In world/sports news Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife flew to England, skipping bail in Thailand. There are questions whether he and his wife will apply for asylum in England, with Thaksin saying that he cannot get a fair trial in Thailand. Thailand and Britain do have an extradition agreement going back to 1911. His wife Pojaman was recently sentenced to three years in prison for fraud, and he has corruption charges pending. It is now questionable if he will ever get back £1 billion in frozen assets. This news quickly caused chaos in the blue half of Manchester. Rumors spread that Thaksin has been borrowing money to pay wages and other costs, and that a number of players like Corluka and Ireland would be sold to balance the club's books. There were also reports that coach Mark Hughes would be leaving the club. Finally there was news from Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore that he would be monitoring the situation to make sure that Shinawatra meets the "fit and proper persons" qualification for ownership. It's hard to separate speculation from fact right now, but it has to be hard for all the City faithful who just bought new Jo kits(jerseys) and were buying away packages in Europe.
Any other day this would be the top story, but today the news that Dimitar Berbatov is close to signing with Manchester United is number two. There has been speculation for weeks, Tottenham filed a complaint with FIFA over interest in Keane and Berbatov, but it appears that a deal will be worked out shortly. Tottenham had been asking £38 million for the Bulgarian, and considering what they got for Keane you can't blame them. However Ferguson is not the kind of man to be held hostage, and it looks like he will become a Manc for £28 million. Man U gains a proven scorer at a time when Ronaldo, Rooney and Saha are injured. He should play well with Rooney or Tevez, and provide a presence up top to allow their speed shine on the wings. Tottenham gets money to add to their team, and with Bent performing spectacularly in pre-season Ramos' transformation to a small, quick ticky-tacky side is nearing completion. He does have cojones(no translation needed) to sell his leading scorers and strike duo.
One Liners
- Aston Villa sign Cuellar for £7.8, most expensive signing ever for a player with braces
- Ashton told to lose weight if he wants to be on national team, seen crying as he walked by a fish and chips shop
- Boro bid on Arsenal's Hoyte, apparently Titus Bramble was unavailable
- Arsenal have small squad for game against Twente, may field first 12 year old in history
