Shinawatra's Own Goal

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Former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra [4], has called in the founder of of the U.K-based PR firm, Bell Pottinger [5], Tim Bell [6], to help rebuild his image. Shinawatra, who bought the Manchester City soccer club last year, has infuriated [7] supporters, players and board members by signaling his intent to dump the popular club manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson. Players recently canvassed the possibility of boycotting a promotional tour of Thailand. PR Week reports that Shinawatra relied on a PR campaign to help puff his image when he first bought the club. "Many fans were won over earlier this season by a dizzying round of star signings and Shinawatra clips on You-Tube, including one of him attempting to sing Blue Moon. Shinawatra was soon known as 'Frank Sinatra' by the City fans, a name conjured up by the PR team to soften his image," David Quainton reports.