There is no doubting it ruined one of the most pulsating Premier League games of stratospherically high quality in a long while, but many are directing their anger at the wrong protagonist for Leandro Trossard’s game-changing red card at Manchester City.

By the letter of the law, Trossard deserved to get his marching orders, but that is not what is angering many Arsenal fans on a drizzly Monday morning.

If Trossard was cautioned for kicking the ball away, why did Jeremy Doku not get booked for doing the same earlier in the match? And why did Dominik Szoboszlai’s attempts to drive the ball onto Stanley Park at Anfield last week against Nottingham Forest go unpunished? Consistency, huh?

Five games into the season, fans of a title chaser are calling for PGMOL chiel Howard Webb’s head and referee Michael Oliver, who was the man in the middle for Szoboszlai’s incident last weekend too, has a north London arrest warrant issued for charges of corruption.

i has been told the reasons, however, for the discrepancies. Look away now Gunners, you’re not going to like it.

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One of the rule changes instilled at the start of the season focused on combating timewasting. Arsenal unfurled every trick in the book at the Eithad to do just that – conduct that John Stones called “dirty” and led Bernardo Silva to claim “only one team played football”.

But there is little referees can do about players going down injured when they are not or pulling up with cramp to break up play. One infringement that is within their control, however, is a clampdown on “kicking the ball away to prevent a free-kick being taken”.

The latter part of this directive is key and why Trossard’s yellow card was justified and Doku and Szoboszlai were not, or at least open to interpretation.

Premier League sources told i that it was “clear” Trossard booted the ball well away from where the City free-kick was being taken. Doku, however, was simply passing the ball back in the direction of where he thought the foul had taken place.

A closer look at the Szoboszlai incident, sources said, implies the letter of the law was applied here too. No Forest player is near the ball as Szoboszlai lashes it away in frustration, thus no free-kick being taken is prevented.

The context of the match has to be taken into account here, too. Liverpool were chasing the game against Forest, so Szoboszlai kicking the ball away hinders only his own team, not the opponent. Trossard had reason to kick the ball away, with Arsenal 2-1 up, even if it only crossed his mind for a split second.

One club has fallen foul to this new directive more than anyone else, which is why the vitriol has reached the levels it has in the aftermath of Arsenal’s draw in Manchester.

Two dismissals for second yellow cards acquired after preventing an opponent from taking a free-kick has cost Arsenal four points this season, after Declan Rice’s red card against Brighton.

Four points is more than enough to keep an unrelenting City out in front once more and take Arsenal’s wait for a Premier League crown into a third decade.

But having been burned twice, Arsenal cannot fly so close to the sun again, whether they like the law or not.

Doku and Szoboszlai could have been booked, but there are valid reasons why they were not, abiding by rules etched in ink at the start of the season.

It may hurt, but Trossard can have no arguments. Webb and Oliver are not the villains here. The culprit is lurking among their own.

Conventional wisdom dictates how an expanding presence on the market and ever-higher quarterly returns embody a company’s growth. While these are its most direct outward indicators, growth, especially the sustainable kind, is about more than short-term monetary gain.

A growth-oriented workplace is people-centric. It’s the kind of workplace employees genuinely enjoy returning to, as their value is recognized and their capabilities are challenged. In a workplace like this, better results appear naturally and continuously due to drive, innovation, and professional pride, not fear and unhealthy competition. Do you want your company to become such a workplace? Then, put the following tips into practice: 

1. Embody the Changes You Wish to Implement

Creating a growth-focused company culture and environment starts with decision-makers. You can’t expect employees to want to grow and do so effectively without providing the necessary support. That means being an engaged leader who actively listens to concerns, doesn’t micromanage, and involves employees in decision-making. After all, they likely know more about certain aspects of your product or how to complete a task better than you do.

2. Define Actionable Goals

Fostering growth for its own sake is aimless and ineffective. Instead, channel such efforts into achieving concrete, attainable goals in a reasonable amount of time. This will help clarify which growth strategies to pursue while eliminating employee confusion and lack of direction.

