Reds new boy like a giant Carragher

Liverpool - Sebastian Coates has what it takes to be a hit at Anfield

By Emdad Rahman

Full article 

With Sotirios Kyrgiakos joining Wolfsburg, Kenny Dalglish has wasted no time in recruiting a sizeable replacement.  Sebastián Coates has joined Liverpool in a deal reportedly worth £7 million.

By joining compatriot Luis Suarez and turning down the riches of Manchester City, the 20-year-old former Nacional centre-back has instantly caught the attention of the Liverpool faithful. But, in South America, Coates has been a household name for many years.

During the summer's Copa America, the giant Uruguayan held off the challenge of Neymar and Joel Campbell to be awarded the Trophy Claro and be crowned Young Player of South America’s showpiece international tournament.

Coates also made history as part of the Uruguayan team that lifted its 15th Copa America, more than any other South American nation.

Coates joined Nacional at the age of 11 and debuted against Bella Vista in 2009. After playing a mere three months in the league and Copa Libertadores, the young starlet was named Uruguayan Championship Revelation of the Season.

Gargantuan exploits in el Clásico del fútbol Uruguayo against Peñarol have already earned him a place in club folklore.

Coates has eased onto the international scene and his assured performances for La Celeste Olympica have had many a scout beating a path down to Nacional.

In Diego Lugano and Diego Godin, the towering Coates has been tutored in the art of defending by two of the games great centre backs, whilst in comparison to the ex Nacional legend and his international captain, Coates has been bestowed the appropriate moniker “Luganito”, meaning Little Lugano.

Lugano has also singled out Coates as his “natural successor” in the Charruas defence. Coates team Nacional have maintained all along that only a “historic” bid allow them to release their jewel.

Despite a club record fee, Nacional will only receive 50% of the transfer fee as the 20 year old is owned by an investment group.

Coates is physically and technically suited to the rigours of the Barclays Premier League, and has the potential to join Nemanja Vidic and John Terry at the top of the pile.

His size will make him a threat and it would be interesting to watch the twin threat of Coates and Andy Carroll during set pieces. Coates is also very comfortable on the ball and will push up to support the midfield.

Coates is a good man marker as demonstrated during the Copa America – Uruguay leaked only two goals and Lugano and Coates easily shackled the likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Humberto Suazo during their respective head to heads.

Uruguay’s new star is like a giant version of Sami Hyppia and Jamie Carragher, tenacious, dogged in the tackle and a “thou shall not pass” mentality. His distribution and upfield forays are better and he will be extremely fortunate in that he will have defensive mentors of the calibre of Carragher, Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger to help bring him on.

After completing his move to Anfield on Tuesday, Coates said: "Luis [Suarez] told me a lot about Liverpool - but about the fans more than anything else.

"He told me how passionate they are about the club and how supportive they are.

"Luis also told me about the history and the tradition of the club and now I feel very happy and excited to be here because I have left one great club in Nacional and signed for another great club with a fantastic history."

Eid Mubarak to all readers

The football steward

With golden jacket shining
Amid banter and camaraderie
Steward Carl of Anfield
Face at the scene of Amity

Knights of the stand strut
Marshalling the Centenary
Herself a rep at Goodison
Bootle Jan say's he's just a big softie

Observing the action at both ends
Velvet steel patrols the beat
Eyes in the back of the head
Custodians Carl, Jan and Pistol Pete

30.08.11

Number 7
(c) Emdad Rahman
www.football-poems.com

Inspired by the superb Kevin Halls poem about stewards. The stewards at Anfield are people’s people. We all enjoy a great laugh. Carl fits the bill, yet he's definitely no walkover. I've found them very helpful, even when I've gone down during a game to pray quickly in the corner. I've been given space and extended full courtesy for the few minutes I've required.

It's a very interesting subject raised by Kevin as courtesy towards paying fans is an absolute priority for a club. I spoke to a steward today who enlightened me: "I've had a seat chucked at my head, people too drunk to find their seats, I've been punched protecting an away fan, and abused by away fans who slyly bought tickets in the home section.

