Thaksin Completes Man City Buyout

[Plus]

Eriksson remains disappointed at the small amount of money he was allowed to spend in January

Maybe JacknDanny can forward him his explanation why the money was not needed. Swen obviously doesn't read Thaivisa and is left out of the loop.

[sriracha john]

SVEN PLANS TRANSFER TARGET TALKS

Sven-Goran Eriksson hopes to move into a better bargaining position with returning club owner Thaksin Shinawatra by inspiring Manchester City to their first win in four games over Tottenham on Sunday.

Former Thai prime minister Thaksin is expected to jet back for the game after an extended stay in his homeland *15 days is an "extended stay"???* and has expressed concern over the way City have slumped out of the UEFA Cup places.

But Eriksson has an agenda of his own as he plans to meet Thaksin next Monday armed with a "very long" list of big name players he hopes to attract to Eastlands next season.

Eriksson said: "The chairman is coming on Sunday and I hope to meet him on Monday. Of course we are going to talk about this season, but even more about next season."

City's failure to win in three matches has seen them drop to ninth place, but Eriksson is refusing to give up on his side's chances of squeezing back into a European berth.

Eriksson added: "The most important thing at the moment is we don't give up and we go on fighting for every point we can bring in.

"Our problem in the last few games has been the last pass and not < additional footballing analysis snipped >

- Sporting Life

[Plus]

They can still squeeze in the UEFA cup, England might get three places there, that means they need to finish seventh in the league and hope they get lucky.

That is, I believe, Thaksin's first step in taking over the world. It all goes according to the plan, although I don't think he can make any big promises to Swen right now. He probably got the taste for winning on the cheap already.

[JacknDanny]

Eriksson remains disappointed at the small amount of money he was allowed to spend in January

Maybe JacknDanny can forward him his explanation why the money was not needed. Swen obviously doesn't read Thaivisa and is left out of the loop.

1) I have NEVER stated that money was not needed. Please re read my posts. You seem a smart guy, I am sure you will get the drift

2) Eriksson is NOT on record as having made the above scurrilous statement. It was ONE newspaper report where the journalist has used what I believe is better known as poetic licence

3)See what happens in the summer before passing judgement

[Plus]

On my end I always added "if you trust Daily Mail".

People as emotionally invested as football fans don't think rationally, and that's a good quality, I believe, part of the beauty of the game. I mean you are happy that way, right?

God bless you all, rationalists will have to struggle on their own.

[sriracha john]

Man City boss Eriksson unimpressed by Thaksin comments

Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson was unimpressed by comments made by chairman Thaksin Shinawatra last week.

Shinawatra's declaration before leaving Thailand that he has returned to "tighten some bolts" is seen as the first sign of pressure being brought to bear on Eriksson since the Swede took charge.

"When the Chairman comes, if he has some magic things ways to concede less goals and score more, then he's more than welcome to tell me or tell the players," said Eriksson.

"He has never tried to interfere, but he is very curious. He wants to know what we're doing. He has a lot of meetings on Monday and one of them I hope will be a long one with me to talk about the future. Every time he is here we meet up and talk. But we've known about this meeting for a long time and he was always coming back for the Spurs game.

"I want to see him. It will be very good to talk to him in person, rather than on the phone. He's been rather busy in Thailand, of course, so I normally speak to his right-hand man."

- TribalFootball

[JacknDanny]

On my end I always added "if you trust Daily Mail".

People as emotionally invested as football fans don't think rationally, and that's a good quality, I believe, part of the beauty of the game. I mean you are happy that way, right?

God bless you all, rationalists will have to struggle on their own.

Rather a disappointing reply Plus. I would have expected better

I do not think it has anything to do with thinking rationally or otherwise. I am on record as to my opinion on Thaksin, even though he is now the owner of my beloved football team, my opinion of him has NOT changed.