It’s a mistake to assume that growth and increased productivity are the same. A team member can spend extra time performing an outdated procedure and achieve better results. Yet, these can still be worse than learning and implementing an improved version of that procedure. Focusing on productivity rather than growth can actually be detrimental, leading to higher job dissatisfaction and turnover while not meeting goals. 

3. Offer Learning Opportunities

Employees worth nurturing are happy to learn and continuously improve. It’s the leadership’s job to encourage them to engage with diverse learning opportunities, preferably ones that align with employees’ strengths and career pursuits. Certification, coaching, mentoring, and even exchanging knowledge in group settings are invaluable growth-fostering tools you should use liberally to benefit everyone. 

4. And an Experimentation-Friendly Environment

Fear of failure is one of the most common pitfalls when pursuing personal and professional development. Yet, failure is also a major source of inspiration and growth potential. Savvy managers realize this and strive to create environments where employees can experiment and fail without reprimand.

This may drastically boost innovation since removing the fear of failure encourages employees to try new approaches and keep working through problems even when faced with initial setbacks.

Encourage others to question current ways of doing things and devise better alternatives. Recognize their efforts and adopt beneficial changes discovered this way to boost productivity organically. 

5. Don’t Neglect Data Safety & Privacy

Maintaining a safe and stable working environment that is resilient to compromise is among the main prerequisites of any growth-oriented company. After all, how can you pursue betterment if data breaches, malware, and other threats undermine your trustworthiness and financial security?

Controlled and secure access to various services indispensable for business operations is crucial. Password managers offer a cost-effective and streamlined approach to account security since they can create, store, and reinforce any number of unique and complex passwords with multi-factor authentication. Whether your organization is a startup or nonprofit, password managers are essential for keeping your business.

However, when selecting a password manager, you need to be diligent about the provider. Select one with a good track record and reputation. In addition, make sure to keep an eye on the additional features your team should have. Check reviews and the famous password manager comparison table on Reddit to find the best option for your business.

Maintaining backups of mission-critical files and systems is a must, as is investing in employees’ continued cybersecurity education. Strict compliance with industry standards is a given, especially now that privacy concerns have come under public scrutiny. Ensure that you collect as little data as possible without impeding operations.

6. Implement a Feedback System

Measuring growth depends on unrestricted two-way communication. Employees need to find you approachable enough to exchange ideas, and they’ll also be more amenable to receiving feedback. That’s how you help align their performance with company goals and expectations.

Creating feedback opportunities and guidelines gives people the guidance they need to correct potentially sub-optimal actions before they become issues. If you professionally present feedback and frame it as a learning opportunity, the recipient is far more likely to learn and adapt without feeling disheartened or pressured.

Conclusion

Fostering growth is something you, as a leader, can do at any stage of your company’s development to create a thriving, innovative, and contented workforce. Don’t lose sight of the above tips, and your growth strategy is sure to pay off!

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UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has called for a new approach to public sector investment, in a set-piece speech at the Labour party conference in Liverpool.

On a day when Britain’s governing party sought to overcome internal divisions over its plans to cut winter fuel payments to pensioners, Reeves sought to emphasise a pro-growth agenda ahead of next month’s budget.

“It is time that the Treasury moved on from just counting the costs of investment to recognising the benefits too,” she said.

“So we are calling time on the ideas of the past,” she added, “calling time on the days when governments stood back, left crucial sectors to fend for themselves, and turned a blind eye to where things are made and who makes them.”

The Chancellor’s speech was interrupted by a heckler protesting against the UK’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Earlier in the day, delegates had booed a decision to delay a non-binding vote in which the leadership faces possible defeat over its plans to means test winter fuel payments.

Reeves argued in her speech that Labour had to respond to what she characterised as a £22bn black hole left in its accounts by the previous Conservative government.