"You name it - it’s happened. Stewards are there for the fans safety not to make trouble.

"If a steward addresses something then the rules are being broken or the club has asked them to. It's just a job, they don't invent issues, just follow the clubs or Councils instructions."

I couldn't agree more. Stewards are usually supporters who are in touch with the fans. It's usually the officials who are the worst as I found out prior to the 2010 FA Cup Final. 

Today's Origami

Dead leaves...

Wall St on Brick Lane?

Well stranger things have happened. Who would have thought Man City would be attracting the world's cream...

Today's Origami

Easy birds...

Swanlea School, Business and Enterprise College, celebrates best results in the school’s history!

Students at Swanlea are today celebrating a record-breaking set of G.C.S.E results this year, with 80% of students achieving a minimum of 5 A*-C grades, and 66% of students achieving 5 A*-C grades including English and Maths (up from last year by 17%). 


An impressive improvement on last year’s results, Swanlea students have gained some fantastic qualifications. Judged by OFSTED as an “outstanding” school at its last inspection, Swanlea students have well and truly matched that judgement in terms of their accomplishments.

Brenda Landers, Headteacher, commented

“This is a truly outstanding result, I am absolutely delighted for our students. This tremendous set of results reflects the hard work and dedication put in by students, staff and parents. Strong academic qualifications open doors for our students and enable them to have the life chances they truly deserve. I am thrilled for them all.”

Gannaty Rahman, (17 GCSEs – 6 A*s, 6 As, 3 Bs, 2 Cs) said

“I am so happy! I am really relieved to finally get my results and for them to be what I hoped for. I would like to thank all my teachers at Swanlea for all their hard work. They were always there for me, staying late after school and enabling me to do my very best. “

Shunaz Begum, (16 GCSEs – 2 A*s, 8 As, 4 Bs, 2 Cs)

 “I am overjoyed with my results! I was so nervous waiting for them, but now I have them I am over the moon. It was hard work, but worth it.”

Zakaria Hassan-Abby, (14 GCSEs – 8 As, 4 Bs, 2 Cs) said,

“I am really happy with my GCSE grades, I did work hard for them, and am really glad that it paid off.”

Red Trot: Liverpool 3-1 Bolton

Beamed today the new faces
Hearty applause for the king
Henderson gets off the mark
Cue "Stevie Heighway on the wing"

Martin steps in for Martin
Owen Coyle's troops get the shredder
Skrtel doubling the lead
Adam's exquisite corner and bullet header

Adam's crisp right peg finish
Solo Suarez and Klasnic add intrigue
Red machine clicks into gear
Liverpool are top of the league

26.08.11

Number 7
(c) Emdad Rahman
www.football-poems.com

London Photo Walk

Greenwich Visitor Centre

The Discover Greenwich Visitor Centre is a new gateway to the Old Royal Naval College and Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Find out more about the site's grand architecture and explore over 500 years of history - from Henry VIII's Tudor palace to modern day Greenwich. Discover a wealth of information on local Maritime Greenwich attractions and pick up fabulous gifts. And Yes, that's me in the headgear. 

Today's Origami

Easy & simple grasshopper...

Exploring Bow’s Parks and Waterways - 'Photos from the Footpath'

Today we focussed on the natural environment and were introduced to camera techniques, especially for photographing nature and landscapes. Our learning included macro settings, framing, lines and paths, the rule of thirds and an introduction to taking ‘action’ shots.

The walk took us through southern sections of Mile End Park, along the Regent’s Canal, Ackroyd Drive, Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park and the surrounding streets.

As a special treat we were given a tour of the wildlife and flowers in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park nature reserve. Our guide informed us that the “spider recorder” had just confirmed a breed of our hairy eight legged spider friends that were not known to have ever existed on these shores.  

Due to fasting we couldn’t catch up and finish with a refreshment stop at the Soanes Centre in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.

