From 2001-06, Thaksin Shinawatra was prime minister of Thailand.  As I'm sure you all know, Thaksin was overthrown in a peaceful military coup last autumn.  So he did what any deposed world leader does: he bought himself a Premiership soccer team — specifically, Manchester City.

Thaksin's early moves indicate that he's dedicated to returning Man City to respectability in the EPL… you know, just as long as those accusations of human rights violations don't stick.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) claims Thaksin is "a human rights abuser of the worst kind" and should not have passed the League's 'fit and proper person' test… Amnesty International shares many of HRW's concerns and their spokesperson told BBC Sport: "Thaksin did preside over some very serious human rights violations."

The allegations include claims that Thaksin ordered "extrajudicial killings" of drug dealers (resulting in 2500 deaths in a 3-month span of 2003), suppressed the media, and granted the military excessive force in quieting an insurgency. 

In other words, Thaksin is slightly less sinister than Jerry Jones, and a much better human being than Clay Bennett.

[The Offside]