After days in which she has been criticised for a downbeat message, the Chancellor added that October’s Budget would have “real ambition” and that there would be no return to austerity.

“This budget will be a budget for economic growth; it will be a budget for investment,” she said. “My ambition knows no limits, because I can see the prize on offer if we make the right choices now.”

In another remark highlighting the role of the state, she said: “Government cannot just get out of the way and leave markets to their own devices”.

This is a developing story

The Platforms Association launches today to represent and provide a voice to the £1trn investment platform sector.

The launch marks a step change in how the platform industry will engage with regulators and policymakers.

It aims to bring a united voice to co-ordinate and promote industry interests.

Several high-profile investment platforms including Abrdn, Aegon, Fidelity, Quilter, Seccl, SS&C are represented on the board and leadership council

Membership will be open to UK and European regulated firms whose primary activities are the settlement, custody and safe keeping of retail investor assets.

It will also be open to regulated sub-custodian firms providing dealing and safe-keeping services to organisations acting on behalf of retail investors.

The Platforms Association has already developed a roadmap of priority issues to be tackled covering evolving platform requirements, regulatory expectations and operational efficiencies and improvements.

These three broad areas will be overseen by a leadership council comprising representatives from across the industry.

Related financial and professional services firms including Alpha FMC have also been appointed as independent strategic partners to the association.

The trade body will be headed by industry veteran Keith Phillips as CEO, formerly an executive director at TheCityUK, British Bankers’ Association and The Investment Association.

David Moffat, senior director at SS&C will act as chair, and will draw on expertise from a board made up of leading figures in the industry.

Moffat said: “Given a background of increased economic uncertainty and regulatory scrutiny, the UK platform industry now needs its own dedicated forum and representative voice.

“The Platforms Association will look to co-ordinate collective action and agree best practice to the benefit of platform operators, financial advisers and underlying investors.”

Keith Phillips, CEO, The Platforms Association added: “The investment and fund industry has been transformed and democratised over the past decade with millions of customers now interacting directly with their financial futures through a platform.

“It’s another example of where the UK is a world leader in financial services. It’s also clear that as the industry, technology and customer demographics have evolved, sector-wide co-ordination should now be fully realised for the benefit of all.”

Mortgage lenders’ attempts to lure in first-time buyers have stepped up with the UK’s biggest building society allowing some to borrow more.

The Nationwide said that from Tuesday, new borrowers could request a mortgage up to six times their income with a 5% deposit.

But it would only be available for those taking out a five or 10-year fixed-rate deal.

With rates expected to fall, some may only want a loan with interest fixed for a shorter term. The uptake is expected to be concentrated in London and south east England.

Applicants will still have to meet relatively strict affordability criteria, which is assessed individually.

Competition between mortgage providers has intensified in recent months.

Brokers say that lenders have been offering the best deals to new, house-purchasing customers, rather than those who are remortgaging.

With relatively few buyers, providers are trying to get a piece of a small pie.

First-time buyers are seen as a key battleground, and the Nationwide has been offering among the largest so-called income multiple for home loans.

While the standard level of borrowing for first-time buyers is a loan of up to 4.5 times’ income, the Nationwide has allowed some to borrow 5.5 times – a move followed by some other major providers.

Now, it will step that level up to six times – but only among first-time buyers with an individual income of at least £30,000 a year, or a couple earning at least £50,000 a year.

It is also planning to reduce some mortgage interest rates slightly, and increase the maximum total loan available.

“It is a welcome move for the right borrowers, but it is not going to work for everyone,” said David Hollingworth, from broker L&C.

Brokers said lenders were generally wary when lending at high income multiples, with such deals usually only available to high earners.

Some smaller lenders offered six times salary although they normally charged higher rates of interest, they said.

The move follows a report by the Building Societies Association, of which Nationwide is a member, which suggested first-time buyers were facing the toughest conditions in 70 years to buy a home.

It called for fresh thinking from the market, including easing some of the limits on lending when borrowers could only offer a relatively small deposit.