Soccer's new City slicker
Simply how much would you love your soccer group? It really is this dilemma that is faustian was preoccupying the long-suffering fans of Manchester City since their club was sold to Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed Prime Minister of Thailand, for ВЈ81.6m in very early July. Thaksin, who has been compared in his homeland with Hitler, Pol Pot and Aids, has gotten a wary but convivial reception in the blue 1 / 2 of Manchester.
As City started the season against western Ham yesterday with a win that is 2-0 with Sven-Goran Eriksson in control of a barely recognisable group of the latest Spanish, Italian and Brazilian players, there clearly was even guarded talk among the list of fans of the very first trophy for the club in 32 years.
Mohamed al Fayed bought Fulham in 1997, nevertheless the ownership that is foreign of League groups actually kicked down whenever Roman Abramovich purchased Chelsea for ВЈ150m in June 2003. Now nine out of 20 clubs within the unit are foreign-owned and it is most likely that more (perhaps Arsenal or Everton) is sold throughout the the following year.
In a few respects, Thaksin, who was simply overthrown by the Council for National Security (CNS) army junta in a bl dless coup final September, is really a normal addition to these ranks.
A charismatic individual and normal self-publicist, he is certain to take pleasure in the prestige of club ownership, a must-have for any self-respecting itinerant billionaire today. ...