The rules of engagement

As you all know by now, Malta is the official sponsor of Sheffield United, the team I happen to have supported since birth. Possibly before.

The sponsorship deal, which was signed last year and could very well be extended beyond this season, has two main aims.

Firstly, and most obviously, it is aimed at promoting Malta as a brand both in Sheffield and throughout the UK. This part of the deal has gone extremely well. I visited club a few weeks ago and the exposure Malta is getting is top-notch.

At the stadium itself you can't turn a corner without seeing the visitmalta.com logo splashed in front of your face. And the branding spreads further afield both in Sheffield and, thanks to club shirts, up and down the country.

The second part of the deal is a little more ambiguous and involves generating closer ties and areas of co-operation between the club and our country. United have extensive sporting facilities and connections with teams around the world, and they promised as part of the deal to make Malta part of the action.

Well, this week, that second phase has started to kick in properly.

For a start, Hungarian giants Ferencvaros - owned by Sheffield United - are here for a week-long training camp, including a friendly match against a Malta XI at Ta' Qali.

But that is just one part of a week of events that show the relationship between the two sides is growing stronger.

A delegation from Sheffield, including players, coaches and officials, is flying over to tour schools and hospitals, meet children, hold training sessions and give talks on football.

These trainers and players will also be meeting children from Malta's various club nurseries to share their experience and take part in question-and-answer sessions.

During the visit, a free 'Junior Malta Blades' scheme for kids will be launched, allowing them to receive a variety of benefits, including the chance to be an official mascot at a United match and access to future training and coaching programmes.

All of this is good news for Malta and will only help us with our future sporting aspirations.

But, for me, the real enticing part of this week of events comes in the form of the exhibition United are putting on in Valletta.

The club is bringing over a large selection of items from their museum including the ball used in the 1899 FA Cup final, believed to be one of the oldest surviving footballs in the world.

On top of that, there are a number of historic shirts, caps, programmes, badges and other bits of memorabilia that all make for fascinating viewing.

However, the real jewel in the crown of this display are the original, hand-written rules of football.

These were drawn up in a hotel in Sheffield way back in 1858 by members of Sheffield FC, the world's oldest football club. I saw these rules during my last visit and I have to say they sent a little shiver down my spine.

It doesn't matter who you support in whichever league in whichever country, the fact is that the beautiful game as we know it today was born from those rules which were then adopted by the English FA in 1863.

Just looking at them puts today's multi-million pound football industry in perspective. It's like going back to your roots and reminding yourself that football really is, or at least should be, the people's game.

The total value of the items coming to Malta for the exhibition is well over a million pounds, and my advice to you is to get down to the Malta Tourism Authority headquarters in Valletta and take a look at this slice of football history which, to knowledge at least, has never before left England.

Just catching a glimpse of the rules themselves is worth the effort. Trust me.

The exhibition is being held at the MTA, Auberge d'Italie, Merchants Street, Valletta, from Wednesday to Monday, including Saturday and Sunday mornings. Entrance is free.

Mind over matter

Does anybody know exactly what is going on in Rafa Benitez's head?

When he launched his ill-advised attack on Sir Alex Ferguson a couple of weeks ago, it looked like nothing more than a sweet and innocent attempt at competing with the king of mind games.

Three games, three draws and a slump down the table later it is blindingly obvious that it hasn't worked in the slightest.

However, his latest outburst, after the midweek draw with Wigan, makes me wonder if the Spaniard might not be becoming seriously detached from the plot.

"The second half was a crazy game and when it is a crazy game you can't control things. Why was it crazy? Because it was crazy," he said after the game.

Now I watched that game. And the only crazy thing about it was that a Liverpool team that should have been three up by half time managed to throw away another two points.

The refereeing wasn't particularly bad, Wigan didn't employ overly dirty tactics and even the pitch at the JJB - which often looks like it has been freshly ploughed - was in pretty good shape.

So what, exactly, was the crazy bit? That Wigan hit the crossbar in the last few minutes and should have actually won the game?

When pushed to expand on his claims of insanity, he wouldn't be specific but he did add: "It has happened in the last three games. They have something in common I don't like. I know why but I cannot say anything."

That, to me, sounds like a man who believes there is a conspiracy afoot. A man who thinks the whole of the English Premier League is ganging up against him and his team to make sure they miss out on the title.

And that is more than a little worrying.

Not the possibility that there is a conspiracy because, frankly, that's just a load of nonsense. But the fact that Benitez seems to actually believe there is one.

Has the pressure got to him to the extent that he is seeing things that simply aren't there? Or is he merely scraping around for excuses to justify his side's newly discovered tendency to throw away vital points?

If ever the entire Premier League bothers to conspire against a team, then I am fairly sure it won't be against one that hasn't won a title since I was in my early teens. If everyone - including the likes of Stoke and Wigan - were going to gang up on any side then surely it would be Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal.

So many people I know, fans of a wide variety of teams, actually want to Liverpool to succeed this season and win a title for old time's sake.

The problem is they don't appear to have a manager who is capable of bringing that particular trophy home.

And the one they do have is cracking under the pressure of trying.

For the record

Love them or loathe them, and we Maltese football fans all seem to fit into one of those two categories, you have to admire Manchester United.

Not only did they storm clear at the top of the Premier League in style this week with their 5-0 hammering of West Brom, but they also broke two records in the process.

By going 11 matches without conceding a goal, they overtook Chelsea's total of 10 games without seeing the back of their own net bulge. A testament to their supreme teamwork.

But there was also an individual triumph in the form of Edwin van der Sar, who broke Petr Cech's record of 1,025 minutes without conceding. Especially admirable considering the defence in front of him has been chopped and changed over the course of that run.

At the start of the season it looked as if the champions would have a fight on their hands to retain their title. Their rivals were on fire while they were struggling for any sort of form.

But Sir Alex is a canny old manager and he has, it seems, once again got his team to peak when it really matters.

There is still time for the Red Devils to have a little wobble or two before the season is out. But there aren't many around who would now bet against them retaining their crown.

I certainly won't.

Your say

Hector Gatt, Mosta, writes:

"First of all, allow me to congratulate you on your extremely witty articles which I look forward to reading from week to week. With regard to last Sunday's article about the failed transfer of Kaka to Manchester City, I have to admit that as a Milan fan, I was extremely pleased that, for once, heart won over money.

"However, I agree that a player without a bank account similar to Kaka's would have found himself in a dilemma in such a situation. Sadly, all this money talk is quickly eroding all the fun and romanticism that used to be associated with football, and one has to admit that in the current scenario, one cannot imagine any manager building a great team over a number of seasons (even though Arsene Wenger tries hard), or fairytales such as Wimbledon.

"Though I still love and support Milan, I have to admit to having lost a lot of enthusiasm over the years, particularly in the wake of the calciopoli scandal that rocked Italian football. Since then, my enthusiasm for football is kept alive through the unlikeliest of places - Kidderminster Harriers and the Blue Square Premier (formerly 'The Conference').

"While the level of football at that level is admittedly low and will never reach the dizzy heights of the Champions League, it is definitely more honest as it is built around the love for football rather than around money. Every weekend I find myself rejoicing at a Richards or a Barnesy goal as much as I do for a Kaka or a Pato one, if not more sometimes. Forza Kiddy!"

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com