Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/250270
23 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 JANUARY 2014 OPINION Shopping in the mud and Pellegrini argued that the deal was unfair, however Jose fought back by saying had Arsenal sold Mezut Ozil no club would complain as that is just business. If a club can make a last minute signing in August nobody so much as bats an eye, so why moan now? In my opinion the January window should be capped in terms of spending to ensure the bigger deals go through in summer, and I believe that even that window should be shortened with the month of August being struck off. January should be a month of tinkering time where smaller teams can fly some new talent in on loan to help save a bad season. The very fact that Manchester United are relying on this month to change a season shows what a perilous situation the club is actually in. Most smaller teams fail to settle in August as the bigger birds fly down to prey on their talent, with Newcastle offering the perfect example of this last summer as it seemed their whole squad was being monitored by the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea. Once more their main man Cabaye is the subject of much debate as more bids fly in for him. The sale raised eyebrows as it is extremely rare to sell your double fans' player of the year to your title rivals however there is some method to the madness. Juan Mata was placed in the transfer list at £37 million, pricing out many teams bar a few. One of those Mark Strijbosch AT long last Manchester United fans have something to smile about, with the club announcing a record deal taking Juan Mata from Stamford Bridge to Old Trafford. Now in any season this would be a normal deal, with people maybe raising an eye brow over the price agreed, a whopping £37.1 million. This massive deal however caused more of a stir than people imagined and we have heard all sorts from many managers, lead of course by the ever smiling Arsene Wenger who claimed that the deal was "unfair". His reasoning was that Chelsea and Manchester United have already played each other twice this season and Mata will not face his former team mates anytime soon. Manchester City coach Pellegrini echoed his sentiment and also had a moan about clubs spending big during the January window. Jose Mourinho on the other hand defended the deal, claiming that once the window is there all clubs can do is follow the rules, and none were broken here. This deal however blasted the doors of debate wide open: should there be a January window after all? Wenger Moyes reckons that Mata will prove to be an inspired signing few was Manchester United however Chelsea's only clause was not to sell to them. So how did he end up being choppered in to Carrington you ask? Well United were the only team ready to spend big and if you thought Jose Mourinho let him go because he was sorry to bench such a talent then you are sadly mistaken and deceived by the charm of the Special One. Juan Mata's price was the exact amount they needed to comply with the Fifa Fair play rules on trading, and that is no coincidence. Chelsea's lavish lifestyle over the years has never been looked on kindly by UEFA but in this way they have scored many points for the policy, which will see them lose millions if they remain under the points tally needed. Mata is undoubtedly one of the best players in the league and the affection the fans had for him was no secret. Jose Mourinho openly admitted he was building his team around his current number 10: Oscar, a talent he adores and sadly that meant benching one of the Premier League nice guys. One more twist in the tale is the role David Moyes played in the signing. Deemed as useless in the market by most Everton fans, and laughed at for the price paid for his previous signing Fellaini, it is no surprise really that David Moyes is rumoured to have played no role in this catch of the year. Director of Football One man had to do it, and let's not forget that his influence is still there when needed. Sir Alex Ferguson was spotted in London at Stamford Bridge the previous weekend and my guess is that he played a massive hand in this deal. Let us not forget that he is of course the newly installed Director of Football at Manchester United and he gets paid to do exactly that: find and sign talent that would suit his own vision for his beloved club. I thought it was highly unlikely that Moyes would ever pull such a signing together. Pursuits Across 3. Raised road (8) 9. Waste meat (5) 10. Exploit (3) 11. Alcoholic liquor (3) 12. Telephone operator (11) 14. Astronomer (5) 16. Immoral habit (4) 17. One of ten equal parts (5) 19. Take off (6) 20. Sister (3) 22. Magician in Arthurian legend (6) 23. Consisting of sand (5) 25. Lather (4) 26. Sudden pains (5) 28. Temperature measuring instrument (11) 30. Pair (3) 31. Gear tooth (3) 32. Female horses (5) 33. Infinite time (8) 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 rather cloudy VISIBILITY: 7 Generally good. 6 7 5 6 4 WIND: 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 E F Qd7 Rf8 b8=R(orQ) f4 Qxf7+ (Bxg6+) Rxf7 R(orQ)h8# G H PARTLY CLOUDY 16ºC / 10ºC UV INDEX: 2 West force 4 locally force 4 to 5 becoming South Southwest force 5 and backing South Southeast force 5 to 6 overnight SEA: Rough becoming moderate. SWELL: Low to moderate Northwest becoming low SEA TEMP: 16 °C Down 1. Spoils or plunder (4) 2. King Arthur's palace (7) 4. Vigorous exercises (8) 5. Band of colour (6) 6. Without worth (9) 7. Delicious (5) 8. Act as a servant (5) 13. And so forth (2,6) 15. Cherished relation (5,3) 18. Pellet of hail (9) 21. Dregs (8) 24. Collection of weaponry (7) 25. Kingdom in N Europe (6) 26. Roost (5) 27. Gentle push (5) 29. Hurry (4)