However when reports are taken out of context, and then smart arsed comments are directed my way, I feel I have to protect myself (not Thaksin )

I enjoy your take of things on the political pages Plus, and there is plenty for you to fill your boots over there, however because of your lack of knowledge on English football, some of the things you say are just plain dumb.

I have tried to answer your points in a matter of fact way, but you insist on distorting or taking out of context what I have said

[plachon]

Eriksson remains disappointed at the small amount of money he was allowed to spend in January

Maybe JacknDanny can forward him his explanation why the money was not needed. Swen obviously doesn't read Thaivisa and is left out of the loop.

And the Football League bosses obviously don't read the papers, nor apply common let alone are able to apply lateral thinking in deciding what kind of person should be considered "fit and proper" to own a footie club. No wonder England struggles at the game these days, as they hired that Sven geyser too for so many years and he obviously only cares about the money......... Pity his boss isn't so forthcoming with it as he ws made to believe.

[JacknDanny]

Eriksson remains disappointed at the small amount of money he was allowed to spend in January

Maybe JacknDanny can forward him his explanation why the money was not needed. Swen obviously doesn't read Thaivisa and is left out of the loop.

And the Football League bosses obviously don't read the papers, nor apply common let alone are able to apply lateral thinking in deciding what kind of person should be considered "fit and proper" to own a footie club. No wonder England struggles at the game these days, as they hired that Sven geyser too for so many years and he obviously only cares about the money......... Pity his boss isn't so forthcoming with it as he ws made to believe.

You see, you start by making a reasonable point about the FA, and then your credibility goes south due to your lack of footballing knowledge .

I suggest you look at Erikssons record............

Club record.........

1982 won UEFA Cup with IFK Gothenberg

1983 Portugese League and Portugese Cup with Benfica

1984 Portugese League with Benfica

1986 Italian Cup with AS Roma

1991 Portugese League with Benfica

1994 Italian Cup with Sampdoria

1998 Italian Cup and Italian Super Cup with Lazio

1999 UEFA Cup Winners Cup and UEFA Super Cup with Lazio

2000 Italian League Champions with Lazio

An excellent record. Does he only care about money??Immaterial , he is a proven, successful club manager.

His England record for competitive matches stands at............

Played 38

Won 26

Drew 9

Lost 3

You can argue if he was or was not a successful England manager, he didnt win anything but his record was good.

Next time get your facts right before spouting cr#p

[sriracha john]

Sven Goran Eriksson on collision course with Man City Chairman

The first cracks in the previously cosy relationship between Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson and Chairman Thaksin Shinawatra have started to appear following the team's slump in form.

After a promising start to life under Eriksson, City have won only two of their last 12 Premier League games to slip to eighth in the table and all but end their hopes of winning a European place.

Shinawatra, who has been back in his native Thailand to fight corruption charges, has returned to England and will be at City's home game against Tottenham tomorrow, before holding a meeting with Eriksson on Monday.

Although the meeting was arranged weeks ago, Shinawtara's declaration that he has returned to "tighten some bolts" is seen as the first sign of pressure being brought to bear on Eriksson since the Swede took charge.

Eriksson yesterday responded to Shinawatra's remarks with a thinly-veiled and sarcastic warning to City's owner and Chairman to keep his nose out of team affairs and allow the former England boss to get on with his job.

At Monday's meeting, Eriksson is expected to tell Shinawatra he needs at least £50 million to spend next summer if he is to have any chance of realising his Chairman's stated ambition of taking City into the Champions League.

City's recent poor form has coincided with a glut of injuries which has exposed the frailty of Eriksson's limited squad and left him without three of his four first-choice defenders for the Spurs game.

Skipper Richard Dunne (left), as well as Micah Richards and Michael Ball, are all injured, while winger Martin Petrov and midfield enforcer Didi Hamann are suspended, which has left City with a severely weakened team.

Despite being in charge of City for eight months, Eriksson is still living in a Manchester city centre hotel, refusing to make the gesture of commitment by buying a house in the region.

