Thaksin Completes Man City Buyout

[plachon]

I feel for Man City fans so here's a chant I made up for the next game with a new coach.

You're nooooooow Thaksin's little poooooooodle

You shouuuuuuuld have looked him up on Gooooooogle

It looks like Dean Saunders has been doing his homework anyhow, insinuating how unstable the Chairman and Directors at MCFC are at present.

There should be a part of the job description for the MCFC manager job that reads, "Sycophants with little concern for human rights or ethics need only apply".

[Plus]

What's the feeling among ManC supporters now? Blue, as usual?

Hughes doesn't look like a match to Sven or Scholari, but he is ok for an up and coming English team, I guess.

[nomoretalksin]

EXCLUSIVE: Dr Thaksin gives Sportsmail an amazing insight into his Man City dream (and amazing political point of views): http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/articl...to=newsnow&

Quote

Tales of the unexpected: Lunching with the former prime minister of Thailand in China and hearing in detail, for the first time, his plans to sign Ronaldinho for Manchester City. Let's clear up the choice of location first. Why here in Beijing instead of Thaksin Shinawatra's Thai homeland? It's safer this way (we don't need to be shadowed by his personal armed guard the size of a football team nor to perfect the trick of booking a series of restaurants for the same time, then swapping at the last moment so his enemies don't provide an alternative ending to the cheese and port).

Thaksin: "Just now, my wife asks me to stay away and, if I have to go to Thailand, not to stay for long. We have intelligence that there may be more danger." He has survived three car bomb attacks and six assassination attempts. "I should be a man who drives around in a nice sports car, not an armoured car," he adds with a smile. Even here, almost five hours of flying from his home, the Lincoln Navigators of his security unit skillfully flank Thaksin's car on his way to a business meeting.

After avoiding real bombs in the Far East and dodging verbal grenades in the North West, where the Manchester locals have been restless, losing 8-1 to Middlesbrough on the last day was not how the season was meant to end. Now Mark Hughes has been captured from Blackburn, an appointment that will surely go some way to restoring calm. Well, at least until the Ronaldinho carnival comes to town.

Thaksin has invited Sportsmail for this rare private audience at a secluded escape about 50 minutes outside China's Olympic City. The exact location is best kept a secret, just in case. You never know who might be reading. "Mark Hughes is an excellent appointment. The players need to be motivated," says Thaksin. Today, he wants to explain for the first time why you would give a new manager more than £50million, see him complete the double over Manchester United, finish ninth in the Barclays Premier League, qualify for the UEFA Cup (admittedly through the back door) and then axe him after one season.

Also, in this wide-ranging interview, Thaksin - I am advised to call him Dr. Thaksin before we begin - talks about the ambitious pursuit of the former world player of the year, the future of Micah Richards and his long-term ambitions for Manchester City, including the appointment of new executive chairman Garry Cook from Nike. Cook may not score goals, select the team or even yet support the club (he's a Birmingham fan by birth) but Thaksin believes he is a "special signing, a football man who will inspire great things by leading from the front."

Any more special ones planned, Doc? "Ronaldinho - you know, he is a great player. Whatever the club in your heart, you would want to see this player in England, wouldn't you?" True, but this is crazy talk. Who will pay the wages? "It is not a risk. Sponsors will contribute. It will not damage our wage structure. Garry and Pairoj, my chief advisor, they are taking care of this transfer. I am very excited."

"I am 59 next birthday, so I am not a man who can wait for many years to see my dreams come true."

How will City know the Brazilian doesn't just want to take the money? "Ronaldinho is 28. He has much still to offer, he is a star. You need a combination of new players, existing players, quality, young and old." "I admit also you need a player who is more than just winning the match. You need a star who can play on the pitch, but who can achieve much more for the club. Ronaldinho is that player." "I am hearing good things about his hunger. I have spoken to his brother (his agent). Ronaldinho wants the new challenge, the chance to play his best football again, to return to the days when he was really, really famous. The magic is still in his boots. Let us hope we can bring him."

