The Official Manchester City Thread.......

[Dodger]

Originally Posted by Hoopy Frood

So do people think Sven is for the chop? City certainly did slip away after that excellent start to the season

HF go look at the league table, we were never ever going to be top three but could still make a euro spot, longish shot but feck, we are top ten, when's the last season i could say that??????????

Ronaldinho next year maybe a couple of other better blokes and heh presto we will be 9th!!!!

[Hoopy Frood]

Originally Posted by Dodger

HF go look at the league table, we were never ever going to be top three but could still make a euro spot, longish shot but feck, we are top ten, when's the last season i could say that??????????

Ronaldinho next year maybe a couple of other better blokes and heh presto we will be 9th!!!!

The comment I made yesterday was in relation to this story BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Man City | Thaksin coy on Eriksson's future
This is todays one
BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Man City | Eriksson defiant after criticism
At the beginning of the season when City were going well I thought why couldn't they be top 4 this year? Why couldn't Eriksson uncover some gems that take the Prem by storm? Anyway that's history now, but I still look forward to the same same top 4 being replaced by a whole new 4 - soon!

[snorter]

Originally Posted by Hoopy Frood

So do people think Sven is for the chop? City certainly did slip away after that excellent start to the season

I think all of us expats who have lived under the Thaksin regime in Thailand can remember what a results driven type Dr. T is. Remember the early pay-off of the IMF loans, the revitilisation of the economy and the way he went about his war on drugs (I seem to remember his aim was to rid Thailand of drugs in a 9 month time frame!!).
So, I would not be surprised at all if he sacked Sven and got another big name manager in. That's not to say I agree with the decision, I remember even Sir AF needed 2 to 3 years at Utd before things really got going and look at them now.
I hope he gets the time to build on what he has put in place already, but when Thaksin says he's not happy with the last half of the season I've got to agree. And when he says they will review the situation at the end of the season.........well, I'd be pissed if they didn't.

[sishow]

Doesn't look like Sven is going to be there next season now:

Sven-Goran Eriksson has been told he will be sacked as Manchester City manager at the end of the season, BBC Sport understands.
City owner Thaksin Shinawatra told Eriksson he was "not the right man for the job" at a meeting on Sunday, a source close to the manager said.
Eriksson informed the players at training on Monday that he would be dismissed, provoking an angry response.
The Swede, who has two years left on his contract, says he will not resign.
Shinawatra has been unhappy with City's results since the turn of the year.
The Thai billionaire was at the City of Manchester Stadium on Sunday to watch his team throw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 against Fulham.





Afterwards, he held a meeting with Eriksson and told him he would be dismissed after their final two games of the season.
"Sven reacted calmly, as usual, but he was very surprised and disappointed," the source told BBC Sport.
"He doesn't want to leave the club and will not resign. He loves working with the players and his work at Manchester City has only just begun."
The club is refusing to comment about Eriksson's future.
Eriksson took over as City manager five weeks before the start of the season and the team occupied third spot in the Premiership in November.
However, their form has faltered badly since Christmas and they now lie ninth, having won just four of their last 15 games.
"The team has not been playing as well as it should have or getting the right results since Christmas," said the source.
"But overall it has been a good season. Thaksin agreed a five-year plan with Sven in the summer and the target for the first year was to finish in the top 10."

I think it is crazy that his job is even being talked about as being in danger - he has been good for everyone at City



Micah Richards


Shinawatra bankrolled eight summer signings at a cost of more than £46m shortly after buying the club, but BBC Sport understands he has had no direct contact with Eriksson in the second half of the season.
"They met several times personally at the start of the season and then nothing," said the source.
"Sven has had a list of players he wants to sign next summer for several weeks, but he hasn't been able to get the go-ahead to get them.
"He talks to (City chief executive) Alistair Macintosh, but things break down when he then goes to the chairman."
The City players are understood to have reacted with a mixture of shock and anger when Eriksson told them he would be leaving.
Last week, City defender Micah Richards said the players were "100% behind" Eriksson in his BBC Sport website column.
"I think it is crazy that his job is even being talked about as being in danger - he has been good for everyone at City," said Richards.
Shinawatra will now set about the task of landing a new manager, with former Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari already touted as a replacement for Eriksson.
It seems certain that any new manager will have a considerable amount of money to spend in the summer.
Shinawatra has hundreds of millions of pounds worth of assets in Thailand frozen as he awaits trial on corruption charges later this year. Yet his former lawyer, Noppadom Pattama, who is now Thailand's foreign minister, told BBC Sport that he expected these assets to be "unfrozen in the near future".

