Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/271600
23 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 5 MARCH 2014 Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER Cloudy with showers locally thundery and possibly with hail, becoming partly to rather cloudy with isolated showers. VISIBILITY: Good except in some showers WIND: Westerly force 6 to 7 locally force 5 to 6, becoming locally force 7 to 8 for some time, veering Northwest and decreasing to force 4 to 5 overnight SEA: Rough locally very rough Sea Temp: 15 °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. ISOLATED SHOWERS 14 º C / 8 º C UV INDEX: 4 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits Bxf7+ Kxf7 Qf5+ Ke8 Qe6+ Kd8 Qe7+ Kc8 Qe8# THE most striking element of the League Cup final last Sunday was not Yaya Toure's wonder strike, or even Nasri's outside right footed volley. It wasn't even the fact that Sunderland played admirably for the underdogs but went on to lose to a star studded side. The most striking element to me was the fact that that star stud- ded side had one thing missing: Eng- lish blood. With Joe Hart sat on the bench to- gether with James Milner and Joleon Lescott for company. Three full Eng- lish internationals and they could not even get a sniff of the game. Sure many might label the League One cup as England's second cup but it does still belong to the FA and in my opinion by not fielding a single English player Manchester City dis- respected the country and showed that having too many foreigners is detrimental to the game. Runners up Sunderland on the oth- er hand including five English play- ers in their line up and had a further two on the bench however it seems the further up the league table we climb, the fewer national players are found. League leaders Chelsea started two Englishmen in their 3-1 derby vic- tory over Fulham while Liverpool went one better by playing three. Its a similar pattern as we peer further down with third placed Arsenal be- ing notorious for a lack of English talent in their team. Stoke beat them 1-0 on the pitch, and also won in the nationalities game with one more English man. Manchester City lie in fourth place and the less said about their national mix up the better while Spurs started five English play- ers this weekend. The fact that bottom placed Car- diff City have currently got the most English blood in their Welsh team says it all. They were beaten by Spurs this weekend but I do argue they deserve some credit for fielding the most English players in the league so far this season. The foreign influx has done re- markable things for the expansion of the Premier League overseas with it now emerging as the most followed league world wide. Its fan base in Asia is massive due to the number of Asian players signed by top clubs over the years which include Ji Sung Park and Kagawa, two players who topped shirt sales at Manchester United, ahead of the likes of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie. Foreign leaders Where it has given however it also did take, and I hold the influx re- sponsible for the failings of the Eng- lish national team, who has strug- gled in major competitions over the past two decades. Having relied on Fabio Capello before Roy Hodgson took over paints a bleak picture for England and its national managers and players. English Managers in England are also hard to find. This weekend's Carling Cup final was the first one played where both managers were from South America. Out of the league 20 managers only six are from England, with a host of them coming from outside the UK. When you compare these figures to the likes of Germany or Spain the re- sults are appauling. The Bundesliga's statistics are the complete opposite of the Premier League with only six managers hailing from outside Ger- many with the furthest travelled be- ing Spanish manager Pep Guardiola of league leaders Bayern Munich. Figures in the La Liga are similar with them employing one more for- eign manager then the Germans, however most outsiders hail from South America or Mexico. There is only one non hispanic manager in Spain in Carlo Ancelotti's appoint- ment last season at Real Madrid. The figures say it all and you can not ignore current trends in football. Spain have dominated this decade and Germany has been close behind. Spanish football is more fluid and easier on the eye while the German's are known for their organisation, penalty kicks and tactical awareness. The English are currently considered a laughing stock on the international stage and Roy Hodgson has a lot to do if his bunch are to advance well in Brazil this Summer. The highest placed manager in the Premier League is Tim Sherwood of Totteham and truth be told his appointment only came after Por- tuguese manager Andre Villas Boas was sacked earlier this season and managers in his position never seem to last long. Spurs are currently being linked to Dutchman Luis Van Gaal as he seeks to add the Premier League to his CV and you feel the number of managers in the league will decrease as time goes by. The Premier League's global ex- pansion has come at a cost and sadly the national team has suffered in the wake of the rapid growth and in my opinion no country's national team in any sport should come second in a popularity context. England sadly has other plans and it will be inter- esting to see how things develop in the home of football. OPINION Mark Strijbosch City's foreigners win Cup Jesús Navas, left, Yaya Touré, centre, and Samir Nasri celebrate with the Capital One Cup at Wembley Across 9. Mobile telephone (8,5) 10. Floor covering (3) 11. Methods (7) 12. So be it (4) 13. Comply (4) 15. Marine growth (5) 17. Underwriter (7) 19. Follows orders (5) 21. And so on (3) 23. Pierces with horns (5) 24. Rolled oats (7) 25. The devil (5) 27. Drink greedily (4) 28. Skills (4) 30. Link (7) 32. Illustrative craft (3) 33. Amount a tablespoon can hold (13) Down 1. Uttering screams (9) 2. Blaze (5) 3. Insects (4) 4. Slaughter (8) 5. Become visible (6) 6. Seed containers (4) 7. Musical note (9) 8. Containing fat (5) 14. Apparel (5) 16. Bingo (5) 18. Table napkin (9) 20. Persuasive argument (5,4) 22. Scorn (8) 26. Underground passage (6) 27. Sealed with a loving kiss (5) 29. Summits of buildings (5) 30. Republic in the Caribbean (4) 31. Hoot (4)