City will also announce the signing of Jo, a new breed of Brazilian. "He will cost a lot of money," continued the City owner, who has agreed to pay £20m. "But he is fast, he is a goalscorer; he will be special and a very good player in the Premier League." Eriksson has left the building, with a rather tasty pay-off. Here's why, according to Thaksin. "I want you to know that Sven is a good man. I brought him to the club and supported him with investment (more than £50m spent last season) and we still have a good friendship."

"But I want this club to advance faster, much faster. Sven is a good football general, but we need more. We must play with more consistency, much more urgency. In the second half of the season, the slide was too bad, too much. We lost 8-1 at Middlesbrough! The shame of that." City supporters will know that the players had downed tools by this point, seemingly disputing the treatment of their manager. Thaksin begins to throw his arms around and raises his voice. "The team stopped playing! They stopped working! I could not take this. I understand you cannot win every game. A football is round; it does not bounce along a straight line. I can accept the unpredictable, but not such a fall. We had to make a change."

"Mark Hughes is an excellent appointment. The players need to be motivated, instead of playing like people who are not being paid any money!" He pays his money, he does his homework: Thaksin has researched the past and family background of every City player. "I have heard of Premier League players with a garage full of sports cars and almost a girlfriend for each one. That is no way for an athlete to behave. He should be in the training ground, working." "Ronaldinho has the old magic in his boots. I am sure he is still hungry," says Thaksin.

"We need a culture of discipline at our club," he continues, hinting that Eriksson was too weak. "I want strong leadership from the manager, motivation for young men and I want players who can cope with that." "If not, they can go. I want players who work hard to make their luck, not players who are lazy. We are not a selling club, but I want players with talent, who will exercise and improve. I want desire and commitment." "Some may fit, some not. That is a decision for the new manager. Look, you cannot all live together for ever. Some will go, but not our best young players."

"We will pay the best for the best and to the best. That is my strategy, which is why I want a player like Ronaldinho. We need to breed success. Right now, we have a negative cash flow, but within two years we will be making money. You will see."

"The supporters, I hope, will also see what I am trying to do. They have loved the club longer than me, but I am with them because I have invested my money, a lot of money." Most recently the £4.6m paid to Blackburn for Hughes and his coaching team.

"There are times when I wish I could be closer to the fans and to talk to them, but they will have to trust me and to see that, instead of words, I show them my intentions with actions."

Richards, sought by Manchester United is staying. "He is our star. He will not leave," says a determined owner with £900m in reserve to back up his promise. Will the other team in Manchester be as lucky keeping their star attraction?"

"You can see why other teams want Cristiano Ronaldo. Watch him in the penalty box when the ball is arriving. He comes alive, he wants the ball, he does not wait for it like some others. He makes it happen," says Thaksin, illustrating his words by flashing his head at an imaginary ball. It can be a surreal fantasy talking football with Thaksin (but he has the money to make it reality) so it would not have surprised me if he had declared Ronaldo to be his next transfer target, right there and then over the organic chicken soup.

Don't worry Fergie, he didn't. Blackburn's David Bentley is a more realistic purchase. "Every owner of a Premier League club has a duty to play Englishmen in his team." "We won the Youth Cup this season and I am very proud of the young men (he reels off at least six names and descriptions of players who may soon appear in the City first-team squad) (…)."

"'There should be at least five English at the core of every team. We are the English Premier League," he adds.

His English is fluent, mastered during his years studying for a doctorate in criminal justice in Texas.

A decent knowledge of the law has come in handy during the turbulent past two years during which he spent 17 months in exile and his vast fortune was frozen. "That is why I bought a football club, to give myself a job after I was the subject of a military coup," he explains simply.

