Man City - is noone else concerned?

[Brightonfan1983]

I see that the former Thai PM has lodged a £81.6m (that's eighty-one million, six hundred thousand pounds - what on earth was he doing while he was meant to be governing Thailand, not known for its squeaky clean business dealings) bid for Man City. A man embroiled in a £12m corruption scandal, a man who has yet to return to the country he was in charge of and which wants him to answer these charges... oh hang on, the Premier League say he has to pass their "fit and proper person" test.

So that's alright then.

 

[Grendel]

Why on earth would I be concerned? Sounds like just the sort of chap to own a Premiership club to me.

 

[¡Cereal Killer!]

How on earth does a Primeminister of Thailand earn that amount of money? I am guessing that there has been some foul play involved in him getting his money lets hope that he doesn't f*** Man City over

 

[pasty]

To be perfectly honest, I would be more concerned had he shown an interest ina lower league club. As far as I am concerned any premiership club that gets turned over by some multi-million pound dodgy geezer can go stuff themselves. I care as much about Premier league clubs as they do about Brighton.

 

[¡Cereal Killer!]

I bet the geezer don't even support Manchester City or know anything about football

 

[Grendel]

I bet the geezer don't even support Manchester City or know anything about football

What's that got to do with it? If he's got the money and the board want to sell, he's just as entitled to buy it as someone who is an ardent Manchester City fan.

 

[Brightonfan1983]

To be perfectly honest, I would be more concerned had he shown an interest ina lower league club. As far as I am concerned any premiership club that gets turned over by some multi-million pound dodgy geezer can go stuff themselves. I care as much about Premier league clubs as they do about Brighton.

Oh I agree totally (and who's to say that Man City won't on day go down 2 divs and then what?), but the idea of these people of enormous wealth from uncertain sources (and I include Abramovich and Dave Whelan - c'mon, JBB Sports is a shit shop) getting involved just doesn't feel right.

And the Premier League have shown themselves to be as capable of running a fair and transparent and even football competition as a cage of monkeys. It's all getting a little bit out of hand if you ask me...

 

[hans kraay fan club]

How on earth does a Primeminister of Thailand earn that amount of money? QUOTE]


He was making an estimated £100 million a year from his mobile phone business BEFORE he was elected PM.

It is however claimed that once in power he was able to treble that by skewing the playing field in favour of his businesses.

 

[Brightonfan1983]

From today's Fiver - someone else is concerned...

That cheeky scamp Thaksin Shinawatra has finally lodged an official
GBP81.6m bid for Manchester City, see, and although the board today
recommended shareholders to accept it, one or two dissenters seem to
think the former Thai PM isn't a FAPP to run a football club.
Presumably because he ran a government accused of significant human
rights abuses [As opposed to insignificant ones? - Fiver Ed.] and
currently faces arrest over corruption charges back home.

But what the heck is a Fapp anyway? Not the Fiver, obviously, and
probably not Danielle Lloyd (neither fit nor proper) either, but in a
footballing world where Louis "condemned meat" Edwards and Jesus
"collapsible buildings" Gil ran the MU Rowdies and Atletico Madrid
respectively, who else can sensibly be ruled out? Thankfully Premier
League spokesman Dan Johnson was on hand to clarify things.

"We have a Fapp test which is based on objective criteria, and there
is a schedule of offences which does also reflect any offences that
someone has been prosecuted for overseas," droned Dan as the Fiver
struggled to saw off its own ears with some house keys. "It is a
tricky one because he hasn't been prosecuted of anything yet." And if
he were to be found guilty of corruption? "That would be something we
would have to look at."

Nice to see someone has a clear idea what's going on, but at least
City's supporters seem happy. "This is a great opportunity for us,"
blared Manchester City Official Supporters' Club representative Kevin
Parker. "We can start laughing at other people as we rise up the
Premiership." Probably best not mention the man Thaksin's already
asked to take over as manager - there aren't many left who consider
Sven-Goran Eriksson fit and proper.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

To be perfectly honest, I would be more concerned had he shown an interest ina lower league club. As far as I am concerned any premiership club that gets turned over by some multi-million pound dodgy geezer can go stuff themselves. I care as much about Premier league clubs as they do about Brighton.

I wonder If Brighton ever make the top flight the attitude will be the same?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Profile: Thaksin Shinawatra

Mr Thaksin's health and economic policies pleased rural voters
Thaksin Shinawatra became the first prime minister in Thailand's history to lead an elected government through a full four-year term in office.
Eighteen months later he was out of office after a military coup ousted him as he prepared to give a speech in New York to the United Nations.

According to his opponents - who highlighted his intolerance of criticism and his failure to end separatist violence in the country's south - his fall can be traced back to his family's decision at the start of 2006 to sell its shares in one of Thailand's biggest telecom groups, Shin Corp.

The sale, which netted family members and others $1.9bn, angered many urban Thais, who complained that the family avoided paying tax and passed control of an important national asset to Singaporean investors.

With calls mounting for him to resign over the issue and large-scale street protests, Mr Thaksin called a snap general election for April 2006, effectively telling opponents to "put up or shut up".

But main opposition parties boycotted the polls and many voters chose to register a "no vote". Several unopposed ruling party candidates failed to achieve the 20% of votes needed to become MPs, leaving parliament unable to convene.

Faced with the threat of further protests, Mr Thaksin said he would step down. He did for a few weeks, but returned to office in May ahead of a re-run of April's elections later in the year.