But Eriksson, 60, claimed his decision not to buy a permanent base in the northwest in no way suggested he was not fully committed to City over the duration of his three-year deal.

"Where I live shouldn't be a problem for anyone," said Eriksson. "I signed a contract for three years and I'm committed."

THAKSIN SHINAWATRA

Thai businessman and former prime minister of Thailand. Was in exile for 17 months until February, 2008, when he returned to Bangkok, during which time he bought City.

SVEN GORAN ERIKSSON

Former England manager, known for his, er, colourful private life. Started to rebuild his reputation at City but lapse in form is starting to hurt.

PANTHONGTHAE SHINAWATRA

Son of Thaksin and a prominent tycoon in Thailand. Set to enter politics himself.

- The Mirror (UK)

[Plus]

JD, I don't remember what was the argument about. Swen reportedly wanted big money in January but nothing happened. Maybe it's because no one was available (though he must have known that before putting them on his target list), maybe it's because he wasn't given a free hand at spending. I don't particulary trust media reports about the rift between Swen and Thaksin but they are getting louder by day.

He's got Thaksin cornered, there's no other solution but to comply with his demands and I believe Thaksin will give in put up a show of love and commitment.

There's one little if - what if Thaksin hasn't got the money? What if he counts on funds frozen in Thailand? I doubt they will be available before the summer transfers start and Swen won't like the idea to postpone his shopping until August.

Don't forget that Thaksin bought Man City BEFORE his accounts were frozen.

[JacknDanny]

JD, I don't remember what was the argument about. Swen reportedly wanted big money in January but nothing happened. Maybe it's because no one was available (though he must have known that before putting them on his target list), maybe it's because he wasn't given a free hand at spending. I don't particulary trust media reports about the rift between Swen and Thaksin but they are getting louder by day.

He's got Thaksin cornered, there's no other solution but to comply with his demands and I believe Thaksin will give in put up a show of love and commitment.

There's one little if - what if Thaksin hasn't got the money? What if he counts on funds frozen in Thailand? I doubt they will be available before the summer transfers start and Swen won't like the idea to postpone his shopping until August.

Don't forget that Thaksin bought Man City BEFORE his accounts were frozen.

The trouble is that neither you nor I know the full truth.

One of the conditions of the sale of the football club to Thaksin was that a certain amount of money would be made available for transfers.

Money WAS made available to SGE in January. I made a list sometime back of targets that MCFC were linked with. At no time was it ever reported that SGE could not buy the player because he did not have the funds. Mainly the reasons were that the players were not prepared to move (SGE would not know that until an enquiry was made for that player). I do not believe that SGE is the type of manager that would allow outside interferences to decide who to buy/sell or play!!

Now, as you say, fast forward to the summer. If funds are not made available, for whatever reason, then that would create huge problems. It would mean that the manager and the club had been seriously misled. But until that happens, I do not think it is right to try and make newspaper reports and press releases distorted into something that is inaccurate.

Incidentally, if my memory serves me correctly, I am sure that Thaksin bought the club AFTER his funds were frozen, as he had to convince MCFC, that he was good for the dough when the Thailand news was in all the papers?

[Plus]

He made a public commitment to buy the club before the freezing order, and he had enough funds in the UK to go through with the deal even without money in Thailand, so he went ahead. Final sale happened after, that's true. I don't remember the dates but I do remember posting about it around that time. I said he was trapped and had no choice but to pay up, I don't think I was completely wrong.

I also remember reports that Swen hasn't seen many of the players he bought last summer himself, he relied on his friends advice, and they turned out ok, didn't they. I'm not saying he'll allow Thaksin to interfere, but he is not ALWAYS in control.

His club success in Europe was backed by big spending, he didn't do it on the cheap. When he came to Man City the consensus among the people who worked with him in his days of glory was that he's a capable manager but somewhat past his prime.