How does he respond to those who say he should never have been allowed to own City, given the persistent criticism of his human rights record? First, he tells me he is revered by many in Thailand for making medical attention available to all Thais - even the poor from the rural areas - for the first time, at a cost of less than 50p.

"It didn't go down well with everyone," he reports. "The dentists, for instance, had so much work. Some people had never been to a dentist in 60 years and suddenly everyone could afford treatment. I paid them more money, but maybe not quickly enough."

He also launched a national lottery, fought an HIV/AIDS crisis, built a new Bangkok airport and stabilized a creaking economy. But what about the corruption allegations? Untrue; a smear campaign, he responds. What about the reports of almost 3,000 killings in an aggressive offensive against drugs?

"Sometimes, as a leader you must have an angry face*. In the past, I have ignored these allegations published in the Thai media, with whom I have no relationship. The foreign media has since picked them up and this is damaging. Now you are asking me these questions and I am happy to answer."

"These figures you have read are not true. They are figures created by the military. I was not a ruthless dictator. No. There have been investigations: The Premier League, for example, has ways of investigating these matters, I welcomed the Fit and Proper Persons Test for new owners for that reason." He is now free to return to his homeland in return for agreeing to stay out of politics for five years and to concentrate on his "football interests."

That's another sticking point with the critics - the fact that 40 per cent of clubs in the top two divisions are now in the hands of foreign owners - but he has little sympathy with their concerns."Clubs do not collect enough revenue from TV and advertising. If they want to try to challenge the top four, if they want the best players, they need people with deep pockets."

He is here for the long term, too. "Tell the fans from me that they cannot love the club more than me. We have the same goals and they will understand me now." "Mark Hughes, Garry Cook, Jo, maybe Ronaldinho. They will see by the new season."Thaksin may be guilty of football decisions triggered by a sense of urgency and a crazy, infectious will to see City walk with the giants, but his pockets are deep and his desire is fierce.

Doctor Do-Little he isn't.

Unquote

------------------------------------plus----------------------------

* read the letter of warning send to the FA on July 30 2007

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/07/31/thaila16544.htm

* read Thaksin's statement about announcing war on drugs in 2001:

http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/07/07/thaila9014.htm

Quote

On a speech announcing the campaign, the Prime Minister borrows a quote from a former police chief known for having orchestrated political assassinations in the 1950s: There is nothing under the sun which the Thai police cannot do, he says. Because drug traders are ruthless to our children, so being ruthless back to them is not a bad thing. . . . It may be necessary to have casualties. . . . If there are deaths among traders, it's normal.

Unquote

Amazing Thaksin!

Edited June 5, 2008 by nomoretalksin

[Plus]

Is it me or are they taking a piss out of his paranoya?

Or do they believe it?

Hughes will try to do a decent job at Man City, but I have no idea how he will deal with Ronaldinho being pushed down his throat.

He's got everything to play for and nothing to lose - everyone will blame Thaksin in the end, as usual, and Hughes will walk away looking better than ever, and with a little fortune, too.

[Tony Clifton]

These fictious assassination attempts he's cried about over and over are by now solid reality in his brain for the sole purpose of drawing sympathy while he's charged with numerous crimes himself, all but a distraction, just like his promises of foundation for this here and foundation for that there while he did nothing of the sort as he was amassing an abnormally large fortune while acting as PM.

The man is mentally unstable and a pathological liar, absolutely not a fit and proper person.

[harleyclarkey]

What really gets up my nose is the fact he CAN and HAS bought property in the EC. Do you reckon he did the deal on a shakey 30 year lease...with maybe/possibly the chance there might be extensions. This is the past Prime Minister of Thailand and he is taking full advantage of our (UK/EC) liberal property/business ownership laws. It doesn't seem right to me that he takes advantage of laws he denied to us.

Makes me boil.

[nomoretalksin]

I feel for Man City fans so here's a chant I made up for the next game with a new coach.

You're nooooooow Thaksin's little poooooooodle

You shouuuuuuuld have looked him up on Gooooooogle

great one Tony! Would go well with Queen's "We will rock you!"

