home stage. Read more And yet the facts do not bear out this sense of cards falling the right way. This domestic dominance did not have to happen. Guardiola is the constant when it does. As a simple control experiment: in the three years before Pep Barcelona won one cup and one league. In the four years before Pep came Bayern won two league titles. City in their own three pre-Pep years won one league and two league cups.This adds up to seven of 23 available domestic trophies for Pep’s pre-Pep clubs, or half as many as they would go on to win with him in charge.Saturday night at Wembley could skew the ratio even further but this is not a given. Not that you would know it looking at Watford’s record against Guardiola’s City in the Premier League, which reads, played six, lost six, aggregate score 21-3 to City. But then the league really has been the stage for this mature Pep-City team, a place where those rhythms can settle and where a superior team, coached and resourced to the highest possible level, will eventually win out. City’s dominance is a feat of coaching, rewards for perhaps the most incredibly well-drilled team English football has ever seen.Cup games, of course, can add that little edge of something beyond the system, a raggedness, a chance to hurl a grapple hook across the divide. Tension can do strange things, particularly to an entity defined in its better moments by its opposite. Guardiola’s entire schtick, his vision of how the game should be played, is about its tension, about finding those easy, frictionless patterns. Share on Twitter
Share on Facebook Facebook Manchester City Facebook In the event his greatest triumphs have been closer to home, his methods better suited to domestic juggernaut status, his vision of how football can be played finding its highest expression in the more controlled home environment. Guardiola has had to be content instead with starting a revolution from his bed.There are various theories as to why this should be the case. The first is the most dismissive. Guardiola has simply managed the richest clubs in Germany and England. In Spain he had the best club footballer of all time to grease the wheels, his own scurrying magic bullet. Fast forward to the current potential treble season and the draw has been notably kind, twin cup runs throwing up games against Rotherham, Burnley, Newport, Swansea, Brighton, Oxford, Fulham, Burton, Leicester and Chelsea. The last two of these were won on penalties. Beating Watford on Saturday would be City’s biggest scalp of a double-cup season. Topics Share on Messenger Reuse this content For some there will still be reluctance to trumpet this too widely, a fear that such sustained dominance raises questions about the stratification of English football, the dizzying gap in resources even between the top and the slightly less than top, an increasingly centralised system of power.But there is more here than just the pounding fist of big football. Most notably there is something in the prospect of that treble that speaks directly to the manager’s methods. In the last decade Guardiola has become football’s domestic god, the depth of resources at his elbow, and more charitably the relentless systems-football of his teams, ideally suited to the business of winning domestic trophies.In Spain Guardiola won five out of eight available domestic trophies with Barcelona. In Germany it was five out of six with Bayern Munich. In England he has four out of eight so far. Another FA Cup final win would make it 15 of 23 domestic trophies in Guardiola’s 10 years as a manager across three separate leagues. Share on Pinterest Pinterest Pep Guardiola Share on WhatsApp features Guardiola and Raheem Sterling celebrate City’s League Cup final win over Chelsea Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian