MANCHESTER CITY TAKEOVER
had announced a bid to buy Liverpool
- but the deal never went ahead.
At that time, concerns were raised
about his human rights record by
Amnesty International and Human
Rights Watch. Thaksin always
rejected the reports, but the
allegations persisted.
City’s hierarchy, excited that they
had bagged a billionaire, brushed off
any such concerns. Yet he was in a
heap of trouble.
In September 2006, Thaksin
had been removed from power in
Thailand by a military coup. The army
action followed mass demonstrations
against him in Bangkok, sparked by
the revelation that he and his family
had sold their telecoms business,
Shin Corp, to a Singaporean company
(itself seen as inflammatory by many
Thais), for a reported £1.2 billion.
Thaksin had been popular,
elected with high levels of support
among Thailand’s rural poor, who
appreciated reforms he had made,
particularly providing mass access
to affordable health care. However,
he was resented by many educated
Thais, who believed he concentrated
power and wealth in his own hands
while prime minister.
The new government established
forensic investigators the Assets
Examination Committee to formally
inquire into how Thaksin made his
fortune and recommend criminal
charges if they found evidence
of any possible corruption.
RESOLVE TO SELL
Yet none of this shook Wardle, City’s
chairman, or the other directors from
their resolve to sell to Thaksin. They
believed he had piles of money that
would be poured into City, and the
official line from the club was that
nothing was proven against him and
that the corruption investigation
was politically motivated and without
validity. The directors were persuadedthat once democratic elections
were held in Thailand, the charges
would be dropped and Thaksin
would be in the clear.
With takeover talks at a fairly
advanced stage, Thaksin was finally
charged with two counts of criminal
corruption by the Thai authorities,
and the £800m fortune he held
in the country was frozen. Still the
directors ploughed on, and, in late
June, Wardle and Makin accepted
a bid valuing the club at £21.6m,
plus £17.5m from Thaksin to repay
their loans. Wardle wrote to all
shareholders recommending they
sell to the Thai, which they did.ERIKSSON INSTALLED
Thaksin’s City regime started well.
Sven-Goran Eriksson was installed
as manager and a dizzying round of
signings followed, most notably Brazilian
Elano, Bulgarian Martin Petrov and
Croatian Vedran Corluka. City topped
the Premier League table for the early
weeks of the season and beat United
home and away for the first time
in more than 30 years. Thaksinremained a fan favourite until he
abruptly sacked Eriksson in May.
The wheels came off during
the summer. Elections had been
held in Thailand and Thaksin’s allies
were re-elected, but the Thai judiciary
was asserting its independence and
pursuing the charges. It was also
confirmed for the first time that Thaksin
was not funding City, that the signings
had all been made on payments by
instalments, that City had taken out
a further £25m loan from Standard
Bank to cover cash shortfalls and that
Wardle had even loaned the club £2m
on three separate occasions during
the year after he had sold the club.WheretheadventurewilltakeCity,and
English football, will be an absorbing story.
Money, clearly, can buy success, as
Abramovich’s has for Chelsea