[sriracha john]

I feel for Man City fans so here's a chant I made up for the next game with a new coach.

You're nooooooow Thaksin's little poooooooodle

You shouuuuuuuld have looked him up on Gooooooogle

great one Tony! Would go well with Queen's "We will rock you!"

keeping with Queen for Sven....

Another one bites the dust

Another one bites the dust

And another one gone, and another one gone

Another one bites the dust

Hey, I'm gonna get you too

Another one bites the dust

[sriracha john]

Man City Chief Cook: Money no object for Thaksin

Manchester City executive chairman Garry Cook has told fans to get used to the big-spending ways of Thaksin Shinawatra.

"Is it possible for Manchester City to spend £100 million-plus * 6,573,028,565 Thai Baht *," Cook said yesterday. "I have no doubt, if players become available who are the right type to invest in and there is a potential return on spending that money, our chairman [Thaksin] will spend whatever it takes."

"Thaksin Shinawatra believes we are only three years away from being one of Europe's top clubs."

- tribalfooball.com / June 09, 2008

Edited June 9, 2008 by sriracha john

[nomoretalksin]

Hot off the press: After short 1 year only Thaksin is already loosing his first fans also among the press:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/ju...&feed=sport

Quote

Goodbye blue moon, you've left me standing alone

• 
  
• • Simon Hattenstone
    
  • The Guardian,
    
  • Wednesday June 11 2008
    
  • Article history
    
  • 
    

Five weeks is a long time in the life of a Manchester City fan. Since I've been away, the beloved leader Dr Thaksin Shinawatra has sacked Sven-Goran Eriksson despite the fact that he had delivered a top-10 finish as requested, despite the fact that Manchester City had done the double over Manchester United for the first time in 40 years, despite the fact that Manchester City won the FA Youth Cup for the first time in 22 years, despite Sven pledging his allegiance to the club by buying himself a fine pair of blue-tinted spectacles. Now I am no Sven evangelical - indeed, my regular reader might well recall that in the past I compared him to Death from Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal and accused him of being a master of mind-numbingly dull football. But the fact is that our boy Sven, as I like to think of him now, done good at City.

Earlier this year, I tried to interview Svennis for the Guardian. Paul Tyrrell, the spokesman for Manchester City, told me that the Guardian would never get an interview with him because we had shown a lack of respect. Among examples he cited were articles written by David Conn and myself (both City fans). Well, Mr Tyrrell, I would like to ask both you and the beloved leader what is more disrespectful: a) questioning the long-term future of a club run by a man with a dubious human-rights record facing criminal charges back in Thailand or sacking your manager after he has achieved just what you asked of him in his first season - and a little bit more.

Since then, things have got worse. City have hired a diehard Red as manager, and in the revisionist manner of modern times we've been told that if you combine the talents of Sir Alex Ferguson, Albert Einstein and Nelson Mandela you might get something approaching the genius of Mark Hughes. City fans have also been told that Hughes, who has never won a trophy as a manager, could have gone to Chelsea, Barcelona or the White House should he have so desired, but his heart always lay with City. Finally, City fans have been ordered to forget that Big Phil Scolari, who we initially believed would replace Sven, ever existed.

As for Ronaldinho and his 200 grand a week? It makes me sick. This is football as political posturing, football as global marketing, football as showbiz masturbation. The one thing it isn't is football as sport. Thaksin can call Ronaldinho the world's greatest player till he's City blue in the face but we all know the truth. He's past his peak, looking for a ludicrous payday, and it just so happens that City are prepared to pay twice as much as any club in their right mind. This is not how you create a winning football club, it's how you create a circus of freaks.

A year ago I said that however hard I would find it to stick Thaksin, I'd find it even harder to give City up. You were married to your team for life - in sickness and health, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, the whole shebang.

But that was then. I can't stand any more. I'm ashamed of you, City.

