Sin City?

A former Thai Prime Minister whose time in charge was dogged by allegations of corruption and conflicts of interest, and a former England manager whose time in charge was dogged by Ulrika Jonsson and repeatedly picking Frank Lampard.

Has that got you excited Manchester City fans? No, I'll doubt it has.

As Thaksin Shinawatra reportedly grows ever nearer his proposed (and long drawn-out) takeover of City, he apparently has made clear to the City board that he sees Sven Goran Eriksson as the man to take the club forward. After of course failing to get Claudio Ranieri. And Juande Ramos. And Ronald Koeman. And Ruud Gullit.

Eriksson, without a job since Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty hit the back of the net in Gelsenkirchen almost a year ago, is reportedly keen on a return to club management, but City? The thought of Eriksson being taken into the hearts of the Eastlands faithful is a bizarre one. City fans love to see passion and fight in their managers, just look at their last two. The most action you see from Eriksson in the dugout is his attempts to occasionally swot a stray wasp.

All this depends of course on Shinawatra's takeover. The ex-Prime Minister tried to buy Liverpool when he was still in power in 2004. Chief Executive Rick Parry and Chairman David Moores even went to meet with him, but the deal was called off when fans raised concerns at Shinawatra's questionable human rights record, and the fact that was planning to use the Thai public's money to finance the takeover.

Three years later and where are the concerns now? Shinawatra was overthrown in a coup a year ago and is now in exile in London. His assets have been frozen and if he returns to Thailand he'll be arrested. Hardly the steady, firm hand that Man City want running the club.

If the odd couple of the Thai and the Swede do eventually take the reins at Eastlands, they will face a huge task. City were desperately poor last season, and the style and success of near neighbours United can't have made things any easier.

Eriksson has a good club record, and if Shinawatra is prepared to give him the time and the funds then he could well finally be the one to turn Manchester City from a 'massive' club into a successful one.

I just can't see it though. It might be a little less glamourous but couldn't City just forget the Thai money, bring in a young, hungry manager like a Paul Jewell or Chris Coleman and move on from there? Sure they'll have less money, but isn't that better than having a wanted criminal as chairman? City and their fans might well be about to discover just what the true price of success is.