The sun glowed behind the rock formation, smearing the sky with reds, oranges and blues. The sea glistened in the evening light and, beneath a collection of clouds, the shoreline reflected the last of the dying day.

Truly, Malta's coast had never looked so pretty. "Morning in Malta like a smiley roses," wrote Yahya Kirdi, above the photograph. That it probably wasn't a picture of Malta in the morning at all, instead a widely-available photo of a generic beach sunset, was the only shame.

Kirdi was in the country at the time, his Facebook page indicated as much, so why he had chosen to illustrate this by use of a search engine image rather than, say, what was in front of him, is anyone's guess.

Either way, it was, no doubt, a small gesture aimed at charming the place and the football club where this Syrian enigma has finally laid down his hat. Kirdi is the new president of Naxxar Lions, last home crowd 569, and it will intrigue, from afar, to see exactly what happens from here.

Of course, in a different wind, it could have been Carlisle getting the smiley roses treatment. The story of the Blues under Kirdi never, though, got written, and six months have now passed since the end of their 650-day courtship, with United having changed less exotically in that time.

A loan arrangement with Edinburgh Woollen Mill is in place, still to develop in a way that could transform United, yet the first instinct remains to assume the Blues dodged a highly uncertain fate when they passed up the chance to sell to a man who had risen from Canadian pizza shop stewardship to the pursuit of European football clubs of different sizes.

The first thing to say is that the more colourful saviours can often be more trouble than they are worth. Reading Simon Hughes' excellent book On The Brink this week brought back to mind the tale of Morecambe, where their purchase by people with no logical links with the place led to great trouble and strife.

The Brazilian Diego Lemos, paraded on the pitch when Carlisle visited last September, disappeared two months later. This despite claiming a football back-story of substance: a father who had top-scored in the Rio State League, one uncle who had partnered Zico at Flamengo, and another who made the Brazilian World Cup squad of 1974.

This ripe history, recounted by Hughes, did not always ensure that Morecambe's players and staff were paid on time, and it remains to be seen whether Kirdi, who has also claimed to have played for prominent clubs in his homeland, can bring prosperity to his unlikely new place.

By all accounts, the "mystery billionaire" - he may not have been quite that - was interested in what he could do for Carlisle's stadium, and now has his eyes on a 10 million Euro development near Naxxar, "next to the McDonald's drive-in". Again, if he makes it happen, we can look wistfully across the water, while suspending disbelief that someone who once tried to take over Liverpool has settled for a club in an obscure footballing land whose crowds are an eighth of Carlisle's and would put them at the bottom reaches of the National League North.

Be Careful What You Wish For was the sensible tone of Hughes' advice when we spoke about his findings from the rest of north-west football. Tread warily regarding investment. Ideally, find someone who cares about the community. Roger all that.

Certainly, United were always better off waiting for something credible, and they believe they have this with EWM, who so far appear to be operating on the principle that actions speak louder than words.

The money they have so far lent the Blues has been sufficient for the club to stick to their stance of "not actively seeking" any further financial help. Yet the question, as ever, is when - or more accurately if - this activity will translate into something that will put United properly on the front foot; an unspoken assumption many have held since day one.

Up to now, Carlisle have not changed shape in a fundamental way over the last six months. Funds have been tight enough at certain times for the club to face the indignity of a winding-up petition (eventually dismissed) and their transfer spending eaten into by urgent roof repairs in a stadium described by directors as "increasingly expensive to maintain".

The big splash - the action akin to grabbing the club by its collar and dragging it upwards that might follow ownership change - remains hoped-for rather than real, and it does appear that we are dealing with something different from the hardened local passion that is moving others forward at pace.

In Lancashire, new risers like Fleetwood and AFC Fylde are benefiting from the vision, funds and hands-on commitment of wealthy local figures. David Haythornthwaite, owner of Fylde, fuelled that club after falling out of love with the Oyston-run Blackpool. "I love this club now," he told Hughes. "I also have a responsibility to all the people who've helped me. I could have built all of this with the money I have, but if you don't have fans you don't have a club. You don't have anything."

Andy Pilley is similarly committed to Fleetwood, having led them from the North West Counties League to the brink of the Championship. When I was being shown around their Poolfoot Farm training complex last month, en route to interviewing Kyle Dempsey, Pilley was there, descending some stairs, on the phone, on the premises.

Not remote, in other words. Closer to home, Paul Casson's feeling for Barrow also comes strongly through Hughes' pages. What United are getting from EWM may be of substance but it does not yet smell of passion. "To be honest, I don't even like football - my game is really rugby - but a lot of people who work with us go to Carlisle, and if I didn't sponsor it, I don't think it would exist."

That is as much as Philip Day, head of EWM, has said about their links. There are certainly grounds to be grateful for his support, and if Day, with close Cumbrian ties, has indeed acted out of a sense of community - "someone who wants to see the city happy, who recognises the football team matters to a lot of people," as Hughes puts it - then it may well prove a better bet than one or two flighty alternatives who have passed the Blues by, particularly those who can't necessarily tell their sunrises from their sunsets.

Yet it is ultimately investment that United sorely need, a readiness to push the button and bring the future forward. Until that day comes, they will remain broadly where they are, where they have been for some time. It will require more before the roses here can truly smile.