Until recently, I was so proud of you - sure, I knew you weren't the coolest kid on the block, certainly not the most glamorous, but you were warm and funny and human, and decent people liked you. These days you are crude and crass and humourless, and decent people despise you.

I want out. I know that in filing for divorce, I'm not simply splitting up with a football club. There's family and friends. And that might well be the most painful thing. My daughters could reject me forever - they are always telling me that we are bigger than Thaksin, that he is an imposter and that to leave them now would be an act of betrayal. As for my friend BriceyG, will there be a future for us without City? Well, we can still go for curries at Abdul's and lamb chops on Green Lanes and discuss the old days. We'll always have Gillingham, BriceyG.

This is a momentous decision. Possibly a disastrous one. I don't know if I can kick the habit. Mind you, a few months ago I gave up smoking, and if I managed to give up the cigs I can give up City - even if it does mean going back on the ciggies.

So, farewell City. You've had my love for 36 years, but that's long enough. Other fans might not wish to go the whole hog, so how's about boycotting the first home game of the season or holding a vigil in matching Sven wig and specs outside the ground?

If there's a football club with a heart out there (nothing flash, sense of humour preferable) looking for a new fan, give me a call. As for City, I'll be back when Thaksin's done with his plaything to help with the rebuilding.

Unquote

Congrats Simon, for seeing behind this man's face and wallet! I feel sorry for most at the club and the players, but the big boys at City, didn't do their home-work. It took Thailand nearly 4 years (while approx. 6 years in power) for the most of Thai people to understand his real intentions, but despite not being the official PM for now, his proxies are still running his show, including ongoing media manipulation (state tv). guess not to long anymore... people power will be bigger...one day for sure.

"The truth to be told"..... coming soon on various channels..

Simon wish you good luck with your divorce!

Edited June 11, 2008 by nomoretalksin

[nomoretalksin]

Different point of views within the new city crew (can you smell the further changes end of next season, by a further discontent owner?):

1. Thaksin last week:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/articl...ream/article.do

Quote

"I am 59 next birthday, so I am not a man who can wait for many years to see my dreams come true.

But I want this club to advance faster, much faster. Sven is a good football general, but we need more. We must play with more consistency, much more urgency."

Unquote

2. New Executive Chairman last week:

http://www.mcfc.co.uk/default.sps?pageid=115&pagegid=%7BDBD12D53%2D8346%2D431D%2DA04F%2D5D0F8664DE80%7D&newsid=6611023&siteid=&pageno=2&newscategory=&frommonth=4&fromyear=2008&tomonth=6&toyear=2008

Quote

"Mark knows what success looks like, as do we as a football club. Setting targets on positions in the table is not healthy for the organisation. We're on a 10-year plan, success is going to come to this club, and nobody knows it better than this man.

Unquote

[plachon]

Yo! Trust a Grauniad hack to be able to smell the coffee, go with his conscience and vote with his feet. Let's hope the word spreads to the terraces - stick with Toxin and you get big trouble. His money stinks, his ego reeks and he'll drag you down with him if you stick around. Your team, your choice.

[tuftymorgan]

After avoiding real bombs in the Far East and dodging verbal grenades in the North West, where the Manchester locals have been restless, losing 8-1 to MIDDLEBROUGH on the last day was not how the season was meant to end.

We all know what the futue will bring.

Tax Sin Shit a lot Crap.

[sriracha john]

keeping with Queen for Sven....

Another one bites the dust

Another one bites the dust

And another one gone, and another one gone

Another one bites the dust

Hey, I'm gonna get you too

Another one bites the dust

Thaksin Shinawatra's Manchester City revolution claims new casualty

Thaksin Shinawatra's changing of the guard at Manchester City led to another high-profile departure today when the chief executive Alistair Mackintosh was paid off for not falling in line with the former Thailand prime minister.

