Thais on their toes for Man City: An analysis

Published on November 26, 2007

Several different spins have been applied to the visit by coach Sven Goran Eriksson:

The Guardian newspaper's blog: "Manchester City's signing of three Thai footballers points to dark days ahead for English football."

More than a few residents of the village where new recruit Suree Sukha lived: "It's time to go and borrow some money from Suree Sukha's parents!"

Suree: "For God's sake, it's just a signing and a press conference. I haven't seen the money yet!"

Star Soccer columnist Bor Boo: "No one else could have ever done this for Thai football history. I feel really grateful for what he has done. He has done this even though he is no longer our prime minister. So maybe it's much better for him to stay outside the country and nurture our Thai football players rather than coming back to politics."

A football-crazy Thai woman: "Eriksson, despite his reputation, didn't come to Thailand for a bride. Instead, he took three young Thai men and asked them to wear the Blues shirt."

Local cable TV: "Let's just hope the three will play soon so we can come up with a new campaign. Install our cable TV now to watch your home-bred kids on the Premier League field with our home-grown politician-turned-football club chairman sitting there in the VIP seats."

Frank na Manchester: "Even if they just sit on the bench, it's still worth it."

Okay, we made up the last three, but the first four are true!