The Sport Matrix: Wednesday 4 September 2013

 

Tuesday 03 September 2013 22:42 BST
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Moyes’ late arrival led to deadline day chaos at United

Manchester United believe their disappointing summer – which would have left them without a single new signing if Marouane Fellaini had not sacrificed £4m to seal a move from Everton – was the product of extreme circumstances in which David Moyes had only eight weeks to undertake his entire strategy in an unfamiliar transfer market.

Moyes, above, delayed his move to United and had only two days at Carrington to familiarise himself with the scouting system, meet scouts and discuss targets before taking his position on 1 July.

The result was an uncharacteristically chaotic deadline day, with United pursuing Ander Herrera and Fabio Coentrao, inquiring about Real Madrid’s Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira and landing none. United also came close to failing in their pursuit of Fellaini, when Everton were demanding £27.5m and Moyes unwilling to offer more than the £23.5m escape clause in Fellaini’s contract, which expired in July. By lodging a transfer request, the Belgian international sacrificed £4m in loyalty bonuses. FURTHER TRANSFER WINDOW COVERAGE, PageS 50-53

Federer admits confidence is low

Former World No 1 Roger Federer has admitted he is low on confidence after suffering another early Grand Slam exit at the US Open. “Confidence takes care of things you don’t usually think about,” he said. “It’s been a difficult last three months. My consistency is just not quite there.” page 45

Bopara and Morgan take England home

Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara both hit unbeaten centuries as England beat Ireland by six wickets in a one-day international in Dublin. William Porterfield’s 112 helped Ireland post 269 for 7, a total the visitors surpassed with seven overs remaining. pageS 46-47

Ozil: Wenger faith convinced me

Mesut Ozil has revealed it was the promise of faith by manager Arsène Wenger that convinced him to move to Arsenal. “I am really looking forward to joining because I have the faith of the coach,” he said. “He explained his plans and that he has faith in me – that is what I need.” page 52

Walcott: Strikers will have to step up

Theo Walcott admits England’s forwards will have to compensate for the loss of Wayne Rooney in the World Cup qualifiers. “It’s well documented how many goals Wayne has,” Walcott said. “He’s a massive threat. Everyone will have to step up, we know how important these games are.” page 49

Murray faces hectic Davis Cup schedule

Andy Murray may play all three days of Britain’s Davis Cup tie in Croatia after captain Leon Smith named a four-man team containing only one doubles specialist. Although Murray is an excellent doubles player, playing on three days could be a major challenge.

Stoneman carries Durham title charge

Mark Stoneman fell four runs short of a century as title- chasing Durham struggled to 245 all out against Sussex on the opening day. James Anyon took 4 for 87 before Sussex reached 60 for 3 in reply, Graham Onions taking two wickets. page 47

Pardew optimism masks Toon unrest

Alan Pardew last night attempted to put a brave face on Newcastle’s lack of activity in the transfer window. “Joe [Kinnear] has worked hard on targets,” the manager said. “Some of the options available were not as good as players we already had.” page 53

Snodgrass content with Scot’s power

Robert Snodgrass maintains Scotland possess adequate firepower in the absence of the retired Kenny Miller. “We have players who can score,” he said. “Jordan Rhodes’ record speaks for itself and Steven Fletcher’s record is unbelievable.” page 49

Botti backs Moore for Melbourne Cup

Marco Botti wants Ryan Moore to keep his ride on Dandino when he lines up in the Melbourne Cup in November. “We are hoping,” the trainer said. “It is hard to pin him down now, so we’ll just have to see.” page 45

James Anderson

Without dragging it up – the stuff about walking – I find it a little bit hypocritical of some ex-players to comment on it. You watch a lot of cricket back then and they never walked. page 48

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