Productivity in Ramadan 2011 Survey Results Provide Concrete Recommendations for Employers & Governments

New York, NY, United States, August 24, 2011 -- According the results of a new survey, 77% of Muslim professionals said they try to maintain the same level of work productivity during Ramadan as they do outside of Ramadan, and feel that work should continue uninterrupted.  At the same time, they do expect flexibility to perform optimally both in Muslim majority countries and in countries where they are minorities. What are these areas of flexibility needs?  What are the levels of employee satisfaction during Ramadan?

DinarStandard™, a Muslim market research and business media firm, and ProductiveMuslim Ltd, a productivity training and media firm, have joined forces to deliver a ground-breaking study that presents a fact-based assessment of the state of productivity during Ramadan across the world and offers recommendations for improving productivity of individuals, businesses and government institutions during Ramadan.

The study also looks at the differences in reduced Ramadan working hours in various Muslim majority countries and their economic impact. The study estimates a 4% decrease in productivity in the month’s GDP for each hour of work reduction per workday.  This finding raises various questions for these governments to consider while searching for the right balance of Ramadan work-hour flexibility.

Rafi-uddin Shikoh, the author of the report and Managing Director of Dinar Standard states, “For the first time, we have an actual pulse of what Muslim professionals expect and struggle with during Ramadan.  These are strong insights that can help employers not only build goodwill with their Muslim employees, but directly and positively affect their companies’ productivity.”

Mohammed Faris, Founder & CEO, Productive Muslim Ltd adds, “The survey results also show areas of spiritual activities that most Muslims struggle with during Ramadan, which can be addressed with better preparation—an area in which employers can also play a supporting role.”

Some other key survey findings include:

For Muslim majority country based employers, the survey highlights arranging Iftar and Eid gatherings, and arranging for special Ramadan working hours, prayer times and facilities as key requests of employees.

Muslim employees in Muslim minority countries were less happy with their employers’ flexibility during Ramadan.  Despite the lower satisfaction rate, the researchers consider the results (48%) to be encouraging and indicative of the growing trend of businesses to accommodate a diverse workforce. Providing work-hour flexibility was the biggest request of these employees.

The survey was conducted online prior to Ramadan 2011, and marketed to Muslims in five key Muslim-majority countries (Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, UAE)  as well as five countries with sizeable Muslim minorities (USA, UK, Canada, India, Australia.)  A total of 1524 responses were received, representing a 99% confidence level with a +/- 4% margin of error.

The complete “2011 Productivity in Ramadan Report” can be downloaded for free at www.dinarstandard.com/

Mayor welcomes Met Police decision on EDL march

Lutfur Rahman, the Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets has welcomed news relating to the application of a ban for the proposed September EDL march in Tower Hamlets.

“I have just learned that the Acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner has made an application to the Home Secretary to ban all marches in certain areas of London (including Tower Hamlets) for 30 days starting 2nd September 2011.

I applaud the decision of Acting Commissioner and I now call upon the Home Secretary to act swiftly in confirming that such a banning order is now in place.

I would like to thank the thousands of people who supported our efforts to get this march banned. I am grateful for the support I have received from residents across the borough, leaders across London and the country, local politicians, faith leaders, trade unionists, and business leaders

Together, we will continue to reject any attempts to divide our community and will celebrate the diversity that makes our borough great.

I would now ask that people from across the country who had planned to march in support of our cause to stand down.  You have helped us achieve our aim and we no longer need a mass show of support.”

Blooming Tower hamlets

Arnold Circus...

Today's Origami

Pakun - Puppet. The jaw locks & unlocks...

Bob Dennis: The Weaver from Ghana, Accra

Bob is visiting UK for the very first time. He is a supremely talented weaver from Accra, Ghana. I was very fortunate to meet Bob as I was going to the Bank. Here's a few pics as well as samples of his work.

I've also got a short interview which I'll upload later...

Today's Origami

Seal, Snail, Crab, Whale, Omuta Rose