Mackintosh had been largely responsible for ushering in Thaksin's takeover, but their relationship deteriorated when he questioned the owner's plans to sack Sven-Goran Eriksson. Despite the widespread opposition to Eriksson's departure, nobody else at the club had dared to bring it up with Thaksin, who is said to have deemed from that point onwards that Mackintosh could not be a trusted part of his "inner circle".

Thaksin reacted by bringing in the former Nike executive Garry Cook, effectively to take control of the club on a day-to-day basis and marginalise Mackintosh. That was the beginning of the end for Mackintosh, culminating in a hastily convened meeting today at which he and Cook both agreed that their relationship was not working and he left his £300,000-a-year job.

The decision has not come as a surprise to Mackintosh, whose potential availability has been no secret in the football world. The 37-year-old is now considering an offer to take the same role at Fulham, whereas Arsenal have also invited him to join their board. Tom Hicks, the Liverpool co-owner, is another admirer and has sounded him out about replacing Rick Parry if the American wins his power struggle with George Gillett.

- Guardian / June 12 2008

[sriracha john]

the manager's gone... the chief executive's gone... now it's time to replace the club crest...

Thaksin Shinawatra wants to change Manchester City's club crest to remind him of home in Thailand

Manchester City's billionaire owner Thaksin Shinawatra is changing the club's crest... to remind him of home in Thailand.

It means City's golden eagle could be replaced by an elephant or even a mythical half-bird half-human garuda, which are both national symbols in Thailand.

"No one can believe that a chairman can just come in and change our badge," said a Man City source. "What about the club's tradition? The fans aren't going to like this one bit. Just because somebody owns the club does not give them the right to come in and change everything."

Yet Shinawatra, Thailand's former prime minister, believes he can do whatever he wants after buying the club for £82 million and giving new manager Mark Hughes a £200 million transfer chest to match the success of bitter rivals Manchester United.

Designers have already been drafted in to work on the new crest by Shinawatra, who is now living in exile in Britain after being ousted in a military coup two years ago.

The current eagle design comes from the official badge of the City of Manchester, while the three diagonal stripes signify Manchester's three rivers - the Medlock, Irwell and the Irk. But the three stars which also make up the design are purely decorative.

Shinawatra, 58, who's known as Frank in Manchester, believes a new Orientalstyle club crest will make Manchester City more popular in Thailand where there is a huge market in Premiership club shirts.

He is determined to make City one of England's big four clubs and has the money to do it, even though £1 billion of his assets are frozen in Thailand. He enjoys a flamboyant lifestyle in the UK with a five-bedroom, £4.5 million mansion in Weybridge, Surrey, and he also has a apartment in London, where he answers to the title "Your Excellency."

As well as football, his favourite activities include golf and karaoke, performing with Sarunrat Visutthithada, known as Lydia, queen of Thai R&B.

The club source added: "Who knows what the badge will be in the end, but if it's reflecting Shinawatra it could be a Thai man dressed in golf gear singing karaoke. It's ridiculous."

- Sunday Mirror (UK - 15/06/2008)

==========================================================================

How long has the current crest been used as the symbol for MCFC???

[mrbojangles]

How long has the current crest been used as the symbol for MCFC???

It's only been around since 1997. It replaced one which had been around since about 1972. It caused abit of controversy at the time but people soon got used to it.

[Tony Clifton]

Everything he touches....

[sriracha john]

How long has the current crest been used as the symbol for MCFC???

It's only been around since 1997. It replaced one which had been around since about 1972. It caused abit of controversy at the time but people soon got used to it.

Thank you for the specifics... perhaps he'll select a modification of this logo as his choice...

as well as select one of his pet projects to be the new mascot....

[katana]

Thaksin Shinawatra wants to change Manchester City's club crest to remind him of home in Thailand:

...Designers have already been drafted in to work on the new crest by Shinawatra, who is now living in exile in Britain after being ousted in a military coup two years ago....

That's a bit out of date.