Taken from the bbc.co.uk/football website.

[faultytowers]

Get bowing !!!!!

The Nation has picked up on a story from the UK.

Thaksin asks Manchester City players to bow

Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra has hit the club with another shock by asking for the players to bow to him Thai-style before each game, Sunday Mirror reported.

Here is the original article.

[dawsey]

Originally Posted by faultytowers

Get bowing !!!!!

The Nation has picked up on a story from the UK.




Here is the original article.

I wonder if all those City supporters who applauded Thaksin's takeover of the club are so enthusiastic now. Plenty of rich businessmen waiting to take over clubs it seems. They could have done a lot better than Thaksin IMO.
Poor old Sven, he has given the supporters their best season for years, and still gets the chop. I hope nobody accepts the vacancy and Thaksin is left looking like the fool he is.

[Soupdragon]

A reflection on Thaksin as a man I think. He gets a bit of flak in the press so he retorts with "you will bow before me". Manchester ain't Thailand, he has a lot to learn.

[Dodger]

Ah but he has already learned 'he who pays the baht, gets what they want', I reckon they will bow and wai and anything else he asks, Everton used to wai before the game and that was just because Chang was their sponsor!!! (heh another word Thaksin will be familiar with!!)

[Soupdragon]

Just having had a flick through the BBC and Guardian Online it seems it's only Eriksson stopping a players revolt saying they should not jeopadise themselves for what he sees as a lost cause, talk amongst the players about boycotting the planned games in Thailand and Hong Kong.

[landofsmiles]

Thaksin leaves Eriksson in limbo

Thaksin Shinawatra has thrown Manchester City into further confusion saying he has not made a decision about Sven-Goran Eriksson's future.

BBC Sport understands Eriksson has been told he will be sacked at the end of the season and Luiz Felipe Scolari has been approached as a replacement.

But City owner Thaksin said: "We have made no decision. We will do an evaluation at the end of the season."

Portugal coach Scolari is expected to decide his future after Euro 2008.

"Any club who has any interest in Scolari is completely free to contact the coach," Scolari spokesman Acaz Fellegger told Portuguese newspaper Record.

606: DEBATE
Is Scolari the right man for Man City?

"But the truth is that there has been no approach and Scolari has repeatedly stated that his future will only be decided after the Euro tournament."

Thaksin, speaking at the opening of a golf tournament in Beijing, would not be drawn on whether the club had made contact with the Portugal coach.

However, he did admit that he had told Eriksson he was unhappy with City's dip in form which saw them fall out of contention for European football.

"During the season, we may complain for improvement but that's normal for every club," said the former Thai prime minister.

Despite Thaksin's claims to the contrary, a source close to Eriksson has told BBC Sport that the former England coach will be sacked at the end of the season.

And BBC Sport also understands that contact has already been made between City and Scolari's representatives in a bid to bring him to Eastlands, with a deal worth a reported £3.2m-a-year ready to be rubber-stamped.

Scolari, 59, is believed to be interested in succeeding Eriksson - but wants to wait until after Euro 2008 before making a decision.

Scolari has also previously been reluctant to uproot his family from Portugal and cited intrusion into his private life as one of the reasons he rejected the chance to succeed Eriksson as England coach in 2006.

Thaksin, on the other hand, is thought to want a swift answer from Scolari.

City fans have reacted angrily to Eriksson's imminent departure and Thaksin hopes to head off further unrest with a quick announcement that he has captured the man who won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002.

Despite his treatment at the hands of Shinawatra, Eriksson is willing to lead City on their post-season tour of Thailand and Hong Kong next week, a source close to the Swede has told BBC Sport.

The source said it was "business as usual" for Eriksson and his coaching team and that no further talks were planned with Shinawatra before the end of the season.

If City fail to land Scolari, they are likely to turn their attention to Slaven Bilic, even though he signed a new contract with Croatia last week.

BBC Sport

[nelsonone]

Thaksin will stuff this joint up as well

[landofsmiles]

Oops!

MIDDLESBOROUGH

MANCHESTER CITY

[Nautilus]

What happened to City? After Richard Dunne got sent off . .