I don't know how he's going to deal with the current slump, he isn't very inspiration, is he? Anyway, it's twenty minutes into the Spurs game already, I'm signing off.

Oh, it's actually at 11, still half an hour to go.

[mrbojangles]

He made a public commitment to buy the club before the freezing order, and he had enough funds in the UK to go through with the deal even without money in Thailand, so he went ahead. Final sale happened after, that's true. I don't remember the dates but I do remember posting about it around that time. I said he was trapped and had no choice but to pay up, I don't think I was completely wrong.

I'm pretty sure his funds where frozen well before he bought the club. Even taking into account the 75% he had to buy initially, then the 95% (or so) to delist from the stock market. I'm not sure if the compulsory purchase of remaining shares has happened yet. Can you remember the exact dates his funds where frozen? I can't remember as if i recall correctly, a certain amount was frozen first and then some more and so on.

I don't know how he's going to deal with the current slump, he isn't very inspiration, is he? Anyway, it's twenty minutes into the Spurs game already, I'm signing off.

Thaksin must have "tightened the bolts". We won 2-1

[mrbojangles]

Actually, if we look at the first post in this thread. We can see that Thaksin completed the buy out of the club on the 6th July last year, through UK sports investments. However, the first batch of money he had frozen, circa 57 billion baht, was frozen in the first week of june last year.

Thaksin completes Man City buyout

MANCHESTER: -- Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra seal his takeover of Manchester City, gaining control of 75% of its shares, the BBC has learnt.

Thaksin lodged an GBP 81.6m takeover bid for City in June through his company UK Sports Investments and has steadily built up his shareholding.

He will officially install Sven-Goran Eriksson as club manager on Friday, BBC Sport understands.

The Eastlands board has backed the bid but there have been concerns about the source of the money, with Mr Thaksin facing corruption charges in Thailand.

But the man who brokered the City deal has said "the money is clean". Earlier on Sunday, Keith Harris, executive chairman of Seymour Pierce Investment Bank, said the money had been "legitimately and transparently transferred to the UK."

Thaksin will have to pass the Premier League's standard "fit and proper person" test before being able to complete the proposed takeover.

Thai prosecutors recently filed corruption charges against Mr Thaksin. They have also frozen his assets.

Leading shareholders including current board members, former chairman Francis Lee and BSkyB have all agreed to sell their shares to Thaksin.

--The Nation 2007-07-06

[Plus]

Thanks, it appears the deal was already in the final stages, money was in the UK, there was nothing he could do about it.

The point is that he needs to inject fresh funds now, and he might not have the money at the moment, or if he has it, he can't make it public. Think of it - if he says he's got another 50mil pounds stashed away in Swiss banks, his opponents will have a field day and he is not ready to confront them politically. He needs to access the money in Thai banks, that's the best solution. It's not urgent but he needs to know the time frame.

Swen will have to wait for now.

Btw, well deserved victory, even though two questionable offsides went your way. Spurs let the game slip away themselves. Everton and Blackburn have lost, too.

[Tony Clifton]

My guess is that he has the funds but can't make it public, he's also pissed off a few bankers with his last comments about Swiss banking a while ago, no one will save his ass and risk their reputation for a man who I'm still convinced is under surveillance somehow, money laundering, human rights, etc. There's quite a list of dirty things he thinks he can but in reality can't shake off. Now that hiz zombies got his diplomatic passport back, there's always the possibility of him using mules to carry even more dirty money out of Thailand, he's done it to bring money in for the last elections.

[sriracha john]

Eriksson's quest for answers turning to frustration

Manchester City fans might be all agog at the prospect of Thaksin Shinawtra back in the city and Sven Goran Eriksson sitting across the boardroom table from him yesterday, but the word from Thailand is: "Don't expect to see your Chairman's money too soon."

Thaksin is currently bailed pending investigations into alleged corruption offences in the country and, though the advent to power of his proxy party in last December's elections will help him regain control of assets, political analysts in the country warned that neither an acquittal nor the unfreezing of £80 million may take until next year.