[Plus]

He can't be serious.

[sriracha john]

Thaksin Shinawatra wants to change Manchester City's club crest to remind him of home in Thailand:

...Designers have already been drafted in to work on the new crest by Shinawatra, who is now living in exile in Britain after being ousted in a military coup two years ago....

That's a bit out of date.

True. Since finally responding to his outstanding arrest warrants and then posting bail, he's now only splitting his time living in Britain.

[ratcatcher]

I'm waiting with great anticipation for the first artistic rendering of Sir Thaksin's new crest for Manchester City F.C.

Tony Clifton are you ready? Anybody?

[Mobi]

How about a new anthem to go with the new crest?

"Glory glory Frank Shin-a-wa-tra,

Glory glory Frank Shin-a-wa-tra,

Glory glory Frank Shin-a-wa-tra,

As Frank goes marching on...."

[sriracha john]

I'm waiting with great anticipation for the first artistic rendering of Sir Thaksin's new crest for Manchester City F.C.

Tony Clifton are you ready? Anybody?

perhaps it will simply be replacing the eagle's head (with extended tongue retained) with an image of Thaksin...

and replacing the boat with a Pattaya jet ski as it runs over a non-diligent sun-bather...

replacing MCFC with TSFC...

and for the Latin portion, perhaps... Thaksin Bovis Desipio

Thaksin eyes to change Man City logo

City owner wants the Premiership club's crest to have Thai symbols

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is planning to change the logo of Manchester City, a move that will enrage even the most faithful supporters of his controversial reign as owner of the British football club.

A Thai source at the club confirmed a report in Sunday Mirror that Thaksin was thinking about changing the club's crest, which features a sailboat and golden eagle. But he denied the paper's claim that the new logo would have an elephant or even garuda, both of which harbour strong links to the monarchy.

"It's true that he wants to change the crest, as he thinks a sailboat doesn't represent something solid as it moves only as far as winds take it," the source said. "He wants to change from the 'uncertainty' to something firm and stable."

"No one can believe that a chairman can just come in and change our badge," a Man City source was quoted as saying in the British tabloid. "What about the club's tradition? The fans aren't going to like this. Just because somebody owns the club does not give the right to change everything."

Yet Thaksin, who initially was affectionately called Frank Sinatra by fans, has proven beyond doubt that he could do the most controversial things "his way." He sacked coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and his changing of the guard at Manchester City led to another high-profile departure a few days ago when chief executive Alistair Mackintosh was paid off for not falling in line.

Thaksin replaced him with former Nike executive Garry Cook. The source said Cook would be handling the logo issue and would be entrusted to run major day-to-day activities of the club.

Designers have already been drafted in to work on the new crest.

- The Nation (today)

Edited June 17, 2008 by sriracha john

[Tony Clifton]

[ratcatcher]

Terrific. I knew it wouldn't take long. There must be more photobucket experts out there willing to incorporate Toxin almighty into that historic logo?

Edited June 17, 2008 by ratcatcher

[Tony Clifton]

Terrific. I knew it wouldn't take long. There must be more photobucket experts out there willing to incorporate Toxin almighty into that historic logo?

He is in there, look at the hands holding the three prison bars replacing the three rivers.

[Insight]

Terrific. I knew it wouldn't take long. There must be more photobucket experts out there willing to incorporate Toxin almighty into that historic logo?

He is in there, look at the hands holding the three prison bars replacing the three rivers.

We can only hope...

Good work Tony

[nomoretalksin]

thanks mate, you made my day. What would be a forum without any funny visuals! Well done Tony !

Especially the sinking boat! ole! Nice work!

[plachon]

Brilliant Tony!

One small point though - the Mangkorn / Yak doesn't have big enough teeth for Toxin's predatory mind.

And, if he stays as Chairman much longer the place will become MADCHESTER.

Do you think Pokemon realises her hubby bought City and not Utd by the way?