Following months of political uncertainty, Thai army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin led a coup in September 2006 which stripped Mr Thaksin's government of all powers.

Mr Thaksin has remained abroad since the coup, amid talk of arrest if he returned to Thailand. His family's business dealings are now under investigation.

In May 2007, Mr Thaksin and 110 other senior party officials were banned from political office for five years.

The Constitutional Tribunal also ordered Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party to be dissolved after finding it guilty of violating electoral laws.

Former policeman

Born in 1949 in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Mr Thaksin started his career as a police officer. In 1973, he received a government scholarship to study for a masters degree in criminal justice in the United States.

Protests continued in Bangkok in the run-up to April 2006 polls

When he returned he went into business, and during the late 1980s began building a telecommunications empire, helped by cornering state monopolies.

He founded his Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais party) in 1998, and its rapid emergence transformed Thai politics.

Mr Thaksin swept into office in 2001, soundly defeating the old guard from the Democrat Party.

Poorer voters liked his offers of cheap medical care and debt relief, his nationalist platform and his contempt for the "Bangkok elite".

But big business also liked him for his CEO style of government and his "Taksinomics" policies which created a new boom in the country where the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s began.

Mr Thaksin also won support for his handling of the tsunami relief effort after the 2004 Indian Ocean disaster, which devastated parts of south-western Thailand.

Overcoming criticism

But other things were not so easy.

Mr Thaksin has struggled to handle the insurgency in the south

He had to face the fallout from his government's suppression of news of an outbreak of bird flu, as well as continuing criticism over his methods of stamping out crime.

The violent deaths of more than 2,500 people during a crackdown on drugs ordered by Mr Thaksin in 2003 did not affect his public support, neither did an earlier finding by Thailand's Corruption Commission that he had failed to declare all of his wealth.

He even weathered criticism over the government's handling of the upsurge in violence in the largely Muslim south, where more than 2,000 people have died since an insurgency began in early 2004.

Each time Mr Thaksin appeared to ride out the storm, his backing among his key supporters - Thailand's rural voters - apparently unscathed.

But the sale of Shin Corp fuelled an already active opposition, creating a political storm that proved Mr Thaksin's undoing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1108114.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1876250,00.html#article_continue

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/refer...e/t/thaksin_shinawatra/index.html?offset=0&&&

http://www.google.co.th/custom?hl=e...sin+Shinawatra+&btnG=Search&meta=cr=countryTH

 

[Pondicherry]

I am a habitual lurker but will make an exception here. I didn't know this until today but the fit and proper rules only apply to someone who has been actually convicted of an offence. Hence Bates is also a fit and proper person (as Archer probably was by football league rules). In fact Saadam was as well up until the point he was convicted of genocide.

 

[Silent Bob]

I wonder If Brighton ever make the top flight the attitude will be the same?

Why should it? I wouldn't want us to sell our soul in the way Manchester United, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Chelsea, and possibly Man City have.

 

[Brightonfan1983]

The eminently readable James Lawton puts it as concisely as you could wish... http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/comment/article2692259.ece

I am amazed we all seemingly shrug our shoulders over this, as if it's acceptable and there's nothing to be done. What, no-one has a strong enough opinion to offer up, we're all too busy arguing over Dick Knight's so-called lack of financial support, to consider that what's happening to Man City is supremely disturbing?

Pondischerry, who's to say that in a few years' time, someone like Saddam Hussein could own a football club? What a superb way of hiding your billions, nicked from the 3rd World hell hole you previously ruled?

FFS people.

 

[severnside gull]

I bet the geezer don't even support Manchester City or know anything about football

Don't think you need to know too much except that it is a superb vehicle for laundering serious amounts of dodgy money.

Check out Roman Abramovich or Ken Bates for example

 

[Curious Orange]

I wonder If Brighton ever make the top flight the attitude will be the same?

I wouldn't bother wondering if I were you, there is more chance of there being a LibDem government than that happening.

Anyway, so what, even if it does send Man City into a Leeds like crisis, they'll just get away with it like all the "big clubs" do. Scarborough they ain't.

 

[Lethargic]

He made his money with a couple of debatable multimillion sales - land and telecomms and like most multimillionaires he knew how to 'bend' the rules. This makes him no better or worse than Abramovic. Remember it is also a political thing against him in Thialand - not saying he's clean but don't believe everything.

Also who really cares the Premiership sold it's soul years ago, for all I care Man City can rot like all other Premiership teams.

 

[Gully]

I really think there is potential for things to go completely wrong if this sale goes through, I would be really worried if I were a City fan, the only positive is that the experience might mean it is the last club to be sold to foreign investors.

 

[ditchy]

Oh I agree totally (and who's to say that Man City won't on day go down 2 divs and then what?), but the idea of these people of enormous wealth from uncertain sources (and I include Abramovich and Dave Whelan - c'mon, JBB Sports is a shit shop) getting involved just doesn't feel right.

At least Dave Whelan was an ex pro footballer !!

 

[withdeanwombat]

No! No! All of this is wrong.Although he did try to buy two other Premiership clubs before this bid,he has always,ALWAYS,been a fan of Melchester Rovers,and that is why he is going ahead with this bid.The other bids were just,y'know,testers.Any fans who can sing "Blue Moon" so fervently should welcome Frank Sinatra with open arms.