How much money that leaves Thaksin to turn City into a genuine force this summer remains unclear and, though some sources at City were hopeful when the Chairman returned to Bangkok last month that some money may be unfrozen by the summer, a less certain picture is emerging from Bangkok.

Sources at the club pointed out that yesterday's board meeting with Thaksin was planned, though Eriksson clearly considered it important.

"I expect Thaksin to confirm what he wants to do in the future," Eriksson said. "It is important he tells us what he wants to do with the club in one year and three years. We have a lot of things to discuss."

There is no sense as to whether reports about the possible pursuit of Thierry Henry are valid, but suggestions that Michael Owen might be on his way to Eastlands are wide of the mark, according to club sources.

- The Independent (UK)

[sbk]

Off-topic inflammatory posts have been deleted. Keep it civil guys or warnings will be handed out.

[marquess]

Eriksson's quest for answers turning to frustration

Manchester City fans might be all agog at the prospect of Thaksin Shinawtra back in the city and Sven Goran Eriksson sitting across the boardroom table from him yesterday, but the word from Thailand is: "Don't expect to see your Chairman's money too soon."

Thaksin is currently bailed pending investigations into alleged corruption offences in the country and, though the advent to power of his proxy party in last December's elections will help him regain control of assets, political analysts in the country warned that neither an acquittal nor the unfreezing of £80 million may take until next year.

How much money that leaves Thaksin to turn City into a genuine force this summer remains unclear and, though some sources at City were hopeful when the Chairman returned to Bangkok last month that some money may be unfrozen by the summer, a less certain picture is emerging from Bangkok.

Sources at the club pointed out that yesterday's board meeting with Thaksin was planned, though Eriksson clearly considered it important.

"I expect Thaksin to confirm what he wants to do in the future," Eriksson said. "It is important he tells us what he wants to do with the club in one year and three years. We have a lot of things to discuss."

There is no sense as to whether reports about the possible pursuit of Thierry Henry are valid, but suggestions that Michael Owen might be on his way to Eastlands are wide of the mark, according to club sources.

- The Independent (UK)

£80 million! Isnt it more than that, that is frozen?

[Plus]

Yeah, and people often quote those papers as some kind of authority.

[sriracha john]

It's a shame that the staff at The City of Manchester Stadium can't do more to control the drunken antics of these football hooligans who insist on starting their liquor-fuelled fights and thus endanger all the spectators there...

The brawling and scuffling of these booze-filled, lager-louts can even by so extreme that they stupidly take on legitimate pugilists such as Ricky Hatton, a two-time IBF and IBO Light Welterweight Champion....

The good news, however, is that the authorities have made it harder for these football hooligans to come to Thailand...

[JacknDanny]

It's a shame that the staff at The City of Manchester Stadium can't do more to control the drunken antics of these football hooligans who insist on starting their liquor-fuelled fights and thus endanger all the spectators there...

The brawling and scuffling of these booze-filled, lager-louts can even by so extreme that they stupidly take on legitimate pugilists such as Ricky Hatton, a two-time IBF and IBO Light Welterweight Champion....

The good news, however, is that the authorities have made it harder for these football hooligans to come to Thailand...

[younghusband]

It's a shame that the staff at The City of Manchester Stadium can't do more to control the drunken antics of these football hooligans who insist on starting their liquor-fuelled fights and thus endanger all the spectators there...

The brawling and scuffling of these booze-filled, lager-louts can even by so extreme that they stupidly take on legitimate pugilists such as Ricky Hatton, a two-time IBF and IBO Light Welterweight Champion....

The good news, however, is that the authorities have made it harder for these football hooligans to come to Thailand...

Fair enough that was funny!

[mrbojangles]

Shinawatra, who has been back in his native Thailand to fight corruption charges, has returned to England and will be at City's home game against Tottenham tomorrow, before holding a meeting with Eriksson on Monday.