[IRISH JONNY]

Now That Was A Real Asss Whooping...........just As Well The Red Side Did The City Some Justice Today.then Again..we Always Do.......55555555..........

[Den]

It's a bit quiet in here today.

;o)

A nice end to a piss-poor season for us, but it doesn't mean anything in the great scheme of things.

Taksin will dump Sven, and IMHO that will be another mistake which will set City back by at least another season. Hang on to him and he'll guarantee a european slot.

As for us, if Southgate can get a couple of decent, creative midfielders and a new keeper, we might just make it into the top half next season.

I'm not holding my breath though.

[nelsonone]

Originally Posted by nelsonone

Thaksin will stuff this joint up as well

didn't expect my prophesy to come true so soon.....

a disapointing way to end an otherwise pretty successful season!

[sishow]

Originally Posted by nelsonone

didn't expect my prophesy to come true so soon.....

a disapointing way to end an otherwise pretty successful season!

It the widespread reports today are anything to go by, then it gets worse:

Not content with getting rid of their best manager for years, Thaksin Shinawatra has reportedly put the entire Manchester City squad up for sale.

Despite having to undergo the humiliation of representing his boss on a tour to Thailand, Sven Goran Eriksson is expected to be sacked in the coming weeks, and now The Daily Express reports that Shinawatra is so unhappy with City's performances this season that he wants a wholesale clear-out at Eastlands.

The paper claims that Shinawatra wants rid of every player on City's books - including star performers and huge assets Micah Richards, Michael Johnson and Joe Hart.

Shinawatra has reportedly sent a letter to each member of the City sqaud expressing his feelings, and wants to start next season with a whole new squad to go with his new manager.

According to The Express, the latest shambolic developments have prompted a distraught City chairman John Wardle to apologise to the squad for selling the club to Shinawatra in the first place.

The former Thai prime minister won't be short of interested parties for his players. Richard Dunne is expected to move to Newcastle for around £5million, while Liverpool and Arsenal are thought to be interested in Johnson, while Hart is reportedly a target for Tottenham.

Richards would most likely command the highest fee, with Chelsea and Man U both apparently interested.

That was Skysports, but its on most websites over here today.


If its true, I can see the whole management structure, including the highly respected youth structure, falling apart. With the big four picking up the who they want!

[IRISH JONNY]

Thaskins Is Gonna Cripple City Me Thinks !!!!!!!!!!!

[snorter]

I don't believe a word of it, typical journalism taking the idea of clearing out a lot of our fringe players and reporting it as a wholesale clearout of the entire squad.

City have denied the reports on their official website and also the report that Thaksin sent a scathing letter to each member of the first team squad.

Take my word for it, it's all part of a master plan to keep us in the news.......first we are going to sack Sven (yeah, sure)......then we let Fulham come back from 2-0 down to win the match.........last day of the season and we're thinking how can we grab the headlines from the rags winning the league......brilliant, lets lose 8-1, it won't effect our league position and think of the coverage we'll get (problem is, I don't think many people noticed........apart from los, Nautilus, IJ and Den).....anyway, things were getting a bit quiet and people hadn't noticed that we were here in Thailand so we come up with this story to coincide with Thaksin launching his 'City' shop in Bangkok and our game against the Chon Buri Allstars or whoever it is we're playing today.....(I hope we don't get beat).

So there you have it, we'll start next season with Hart, Richards, Onhoua, Corluka, Dunne, Garrido, Logan, Hamman, Johnson (maybe), Fernandes, Petrov, Elano, Bojinov, Sturridge and a host of new names in the first team squad.........and Sven still in charge.

Oh, and we got into Europe via the Fair Play League.

The lads are supposed to be in Pattaya tonight..........but the bars are shut...

[Schmeen]

City lost 3-1 to the Thailand Premier League All Stars....5555555

[snorter]

Originally Posted by Schmeen

City lost 3-1 to the Thailand Premier League All Stars....5555555

Jeez..........still trying to work out how that could be part of our masterplan...

Our three Thai lads, Suree Sukka, Teerasil Dangda and Kiatprawut Saiwaew all got a run out for the last half hour..........

Their first goal was scored by a bloke called Fabiano!! Sounds like a ringer to me

[snorter]

Sven's been sacked today............Mark Hughes is hot favourite to replace him.