Man City banks on Thai owner having enough to go round

The former premier skips bail, seeks exile in Britain and boasts of millions to spare Thaksin Shinawatra has never spared much expense when it comes to two of the loves of his life: beef noodles and designer labels. Whenever word reached him of a reputable new noodle joint in his native Thailand, the former prime minister would pay a visit. His penchant for the brands was just the same: some of his advisers winced when he once showed up at a poor village in north-west Thailand with an Italian Fendi towel on show. Bangkok's beef noodle outlets are off-limits for the foreseeable future, though, after Thaksin's decision to skip bail and seek exile in Britain last Sunday with the corruption case against him going pear-shaped (from his point of view, at least). What Manchester City football fans – and their manager Mark Hughes –... [read full story]