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Published on August 8, 2007

The topic owner said he founded the club in order to use it as a medium to spread news and information among City fans.

"Solo One" posted a message on the "Trail on Maew City At Pantip" topic, inviting City fans to join the Manchester City Thailand Fan Club.

He said he wanted City fans to chat, update news, exchange opinions about the team and sometimes hold soccer matches among themselves.

"We will emphasise only sport. We won't let politics be involved in our club," Solo One said in the invitation.

Anyone who subscribes as a member will receive a membership card. According to its website, one month after the invitation, there were more than 600 members.

"Mancity" posted a comment and pasted another link to Manchester City Thailand Fan Club at http://cafe.mediathai.net/mancity/.  The website has part of the lyrics to "Fly Me to the Moon", a pop song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. Frank Sinatra, who Thaksin has been nicknamed after, recorded the song in 1964.

However, most members of the fan club were not Manchester City fans but Thaksin fans. Some said that they were not football followers but had registered as members because they loved Thaksin.

Thai sport tabloid Star Soccer's columnist Buranit Rattanawichien or "Bor Boo" said he thought members registered for the club because they loved Thaksin but not the team.

"That topic may want to manipulate public sentiment to boost membership. As far as I can see, they are not real football fans but Thaksin fans," he said.

Some members of Supachalasai Cafe felt upset that political topics were posted. They suggested these should be moved to Rajdumnern Cafe, the most popular political webboard.

One member said that "Trail on Maew City At Pantip" had nothing to do with politics.

A Thai Rath sports columnist wrote about the fan club, saying that as its membership increases, Manchester City should waste no time in opening a club shop in Thailand.

"Right now, City jerseys are wanted by Thai fans. The early bird gets the worm. Those who can produce counterfeit shirts first will get rich first," the columnist stated.   

Despite Manchester City's 1-0 defeat to Valencia last Saturday, Thaksin scored a different goal. The party after the match, at which he introduced himself to the fans, won publicity both in the UK and Thai media.

In Thailand, Star Soccer, one of the top five Thai football newspapers, has played up every Thaksin move in golf and football. But some readers noticed that the paper changed its tone and stance when it reported on Thaksin. "Apparently, the paper was bought," complained a hardcore reader.

Bor Boo, known as an anti-Thaksin columnist, admitted his boss had asked staff not to write about Thaksin in a negative way because it would affect the whole organisation. Its reporters in England might be affected when they had to cover Manchester City matches.

After that meeting, some reporters might write stories that could lead to them being understood as pro Thaksin, he said.

 "For me, I will try to be neutral or even avoid writing about him," he said.

Sucheera Piniparakarn,

Jintana Panyaarvudh

The Nation