Although the meeting was arranged weeks ago, Shinawtara's declaration that he has returned to "tighten some bolts" is seen as the first sign of pressure being brought to bear on Eriksson since the Swede took charge.

On the meeting between Sven and Thaksin. This is from the official Man City web site:-

Dr Thaksin sets his targets for the future

Dr Thaksin Shinawatra has outlined his plans for City’s progress over the coming seasons.

The Blues’ Chairman, in an exclusive interview now available to watch on MCFCTV.com, has expressed his delight at the way this season has exceeded his expectations.

“I’m very happy with the first year, it’s more than I expected,” declares Dr Thaksin.

“The plan for the first year was to finish in the top 10, the second year was top six to qualify for Europe and the third year was finish in the top four for the Champions League.

“At the beginning of the season, I planned that we should end up in the top 10. When we were fourth or fifth for a few months I thought, ‘why don’t we go for the UEFA Cup?’

“That’s my dream but because of the way the cup competitions have gone it’s not so easy, we will have to fight hard for the rest of the season to be able to go into the UEFA Cup, but we will try our best. It still looks like we will finish in the top 10, which is as according to the original plan.”

Having met with the Chairman as scheduled earlier this week, Sven-Goran Eriksson adds:

“It was just a meeting and I have many meetings with him. Before he came here at the weekend he hasn’t been here for five weeks I think, for obvious reasons, so when he came back he wanted to see everyone. It was very good and when we talk, we talk football.

“We know the target. He wants to play in Europe, maybe not this coming season, but let’s hope we can do it. But for sure in the year after, and then the big target of course in a couple of years is to try and get into the Champions League.”

The welcome from the City fans has also pleased the Chairman, and he is shoulder-to-shoulder with every one of them as to what this season’s undoubted highlight has been.

“Especially when I came back from Thailand this time recently, I was very touched when so many fans welcomed me back. It was very touching, and I’m so happy that my first year has been really successful on the pitch, with the fans and with the plan for Manchester City’s worldwide recognition.

“I was delighted to beat Manchester United twice because they are a great team. They are on top of the table, so to win both our games against them made me happy and it made the fans very happy as well. City fans were always telling me, ‘forget about Europe, beat United first!’”

Elsewhere in the interview, Dr Thaksin admits to being frustrated at watching City’s recent dip in form from afar, but he is more than happy with the way the man he appointed as the Blues’ manager has gone about his work this season.

“I talked to Sven and he gave me all the analysis. Sometimes there are injuries, sometimes there are individual errors, this happens in football. I was happy after talking with Sven that they had done the analysis, errors by individual players were pointed out and they are improving every day. We’ll be playing better football from now on.

“I was very optimistic when I brought Sven in and when he began to bring in new players, even though he was quite heavy on my pocket! I was always confident that the club would be moving forward, and so far, so good.”

The Chairman has also revealed what City’s approach in the transfer market will be, and he says:

“We need to look at where the weak points are and where we should have new players next season. So far I am very happy with the foundations we have laid down, but we still have to improve a lot more.

“We probably need one each of a striker, midfielder and defender because in the Premier League injuries are unavoidable. If we have too small a squad then we will have the problem at the end of the season, so we have to have enough good players for Sven to play the system that he wants.

“We’ll look across the globe and start to look for good players, we have already started to discuss our targets.”

[mrtoad]

Anyone see the hillarious article written about Thaksin and Man City by Wankchai (Sports editor ) in the Bangkok post on Wednesday?

On of the most ill informed and worthless pieces of journalism that I have seen in respect to football in a long time.

[sriracha john]

Sounds a lot like Popeye's pal, Wimpy....

Eriksson will have to work on tighter budget, says Thaksin

Thaksin Shinawatra has conceded for the first time that there will not be "huge amounts" of money available to Sven-Goran Eriksson this summer, an admission that will be of great disappointment to the former England manager as he plots another extensive recruitment campaign at Manchester City.

