Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/350843
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 23 JULY 2014 Sport 23 Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Mainly Sunny VISIBILITY: Good WIND: Northerly force 3 to 4 becoming West to Northwest force 3 to 4 locally force 4 SEA: Moderate becoming slight to moderate SWELL: LOW NORTHWEST SEA TEMP: 25 °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. PARTLY CLOUDY 30 º C / 22 º C UV INDEX: 8 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits OPINION Across 1. Continue to live (7) 5. Objects (7) 9. Petroleum well (3,4) 10. Land measures (5) 11. Foe (5) 12. A container (3) 13. Settle in a camp (6) 14. Forgiveness (6) 15. Slender bar (3) 17. Elated (9) 21. Silent (3) 23. Hang loosely (6) 24. Sucking fish (6) 27. Fish (3) 28. Overhead (5) 29. Small tree (5) 30. Ailment (7) 31. Breeding place of rooks (7) 32. Room for infants (7) Down 1. Drool (7) 2. Informal (7) 3. Conciliatory (6) 4. Town near Oswestry (9) 5. Possessed (5) 6. Companion of a child (8) 7. Burial clothes (7) 8. Postpone (7) 16. Monarch (9) 18. Having considerable worth (8) 19. Counsellor (7) 20. Experience (7) 21. Sword-like knife (7) 22. Lack of vanity (7) 25. Stableman (6) 26. This present day (5) WITHOUT even having kicked a competitive ball, Manchester United already look twice the team they did last season. The arrivals of youngster Luke Shaw and Herrera might sig- nify a will to improve however the main reason of their off field revival is largely down to the arrival of new head coach Louis van Gaal The Dutch coach joined Manches- ter United four days after leading the Netherlands to third in the FIFA World Cup 2014 and his first press conference sent refreshing waves around the camp. While his unpopular predecessor David Moyes took a tentative ap- proach to his first conference a year ago, van Gaal was a breath of fresh air. He bragged about his coaching record and his trophies, of which Moyes had none. He put the facts straight adding that last season United finished 7th, which was just not good enough. Even in his first conference Moyes had lacked presence, looking shell shocked about his own selection. He was not expecting the call up, while van Gaal knows he merited it after having managed the number one club of the Netherlands, Spain and Germany as he repeated all too often. It was a natural call up it seems for him to manage what he believes to be the number one club in the world. Where towards the end of last sea- son Moyes even stooped so low that he said United "aspire to be like Man City" van Gaal said that under his umbrella the aim is never fourth, but always first. In my eyes its Moyes 0-1 van Gaal and I expect more points to the Dutchman in the coming weeks. Such is his belief in his new side he has also said that he will give the play- ers four weeks to impress him before adding further players to his squad. Further good news for the fans is that Fellaini has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford after looking out of his depth last season. This is not a wait and see approach from van Gaal and he wants to stress that the players are good enough to wear the shirt and challenge for tro- phies once more. His philosophy is one of attacking football and where David Moyes set out not to be beaten, van Gaal wants to attack and that is part of the club's DNA. With a re- freshed van Persie up front I get the feeling there are goals in United this season. His Netherlands squad this sum- mer was in my eyes the most exciting team to watch and all the players had one philosophy, to attack as much as possible. They scored 15 goals in six matches and only conceded four, even if they had a largely unexperi- enced back four and goalkeeper. During the campaign he displayed guts and was bold as brass, particu- larly when bringing on Tim Krul for the penalty shootout against Costa Rica. That mentality is just the tonic for United and each player will know he has a part to play due to the Dutch- man's flexible approach to each game. Whenever Holland fell behind all it took was a tactical change from van Gaal to ensure they scored more, just ask the Spanish how they felt about that in their first game. Perhaps edging on the side of cau- tion, Manchester United only signed a two year deal with van Gaal, no doubt looking to avoid the same mis- take as they did with David Moyes. He was given a six year deal and as a result received a pay off of seven mil- lion pounds for his sacking. To fan the flame it is also rumoured that van Gaal did not use an agent to sign his deal and instead donated those fees which would have gone to the agent to a charity in Brazil. The estimated worth: 1 million. I believe its Moyes 0-2 van Gaal with more in the bag. Perhaps luckily for him, Manches- ter United did not only miss out on the Champions League but also the Europa League meaning their main focus will be climbing up the league table. Make no mistake about it those European miles clock up and having fewer games to play will suit the club fine just for one season. With the club now in LA for their pre season tour they look happy, rested and settled. Many players have praised LVG already and there are no signs of a hangover at United. The decay of last season was brought to a halt and van Gaal has no pressure to succeed as he has already made it in Europe's biggest leagues. Having managed giants Ajax at the young age of 39 this is a man who is no stranger to danger and certainly will not buck- le under the pressure. He knows the importance of commercial success at his new club and the only way that comes is through winning trophies. Last season's pain will only serve to motivate the players and I can not wait for his game against Swansea come August 14th. As for the Neth- erlands, the gaping hole left by van Gaal has already been filled by Guus Hiddink, another man who is over- flowing with experience. His legacy kicks off against Italy on September the 4th and with him the Oranje can surely challenge for the European Championships in France. His last stint as Netherlands manager saw them reach the Semi Finals of France 1998 where they were unfortunate to lose yet again on penalties and they know it is time to set the record straight. Mark Strijbosch Van Gaal hitting the right notes Qh3+ Ke8 Rg8+ Kf7 Qh7+ Qg7 Ne5+ Ke6 Qf5# Van Gaal, pictured with assistant Ryan Giggs