Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/390250
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 OCTOBER 2014 Sport 23 Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Partly cloudy, locally rather cloudy at times VISIBILITY: Good WIND: Variable force 2 to 3 becoming mainly West to Northwest force 2 to 3 locally force 3 to 4 at times SEA: Slight SWELL: Low easterly at first becoming negligible SEA TEMP: 26 °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. FAIR 27 º C / 19 º C UV INDEX: 6 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits OPINION Across 1. Long-necked ruminant (7) 5. Counteracting acidity (7) 9. Deity (3) 10. Horse-like African mammal (5) 11. Entrance (5) 12. Loud noise (3) 13. County in SE England (6) 16. Person engaged in writing books (6) 19. Noble (4) 21. Stopper (4) 23. Wait in concealment (4) 24. Large mass of sliding snow (9) 25. Oversupply (4) 26. Well-behaved (4) 27. Overdue (4) 28. Road around an obstruction (6) 31. Hammer-like tool (6) 35. Affirmative reply (3) 37. Hidden (5) 38. Clay block (5) 39. Alkali (3) 40. Perfumed toilet water (7) 41. Republic in N Africa (7) Down 1. Sudden bursts of wind (5) 2. Sharp-edged instrument (5) 3. Legend (5) 4. Mild oath (4) 5. Capital of Yemen (4) 6. Teacher (5) 7. Subterranean vault (5) 8. Underwater worker (5) 14. Normally (7) 15. Boat race (7) 16. Ruin (5) 17. Forbidden by law (7) 18. Lower part of the external ear (7) 20. Make into an act (5) 22. Does not succeed (5) 28. Fundamental (5) 29. Student (5) 30. Gesture of indifference (5) 32. Extraterrestrial (5) 33. Bodies of water (5) 34. Ornamental coronet (5) 35. Christmas (4) 36. Encourage in wrongdoing (4) WAYNE Rooney's career comes with more ups and down than a ride at Alton Towers further south and during his 10 years at Manchester United we have all seen many sides to the new captain, with one of his old demons haunting him last weekend. Rio Ferdinand has admitted that as a youngster Wayne Rooney al- ways seemed to be a "very angry boy" with issues surfacing about anything, whether it was a mis placed pass in training or a poor performance on a match day. Born and raised in Croxteth, one of Liv- erpool's most notorious areas, he never had an early childhood and with my experience in dealing with disengaged youth from the same area, I can honestly say that with- out football, Rooney, like many of the youths I work with, would have an extremely different life, plagued with gang violence and drug abuse. His anger issues will have stemmed from his tough upbringing and we often saw him take his anger out on the pitch, often on the feet of an opposing player. Thankfully as most of us mellow with age, Rooney has now shown us a different side. A more composed man who took fewer risk in the behaviour depart- ment. He learnt from his lessons, stopped clapping referee's decisions sarcastically and operated further down the pitch, as a number 10, controlling the tempo of the game perfectly by pinging precise balls to his forwards. He grew fond of his ability to cover extensive ground and track back to defend, and even against Leicester City it was his heated rallying call that tried, help- lessly, to shake up his defence. He is the type of player who hates losing and always plays with his heart on his sleeve, constantly communicating to his fellow team mates, and the referee. That is a prime example of a solid leader: a good communicator capable of speaking on the behalf of others. Subsequently he was made cap- tain, for club and for country – the greatest honour football. Many questioned the decision, however if there is one player who leads by example and has enough passion for the modern game it its Wayne Rooney. What happened against West Ham last weekend was not a result of a reckless young Wayne lashing out at an opponent, it was simply a mis timed challenge, brought about by the risky formation Louis van Gaal adopted at Old Trafford. His high line, often stretched, would have been left exposed has Rooney not sent Steward Downing crash- ing, and I believe that he wanted to stop Downing and simply mistimed his kick. He has since apologised and van Gaal has agreed that Roon- ey could have stopped Downing in a more "friendly" manner, meaning a slight clip of the ankle or perhaps tug of the kit. Kicking him high in the thigh was hardly going to go un- noticed and as a result United were left exposed for over 30 minutes. Having your captain sent off leaves the team in a mess and United were lucky to escape with all three points, and were it not for the nose of Kevin Nolan would have had to settle for a draw, and natu- rally Rooney had to take the bullet as the scapegoat. To have fans bey- ing for his blood and asking him to have the armband stripped off him however is a different story all to- gether. There is no better player to serve his club than Wayne Rooney, one of the more senior players at the club since the departures of Evra, Rio and Vidic and the reduced play- ing time of vice captain Fletcher. This is a new team, with a foreign nucleus, and even though he is not a Manc, Rooney is now part of the club's fabric. Rooney's commitment, style and leadership has been under the mi- croscope since his transfer from Everton and due to his fantastic start at his childhood and in many ways the world was on his shoulder. The pressure the English game puts on promising youth players is ri- diculous and unthinkable in other prolific youth leagues famous for producing talent like the Spanish, Dutch and German leagues. There is no doubt that his game is far from perfect, however at this fragile time he is the main man for a new look United and he will con- tinue to inspire the kids as he be- comes a household name all over the world. His marketing power for the club is unique and in my eyes he ticks all the right boxes for being a good leader. He is passionate, a good communicator, a crowd raiser and if all that comes with the cost of the odd red card than so be it! Mark Strijbosch Leading by example Bxa6+ Kxa6 b7 Bd8 bxc8=Q+ Bb7 Qcxb7# bxc8=B+ Bb7 Bxb7# Wayne Rooney sees red