Over the past couple of decades, being a Sheffield United supporter in Malta has been a lonely affair.

Sure, there are a couple of other exiled fans scattered around the island. And yes, my wife Ali has been gradually and painstakingly converted over three years of marriage.

Even so, if every Blade in Malta had got together a month ago for a fan club meeting we could probably have held it in a phone box. Seated.

But that is all set to change following Thursday's announcement that the Malta Tourism Authority has become United's new sponsor.

This season the players will have the visitmalta.com logo on their shirts as part of a deal that will also see one side of Bramall Lane renamed the Malta Family Stand among other branding opportunities.

But this deal, which can best be described as groundbreaking, is about more than mere sponsorship - it is the beginning of a tie-in between United and Malta that will run much deeper and have a positive effect on football throughout the country.

For example, as part of the deal, Sheffield United will manage a football academy over here that will be used to produce our country's future football stars. Additionally, they will oversee the development of a community programme for Malta's youngsters.

Both those initiatives will give Malta significant help as we strive to produce more players capable of having an international impact in the same way Michael Mifsud has in recent years.

The news of this deal follows hot on the heels of Justin Haber's move to Bramall Lane where, in just a couple of weeks, the goalkeeper has already made a great impression on the coaching staff.

That move in itself already served to raise the profile of the Blades in our islands. But the fact that Malta as a nation is essentially now the team's main sponsors will raise it still further.

It's almost as if we now have our own English football team. A club the nation can get behind, whose matches it can watch with that little bit more involvement.

Fingers crossed now that United can deliver on the pitch, get promoted to the Premiership and take Brand Malta to even greater heights.

On a personal level, the announcement of this deal makes me immensely proud and relieved. Proud that my club and my country are now working together so closely.

And relieved because people may stop automatically thinking 'Manchester' every time I tell them I am a United fan...

Football's Enrons

I think we should all spare a thought today for those football fans who support the less financially stable teams.

For most supporters, a new season equals a fresh start - the opportunity for our clubs to wipe the slate clean, put last season's failures behind us and strive for glory anew.

But, if you happen to be a supporter of Luton, Rotherham or Bournemouth, yesterday's big kick-off was just the start of a long and depressing struggle.

All three clubs have started the season on negative points and instead of dreaming of promotion they are setting out on a nine-month scrap against relegation to non-league football.

Bournemouth have been teetering on the financial brink for years now and the Football League decided enough was enough and has given them a 17-point deduction at the start of the new season.

Rotherham, on the other hand, make Bournemouth look like Manchester United when it comes to finance. They have been in and out of administration twice in as many years and even managed to get evicted from their home ground last season. So it's minus 17 points for them too.

But the undisputed kings of financial comedy are undoubtedly Luton Town. After years of being run like football's answer to Enron, they now find themselves in the bottom flight and starting the season on a staggering minus 30 points.

Their owners this month - and that's about the rate they change - have put a brave face on it but the situation is made all the more precarious by the fact they have sold all their best players just to stay afloat. This season Luton's team will be made up of players who should have retired long ago, a smattering of kids from the youth team and, possibly, the tea lady, provided she brings her own boots.

While none of these teams are fallen giants as such, they are all proud and distinguished clubs with long histories, and to see them flopping around the basement of football is quite disturbing.

As far as I can remember there has never before been a situation where three clubs in the same division have started the season on minus points.

And that, to me, is a sad reflection on the state of the modern game, especially when you consider that just 90 places up the football ladder, players are getting paid £100,000-a-week to do the same thing Luton's players will be doing for peanuts.

I am not suggesting the predicament of these three clubs is the responsibility of Manchester United, Chelsea and friends. Not at all. Luton, Bournemouth and Rotherham have been badly run by a collection of idiots which is why they are where they are.

However, I can't help feeling football as a sport has more of a responsibility to ensure clubs don't get into this type of dire strait.

When you consider that one week's Premier League wage bill would be enough to keep the whole of League Two running for a season, you realise something, somewhere is not right.

Ronaldo's swan song?

I have to take my hat off to Cristiano Ronaldo. Not only has he finally pledged his future to Manchester United and thus drawn to a conclusion the most convoluted and tiresome piece of transfer speculation ever, but he has also admitted the whole thing was his fault.

Speaking to a Portugeuse magazine, the world's best player has announced he is staying at Old Trafford next season and has insisted he will give his "heart and soul" to the club.

"I will fight and honour that shirt with the same commitment and dedication as always," he said, before adding, by way of an apology, "I was responsible for all this controversy".

Of course the news will be welcomed by the majority of United fans, even those who became a little fed up with Ronaldo's lack of loyalty. Whatever his mistakes, you don't turn down the chance of having the a genuine superstar playing for your team.

Sadly for them, though, Ronaldo's admission that he desperately wanted United to accept Real's offer means this will probably be little more than a swan song before the transfer is completed next summer.

Still that's one more season of watching him bask in the warm glow of self-indulgence every time he scores a goal. Oh, how his little face lights up.

I can't wait.

Your say

Seems I stepped on one or two toes last week with my piece about Michael Mifsud.

If you recall I suggested the collapse of Michael's transfer to Bristol City was a blessing in disguise as he can now go on to bigger and better things.

Somehow, supporters over in Bristol picked up on my column and, when I opened my inbox on Monday morning, I was swept away by a tidal wave of abuse.

Although I can understand their anger - and I apologise if I caused any offence - I stand by my assertations that Michael needs to be making a vertical rather than horizontal move.

Let's not forget that this is a player who was valued at between £4 and £6 million just a few months ago. For him to move to a similar club to the one he is at, purely so Coventry don't lose him for free next summer, would have been the wrong move for the wrong reasons. For everyone.

We still don't know the full story of why the deal collapsed and, until Michael decides to go public, all we have to go on is Bristol City's version of events. And they, understandably, blame Mifsud.

However, I get the sneaky feeling opinions will change when Michael feels the time is right to give his version of events.

Meanwhile, it was nice to read an e-mail from someone who agreed with me...

"Congrats on your article re Michael Mifsud. You really hit the nail on the head. Ray Ranson's policy since taking over Coventry has been to decrease costs irrespective of the team's displays. I have been observing Coventry City's affairs since Michael Mifsud signed for them in January 2007. Ranson's first move was sacking Dowie and the reason primarily was Dowie's high wage packet. When Coleman took over, he brought Coventry to the brink of relegation. Ranson also offloaded Adebola (again due to his wage packet) and tried to sell Kevin Kyle (ineffective, and again, one of Coventry's high salary earners).

"Coleman has played Michael out of position throughout his tenure and he made it clear that he disliked Michael by bringing in two new strikers, namely Freddie Eastwood (benchwarmer at Wolves) and Clinton Morrisson. As soon as Coventry received an offer from Bristol City re Michael Mifsud, they quickly wanted to make a profit in order to balance books. In fact, Coventry's reaction was so quick that Bristol City manager Gary Johnson was at first surprised by Coventry's announcement on their website without Bristol City having agreed terms with the player himself. I hope Michael finds a suitable club for himself so that he can quickly progress to the higher echelons of English football."
Stephen Vassallo

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com