The latest in his media stunt show was the news that Manchester City had decided to accept his offer to buy the club for Bt5.6 billion.

This was eventually made news following several weeks of speculation during which the disgraced politician has enjoyed taking Thai and international media organisations for a ride and garnering free publicity for himself.

The news of Manchester City's acceptance of Thaksin's offer has yet to meet with the man's final agreement that he would definitely go ahead with his plan to buy the club, despite his earlier hyperbole and a bit of boasting that he still has abundant financial resources despite the freezing of more than Bt54 billion in cash and assets in Thailand. To many that amount had just made Thaksin and his family a bit poorer judging from the vast amounts gradually transferred and transported abroad by various means many times until the last haul of an Airbus flight left for London, taking him to Cuba and then to New York, where he was deposed as premier.

Now he has to prove how he can mobilise alternate financial resources to back up his offer to buy the relatively lacklustre football club. If it is found out that he still commands vast funds stashed abroad or in save havens, Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office can still ask its foreign counterparts around the world to freeze all accounts and assets deposited in financial institutions.

This process could continue until Thaksin and his legal luminaries are able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law that what he has in those accounts was not derived from ripping off his fellow countrymen through shady schemes and financial shenanigans.

Thaksin has taken a new last name, something like "Sinatra" or "Shinatra" for reasons best known to himself. Maybe he wants to establish a new identity so that he can rub shoulders with the owners of other Premiership League clubs in London with reasonable composure and grace, if need be.

To fit with the last name, he should also change his first name to "Thaksino", which was what one of his political cronies called the brand of Thai fashion that he had wanted to promote abroad, but which failed within just a few months. Instead of being well known abroad, the crony became a laughingstock, which failed to amuse even Thaksin, who felt that his good name had not been used with due respect.

If this is what he decides on, being called "Thaksino Shinatra" does not sound too bad. At least nobody can rightly compare him with Idi Amin, the deceased leader of Uganda who was once chided by a group of British men for being a "village tyrant".

For their uncommon valour those four British men were forced to carry the weighty Amin around Kampala in exchange for not being executed for ridiculing the despot.

Our Thaksino Shinatra is not a Londoner by choice, but by circumstance. He has also spent much of his time in exile elsewhere, not in England. Surely, he has not had much time to mingle with British high society to get the true feeling and depth of British insults, not to mention good taste and manners during high tea.

His tales of woe of being a victim of a Russian pickpocket a few weeks ago inside a Moscow McDonald's outlet is still a joke around town. He was made Bt1.5 million poorer. If a billionaire and former prime minister chose to enjoy junk food instead of Russian beluga caviar and other delicacies, it does show something about the level of his taste.

Surely, this matter could be the subject of small talk over pints of beer in British pubs when it becomes certain that Manchester City will have a wealthy Asian in exile as its owner, who might have to spend more time in court than minding the club or thinking about signing the top strikers to allow his club to take the short-cut to fame.

Despite the hullabaloo and wild talk about Thaksin and his venture, there is still a worrisome aspect. "Mr Bean", the top comedian, might have met his match this time when it comes to unpredictability.

If the two eventually team up and work together, it could be the next phenomenon along the lines of the Beatles and the Spice Girls. It could eventually entice David Beckham to join Manchester City so that the good name of Victoria won't be tarnished by the joint team of Messrs Bean and Shinawatra, the real odd couple, East meets West, so to speak.

Thaksin is an ex-premier who would rather conduct his battles on the football field than in a court of law.

Sopon Onkgara