Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/183948
27 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 OCTOBER 2013 OPINION A sleeping giant portance of making good deals in the transfer window, a window where Manchester United were hung out to dry. They were foolish in their approaches and bids and were forced to fork out a whopping £27 million for just one player. That player, Fellaini, joins from Everton and has slowed down United's games as David Moyes continually uses him alongside Michael Carrick to provide a double pivot in midfield. An old fashioned and conservative 4-4-2 is being used by Moyes and no one can quite see that as progress. David Moyes has the toughest job in football. Replacing Sir Alex Ferguson, whose name echoes like that of a god, is a mammoth task. He opted to replace all the coaching staff and brought in Philip Neville and Ryan Giggs as a player manager and in doing so he lost out on the expertise of Mike Phelan and Rene Meulensteen, who with Sir Alex formed the holy trinity of Old Trafford. He wants to be his own man and that process does take time, in fact he himself underestimated the size of the apple he chose to chew on last June. It is all new territory for many United fans who have been spoilt by success and these fans are now panicking however the fact of the matter remains that Manchester United have been through far tougher times and that's what makes them Manchester United. They do not strike me as a sacking club and I believe that the protests against Mark Strijbosch CONFUSION reigns in the north as Manchester United fans have to suddenly get used to a feeling they are no longer used to: losing. The shaky start sees them in 12th place and they have been the butt of all jokes in football. Many young supporters have taken to their Facebook accounts to protest against the appointment of David Moyes however the wiser few remember the early barren years under Sir Alex Ferguson. It did after all take him a good four years to steady the heavy ship. Manchester United have taken just seven points from the 21 available in their worst start to the season since 1989. It is an uphill struggle for the new management team however David Moyes is determined to put it right. Sadly enough for United fans he is not the most positive of speakers in press conferences and offers the realistic image, rather than a false one. He has also admitted his side are simply not good enough to compete in Europe this season. It will be long season for United fans and many questions are being asked. These questions highlight the im- David Moyes the manager are in vain. What baffles most fans is that he has inherited a squad that won the league by a staggering 11 points last season. However, by choosing to sack the previous coaching staff, he is now facing a new struggle and I am sure having Sir Alex's shadow lurk in the background does not help. The squad who scored 86 goals last season, a tally only beaten by Barcelona, suddenly have lost their creative flare. A leaky defence saw them ship eight goals in six matches, and losing both league games against local rivals will never ease any pain. After the Carling Cup win over Liverpool, many backed United to go on a run and bag nine points, however even West Brom managed to take the wind out of their flappy sails at Old Trafford. A banner of The Chosen One is draped over the sides at the Stretford End and he was the one chosen by Sir Alex to ensure his legacy continues. At the moment it looks to have hit a brick wall, however we are so used to this giant club bouncing back and laughing in defeat's face that we are silently all sure the glory days are not over. In the meantime United fans have to get used to scrolling down the league table to find their position, however patience is the key. Having played (and not won) against Chelsea, City and Liverpool means that the toughest games are out of the way and United need to start preying on weaker opposition to stabilise. More experiments will follow from Moyes as he gets to know his new squad however I feel the next couple of matches against Sunderland and Southampton will be crucial for the team. Despite all the doom and gloom, here is one to cheer United fans up: David Moyes spent 11 years trying to get Everton above Manchester United, and now he has at last managed. Pursuits Across 1. Writ (7) 5. Cheat (7) 9. Pertaining to the palate (7) 10. Roofing stone (5) 11. At that place (5) 12. Single unit (3) 13. Darkening of the skin by sunlight (6) 14. Self-defence (6) 15. Definite article (3) 17. Sugar (9) 21. Deranged (3) 23. Person who reads (6) 24. Spanish fleet (6) 27. Revolution (3) 28. Door handles (5) 29. Porcelain tableware (5) 30. Distinctive (7) 31. Intellectual (7) 32. Time between sunrise and sunset (7) Sudoku Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday Last week's solution Chess Today's Weather 8 8 WEATHER: Partly cloudy becoming partly to rather cloudy VISIBILITY: Good WIND: 7 Northwest force 4 to 5 locally force 5 to 6, becoming locally force 6 for some time during the day. SEA: Moderate to rough becoming rough SWELL: Low Northwest locally negligible at first 6 7 5 6 4 3 5 2 1 4 A 3 2 1 A B C D E F G H White to play and mate in four moves B C D Qxc7 Be7 Qc8+ Bd8 Re1 Kf8 Qxd8+ Ne8 Qxe8# (Rxe8#) E F G H CLOUDY 28ºC / 22ºC UV INDEX: 8 SEA TEMP: 26 °C Down 1. Sustain (7) 2. Inhabitant of Malta (7) 3. Choice (6) 4. Seawater (4,5) 5. Outmoded (5) 6. Body of aeroplane (8) 7. Native of Arabia (7) 8. Unrealistic person (7) 16. Downcast (9) 18. Remains of anything ruined (8) 19. Item (7) 20. Support (7) 21. Cocktail (7) 22. Communicate (7) 25. Blood vessel (6) 26. Pierced with horns (5)