If you register for free, you will be able to post threads, vote on polls and lots more. If you have problems with the registration or logging in, please contact the administrator.
The Manchester City Thread 2007/08 - No Manager, No Players, No Chairman, No hope
Fixture list up on the official site
Life sucks to be a blue
Quote:
Manchester City remain a club in limbo as the summer of confusion at Eastlands rumbles on.
Any plans for the new season are still on hold while City's future is decided, with much depending on the outcome of former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's bid to buy the club.
Shinawatra is to hold make-or-break talks over his offer for the Blues after it was revealed his bank accounts have been frozen.
But the uncertainty does not stop there - City still need a new manager after Stuart Pearce was sacked on 14 May.
It is unclear how much the new boss will have to spend, but he will have to revamp a squad that only narrowly avoided relegation last season.
BBC Sport catches up with the story of City's summer - and looks at what could happen next at Eastlands.
WHO IS IN THE BOARDROOM NOW?
Lifelong City fan John Wardle made his fortune as the founder of JD Sports and has been Blues chairman since 2003.
He and former business partner David Makin own 29% of City but, after a fruitless search for new investors for the past four years, they are keen to sell up.
The pair are owed £20m by City, and the club is currently in the region of £60m in debt.
Mark Boler (18.75%), BSkyB (9.9%) and Francis Lee (7%+) are the next largest shareholders after Wardle and Makin.
WHO WANTS TO BUY THE CLUB?
Takeover talk was rife at Eastlands all season with Wardle announcing to the Stock Exchange in February that the club was in discussions with potential investors.
Former City full-back Ray Ranson was the first to make a move for City at the end of April, with Shinawatra showing his hand soon after.
An unnamed American consortium has also been mentioned but has remained in the shadows and, when Ranson pulled out of the running on 30 May, Shinawatra took centre-stage.
WHY HAS THE TAKEOVER BEEN DELAYED?
Shinawatra, 57, made a formal bid at the end of May and was granted access to the club's accounts.
But, despite reassurances from Shinawatra's lawyer Noppadon Pattama that all was well, his offer failed to progress.
Talks continued but the whole deal was put in jeopardy on 11 June when Thailand's military government froze £830m of Shinawatra's assets while they investigated him for corruption.
City's officials will meet Shinawatra on Wednesday to discover whether the deal can proceed, and if so, he will then have to pass the Premier League's 'fit and proper person' regulations.
The Thai has promised a transfer kitty of £50m if he does win control.
Wardle has remained silent throughout the process, partly due to regulations regarding takeovers.
But if it all falls through, Wardle will remain at the helm and he promised in April "significant transfer funds" would still be made available to the new manager.
WHO WILL BE CITY'S NEXT BOSS?
City have been without a manager since Stuart Pearce was sacked on 14 May.
Ronald Koeman, Louis van Gaal and Gerald Houllier were the early favourites to replace him but a host of names have been linked with the job since.
The new season is just two months away but any appointment has been delayed by the ongoing Shinawatra takeover bid.
The wait for Shinawatra has cost City their reported main target, former Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri, who was interested in the Eastlands job but was tempted away by Juventus.
Attention has now shifted to Sevilla manager Juande Ramos and former Ajax coach Co Adriaanse, with Blackburn manager Mark Hughes and ex-Fulham boss Chris Coleman also linked to the post.
City suggested on 13 June that an appointment could be made within seven days and City fans are waiting with baited breath.
DAY-TO-DAY AT EASTLANDS
Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh has drawn up the shortlist for the manager's job.
City's players begin pre-season training on 4 July.
The departure of Pearce and his assistant Steve Wigley means reserve-team manager Kenny Jackett and goalkeeping coach Eric Steele are the only recognised senior coaches at the club.
All player contract talks are on hold, with goalkeeper Nicky Weaver and Michael Ball waiting on new deals after beginning negotiations while Pearce was in charge.
The club have not announced their pre-season programme yet but the fixtures have been pencilled in.
One game will be against Shrewsbury as part of the deal that took England Under-21 goalkeeper Joe Hart to Eastlands in May 2006.
Another is believed to be in the Far East.
[b]WHAT IS HAPPENING TO CITY'S SQUAD?
City have seen five members of last season's squad depart - Sylvain Distin, Trevor Sinclair, Hatem Trabelsi, Stephen Jordan and DaMarcus Beasley.
England international midfielder Joey Barton will become the next to leave when he completes his £5.5m move to Newcastle United and there have been no signings so far.
City are not the only Premiership club yet to welcome any new players this summer - Aston Villa, Blackburn, Derby, Everton and Fulham are the others.
But, while their rivals can begin - or continue - their summer recruitment drive, there will be no new arrivals at Eastlands until a new manager is appointed.
06-14-2007, 11:07 AM
The Manchester City Thread 2007/08 - No Manager, No Players, No Chairman, No hope Post #2
The Manchester City Thread 2007/08 - No Manager, No Players, No Chairman, No hope 
Linear Mode
