Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/258814
23 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2014 Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER Rather cloudy with showers possibly thundery at times VISIBILITY: Good except in showers WIND: West Northwest force 5 to 6 locally force 6 to 7 becoming Westerly force 5 to 6 locally force 6 to 7 SEA: Rough to very rough SWELL: Low to moderate Northwest becoming moderate SEA TEMP: 16 °C A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution 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. SHOWERS 14 º C / 9 º C UV INDEX: 3 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Across 1. Producing music (7) 5. Country of the United Kingdom (7) 9. Eccentric (3) 10. Dens (5) 11. Stage play (5) 12. Attempt (3) 13. Remove silt from river (6) 16. Ramble (6) 19. Cried (4) 21. Bread rolls (4) 23. Unclothed (4) 24. Abbreviated (9) 25. Old form of you (4) 26. Leave out (4) 27. Fruit of the pine (4) 28. Betray (6) 31. Weights (6) 35. Purse (3) 37. Insect stage (5) 38. Assisted (5) 39. Wager (3) 40. Not anywhere (7) 41. Earring with a pendant (7) Down 1. Shifted (5) 2. Find the answer (5) 3. Adhere closely (5) 4. Not won (4) 5. Whirlpool (4) 6. Huge (5) 7. Mission in Texas (5) 8. Speak in a slow manner (5) 14. Make rough (7) 15. Final course (7) 16. Stench (5) 17. Dilapidated (7) 18. Opponent of new technologies (7) 20. Consumed (5) 22. Dog (5) 28. Mass of eggs (5) 29. Relative by marriage (2-3) 30. Swearword (5) 32. Below (5) 33. Tree (5) 34. Stub (5) 35. Small child (4) 36. Movable barrier (4) Pursuits ... g6+ d4 (Ka2, Kb1) Bxd4+ Kb1 (Ka2) Nbxa3+ Kc1 Bb2+ Kd1 Qxe2++ THAT was the sixties but over fifty years on and that song is still rel- evant today. We have seen life go from black and white to full HD colour and the emergence of tech- nology to an extent never imagined before. Footballs have in the mean- time grown into multi million dol- lar business brands and each play- er's hair got more confusing year by year. We had also witnessed the powerful grip of Liverpool FC being slowly but surely forced open as a new force be- gan to dominate English football. The mad 70s and 80s paved way for a 27 year spell of dominance from another northern club: Manchester United. That was then, this is now. Liverpool are creeping up onto the perch with Manchester United tumbling like a giant and we all know how it goes, the bigger they are... Liverpool's stunning destruction of Arsenal last weekend was probably the best ever 20 minutes of football ever played as they raced to a 4-0 lead. Blink and you would have missed it – it was a quick fire demolition job of the club everyone tipped to go all the way at last this season. I for one never backed Arsenal, as usual I thought they would run out of steam and it looks to me that old train stopped there once more to quasi-quote another classic tune. Liverpool's appetite for big games is incredible as we saw a similar start in the Merseyside derby as they made light work of an improved Everton. Now basking in the sunshine of glory, people are arguing that the gods are woken once more and that Liverpool can finally win that elusive Premier League, their first since the top tier was renamed. Once more however my money is not on them, for now. They have played the part of the dark horses well, almost too well in the fact that that is all I think they will amount to this season. Without taking any credit away however I agree the club is on the rise. The mighty reds are showing their true colours and they almost look the complete picture. It will be a season or two however before they start considering themselves as con- tenders. That tag I believe is currently held by free scoring Manchester City and their nemesis Chelsea. Mourinho may deny it but we all know his skills in mind games. City's rich run of form has dried up however I couldn't look beyond them winning the league and I still argue they will be competing in a two horse race sooner rather than later. The falling giants however are now licking their wounds. The home draw to bottom placed Fulham summed up United's season so far and the fright- ening thing is that improvement does not even seem to be on the horizon. A distant ship does smoke there how- ever (another incredible tune) in the hope of a new transfer kitty for next season. However, I feel that Manches- ter United have got it all wrong. With Sir Alex now gone the team look as average as they looked when they ground out results that won them championship but that only underlines the importance of a match winning attitude. Brendan Rodgers seems to have carved that out of Liv- erpool this season however this is, I believe, David Moyes' Achilles heel. Rene Meulensteen summed it up well this weekend when he said the point at Old Trafford was an easy one to take. Sure you might argue he knows Manchester United like the bottom of his pockets due to his past at the club, but to call a draw in the home of the Champions easy? Well, thats just the truth, and it hurts! He commented that United were too pre- dictable and that defending against a crossing team is easy, and here is a question: Do Bayern and Barca carve opponents with 80+ crosses, or do they thread the ball through from the midfield up? Thats right, a passing game is much harder to play against and United now look like they slept through the last decade, and have woken up with a pyjama set from the 90s, worn by a manager from another era, an era he fit into. David Moyes in my eyes is the one to blame. Meulensteen was not being cocky this weekend: he was being honest, and now it is time to David Moyes to be honest too... the dinosaurs never evolved and I do believe that is what Moyes is shaping United to be. OPINION Mark Strijbosch The times they are a-changing Liverpool are on the rise