Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/374383
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER 2014 Sport 23 Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Fine VISIBILITY: Good WIND: West to Southwest force 2 to 3 locally force 3 to 4 becoming West to Northwest in the evening. To Northeast of area: becoming locally force 4 to 5 in the afternoon SEA: Slight SWELL: Negligible SEA TEMP: 27 °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 33 º C / 22 º C UV INDEX: 8 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits OPINION Across 1. Cloth bag filled with beans (7) 5. Readable (7) 9. Lockjaw (7) 10. Collection of maps (5) 11. Walk (5) 12. One circuit (3) 13. Filter (6) 14. Device for holding up a stocking (6) 15. Engage in espionage (3) 17. Organisations (9) 21. Large (3) 23. Ski lodge (6) 24. Move back and forth (6) 27. Father (3) 28. Units (5) 29. Position (5) 30. Not friendly (7) 31. Enter again (2-5) 32. Own (7) Down 1. Glass containers (7) 2. Postmortem examination (7) 3. Flag (6) 4. Inflammation of the stomach (9) 5. Person sentenced to life in prison (5) 6. Receive an academic degree (8) 7. Dramatic dances (7) 8. Entrap (7) 16. Steamer (9) 18. Submissive to authority (8) 19. Flee (7) 20. Made by humans (3-4) 21. The time a person goes to bed (7) 22. Female deity (7) 25. Hotel patrons (6) 26. Male voice (5) MANCHESTER United desperately needed to bolster their defence dur- ing deadline day and did well to bring in Dutch player of the year Daley Blind from Ajax for a deal worth £14 million. What they did next however shocked everyone. Despite being linked to several Champions League clubs, Radamel Falcao opted to join the Old Trafford club on a season long loan deal, with an option to join the club perma- nently. He was attracted, ahem, to the challenge of resurrecting the sleeping giants, and not, I'm sure, to the mas- sive wage they will be paying him. That pay package is rumoured to be over £300,000 after tax. Manchester United's deals had been like sending your kid to the super- market for milk and bread, only he returned with whiskey and chocolate, they will make you feel better for the evening, but do not solve the lack of main ingredients. With Blind and Di Maria's arrival, their squad now seems more unbalanced than ever, with many players being left sided. Van Gaal now has a balancing act on his hands as let's face it, with their stunning defeat to MK Dons and lack of European games, they are only in two competitions and a deep squad is not needed. A good squad however is the key and in my eyes Falcao's arrival is very logical due to his sensational goals per game ratio. They need him for on purpose: to help qualify for the Champions League next season as without the extra income, the club can crumble. Prior to this season the Old Traf- ford club signed a multi-million ster- ling deal with kit makers Adidas. The record breaking deal however has a catch: United must qualify for the Champions League, or risk that fig- ure being halved. They had no choice and had to gamble on big signings to avoid a slip into the unknown. In van Gaal they now have a manager who can attract the game's biggest names, whereas under Moyes the most they could attract was Fellaini and Mata, who might indeed have to keep each other company on the bench due to the amount of sheer talent the club has upfront. Defensively however the mess continues, as the likes of Evans, Jones and Smalling are still present, with the the work permit yet to be sorted for new signing Marcos Rojo. In this modern climate, money does talk and the only way to avoid becoming the new/old Liverpool was to risk and go all in. For many this is the most exciting time to support the club and with these big names their marketing muscle was flexed once more, at the time they needed it the most. Falcao's new number 9 kit will surely become well sought after by fans from all over the world, and that is extremely valuable for the club, as is the potential number of goals he can add to Rooney's and van Persie's. Arsenal too have strengthened up front, only they have bought a man infamous for his lack of goals. They paid £16 million for an England in- ternational striker who successfully buried a massive total of three goals in the last calendar year alone. I do not mean to mock Danny Welbeck, but that goal tally is far too low for his price tag. Hopefully with the new and much improved Arsenal he can find his feet again because in the eyes of many, Welbeck can be one of Eng- land's best forwards. Potential goal machine Javier Her- nandez followed Welbeck out of the revolving Old Trafford door and flew to warm a cosy bench at the Bernabau as Real Madrid took him for a season's loan. While Manchester United were up all night panicking, City, Chelsea and Liverpool spent the day at the sea side, basking in the knowledge that their deals had been done bright and early and their squads are looking deep and sharp. Mark Strijbosch Deadline day logic e7 d8=Q e8=Q+ Qd8 Qe6+ Kb8 Qb3+ Qb6 Qxb6+ Ka8 Qb7# Radamel Falcao