silent sven soldiers on

Hardly a word has been heard from him, even though he has become the centre of attention after questions arose about his future with the team following a spat with ... you know who ... former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Upon arriving in Bangkok, Eriksson was ambushed by members of the press, who asked him if they could pose questions. Eriksson shot back, "No".

Even during a press conference on Thursday, Eriksson found ways to evade reporters. He commented briefly on the exhibition match scheduled for today but left no chance for reporters to inquire about his future with the team.

Questions began circulating about Eriksson's future at the club, which is owned by Thaksin, before the end of last weekend, which saw Manchester City endure a humiliating 8-1 loss to Middlesbrough. Thaksin, known to prefer quick results, was unhappy with his manager despite City's bullish start this season.

It's no secret that Thaksin purchased the English Premier League club in the hopes of benefiting from the publicity and drawing media attention. Thaksin wished to emulate the success of Chelsea's Roman Abramovich. However, Thaksin's hands-on CEO-style does not seem to fit with the English football club, judging by the way that Manchester City finished up this season. However, we are not saying that Eriksson was a failed manager. City finished a commendable ninth in the Premier League.

Eriksson put a brave face on for the public-relations stunt, even though he came here amidst speculation that he was contemplating which team he would go to after Manchester City.

On Thursday night, when the team and Thaksin had a dinner party at a Singha pub in Thong Lor, Eriksson left for his hotel around 9pm, while the rest of the team spent the night enjoying themselves at a karaoke bar. While Eriksson was silent, Thaksin enjoyed the spotlight during yesterday's opening of a Manchester City shop in Bangkok.

Thaksin told the guests at the store that he had wanted to own a football club since he was prime minister. He said he planned to buy a team then (he hinted that the team's name began with "L") and was considering whether to use public money or his own to buy this team. But later, a twist of fate resulted in him living in voluntarily exile following the coup.

Thaksin said that he bought City because of the club's long history, and that he now plans to build its brand as a global team. Thailand could become a strong fan base for City. During the shop's launch, there were several visitors shouting "Thaksin fight!" periodically before switching to "Manchester City fight!" However, among the fans was a group of ladies in their 40s who didn't recognise Dietmar Hamann and Kasper Schmeichel when they entered the room and continued to shout "Thaksin Fight! Fight!" in Thai, so, it was uncertain if these people were die-hard fans of City or of Thaksin.

At the end of the press conference, Thaksin sat along with Eriksson and City players to sign autographs for fans. Despite the presence of stars such as Hamann and Schmeichel, Thaksin was the magnet of the event. He was crowded by Thai fans and was the last to leave.

The publicity stunt suggests a thing or two for Thaksin's efforts to boost the club's popularity in Thailand. Perhaps Manchester City could build up a Thai fan base from Thaksin's hard-core fans.

The large crowd at yesterday's event with Thaksin was in stark contrast to the small gathering of fans - less than 10 - who greeted the team upon their arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the team encountered a big crowd of teenage girls waiting in the lobby. At first, the hotel staff thought that they were Man City groupies, but none of the girls recognised the players when they entered the lobby.

It was later found out that these young girls were waiting to catch a glimpse of South Korean boy band FT Island, who were having lunch at the same hotel.