Thaksin is due to stand trial next month on corruption charges in Bangkok and if, as he confidently expects, he is cleared, the former Thai prime minister is optimistic about recouping the £800 Million worth of assets that have been frozen by the courts. Until then, however, he has made it clear that Eriksson will have to work on a restricted budget.

Thaksin has found his first year in English football "heavy on the pockets" after spending £56 Million on 11 new players and it is unlikely, therefore, that Eriksson will have the backing to take on the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea in the transfer market - at least for the time being.

"First year, top 10; second year, top six; and third year, Champions League. That is the strategy," said Thaksin. "We are eighth now so there is not much pressure to reach the top six, but reaching the top four is a lot of pressure. There will not be huge amounts spent this summer, but maybe the following summer."

That will be of concern to Eriksson who, referring to his transfer outlay thus far, confessed yesterday that he had wanted "the same again". Eriksson added: "I don't know if that is going to be the case but, to be among the top six, we need to take good players. The competition between the top eight, nine, 10 teams will be even more difficult next season. If we want to play in the Champions League on a regular basis that costs a lot of money."

- The Guardian / March 21, 2008

[Plus]

Ericsson has never managed a club on shoestring as far as I know, maybe back in Sweden twenty years ago. Maybe Thaksin can teach this old dog some new tricks, tighten his balls or something.

[Plus]

I was thinking of another question - does his plan sound plausible to you at all. First year - top ten, second year - UEFA place, thrid year - Champions League.

Pretty straighforward, but... Moving from 14th position to top ten (I guess they still can manage that) after spending 50 mil is a lot easier than getting into top six next year on a tight budget.

And what about breaking into top four - no club has managed that in years even for one season, and the current top four don't look like they are going to be challenged any time soon. Liverpool has a poor domestic run, but we all know they have the potential to shift gears and leave Everton in clouds of smoke, if they really put their minds to it.

What if Man City never makes it into Champions League at all? That would mean Man City brand will never grow beyond its current supporter base, forget Asia or South Africa or the US.

Will Thaksin be satisfied with gate receipts and domestic TV revenues only?

Look at Thai national team manager - he dumped it at the first sign of trouble. He used to be Thai Stock Exchange President and, as a wise investor, he cut his losses. Do businessmen really have commitment to their teams? Will they bail out on a moment's notice?

[plachon]

I was thinking of another question - does his plan sound plausible to you at all. First year - top ten, second year - UEFA place, thrid year - Champions League.

Pretty straighforward, but... Moving from 14th position to top ten (I guess they still can manage that) after spending 50 mil is a lot easier than getting into top six next year on a tight budget.

And what about breaking into top four - no club has managed that in years even for one season, and the current top four don't look like they are going to be challenged any time soon. Liverpool has a poor domestic run, but we all know they have the potential to shift gears and leave Everton in clouds of smoke, if they really put their minds to it.

What if Man City never makes it into Champions League at all? That would mean Man City brand will never grow beyond its current supporter base, forget Asia or South Africa or the US.

Will Thaksin be satisfied with gate receipts and domestic TV revenues only?

Look at Thai national team manager - he dumped it at the first sign of trouble. He used to be Thai Stock Exchange President and, as a wise investor, he cut his losses. Do businessmen really have commitment to their teams? Will they bail out on a moment's notice?

I get the feeling Doctor Thaksin gets bored of his toys quite easily and is prone to throwing them out of his pram at a moment's notice. His interest level with Man Cty will be proportional to the amount of political mileage he can get out of it from his real interest in Thailand Inc. Thus, if he can't get his name in lights as the successful chairman of MCFC and can't get his (poorly paid) boys placed in the team on a whim because of visa troubles and awkward things called laws and regulations that never applied back home, and can't get his much vaunted Man City soccer schools up and running quickly, thus losing face; then he will be prone to throwing a wobbler and losing the thing he thought would clinch ownership of Thailand for his clan.