Thaksin buys his support

It was his first visit back to the City of Manchester Stadium since fleeing this country, where he faces corruption charges. His team didn't let him down. City defeated 10-man West Ham 3-0.

"Thaksin picks a good day to return as City thump toothless Hammers," the Guardian said.

"City put on Sunday best for troubled Thaksin," was the Daily Express headline.

At first, Thaksin was not going to attend. Chief executive Garry Cook noted threats to Thaksin's life.

But the owner changed his mind after a security meeting and, as well as his usual phalanx of bodyguards, he brought with him block-booked supporters from Bangkok, the Guardian reported.

Naturally, this group was in a strategic position to be caught by the television cameras and, after every goal, a banner was lifted proclaiming: "We support Thaksin."

One day before the "slick and entertaining" match kicked off, Thaksin had offered to resign from the board, citing embarrassment about indignity brought on the club and the Premier League.

The troubled owner dare not fly to Denmark to watch his team play FC Midtjylland in qualifying for the Uefa Cup on Thursday for fear of being extradited to Thailand.

Thaksin's biggest problem remains, however. Yesterday Bt76 billion of his assets in Thailand became the subject of a court action for seizure.

This could add to the club's cash-flow problems.

But, help may be at hand. An Arab consortium expressed interest in buying a significant minority stake.

Cook was reportedly talking to the second richest man in China about taking over, before denying yesterday Thaksin had any intention of selling up.

"I asked the question as well as everyone else - 'is the club for sale?' and he is quite adamant this club is not for sale and he is here for the long haul," Cook said.

However, on Thaksin's "good day" there was one bad thing, too.

Daily Express reported that despite the presence of several hundred Thai fans wearing "I support Thaksin" T-shirts, the troubled owner would not have been too pleased with the number of empty seats. With just 36,365 full, it was the lowest league crowd since City moved to their new stadium five years ago.