Joe Kinnear still ‘keeping the seat warm’ for Geordie Messiah

Press reports today are saying that Kevin Keegan has met with three separate consortiums (consortia?) bidding to take Newcastle Utd away from the evil cockney mafia, all of whom are interested in re-installing him as boss.

A South African group are waiting to have £280m in staged payments accepted, while the Nigerians have offered to put £200m upfront. There is also a third unnamed consortium, who could possibly be the group of Brits currently sniffing around White Hart Lane.

A completely made-up source friend of Keegan’s told The Sun:

“Kevin’s return as manager is a key issue for some of the bidders.

“They want Kevin to be back in charge otherwise they might not continue their interest.”

KK’s return to St James’ Park might not be as smooth as the report suggests, however, as he will not drop the ongoing £8m constructive dismissal battle with the club.

Wigan owner makes humble appraisal of manager

Wigan owner Dave Whelan last night showed he isn’t afraid of beating a man when he is down, by taking a pop at sports retailer arch nemesis Mike Ashley:

“He is a very good retailer, but at managing a football club, no. Especially with him being a Tottenham supporter and then going up to Newcastle, a club that is a different kettle of fish to most in the land.”

He went on to heap praise on Wigan gaffer Steve Bruce, who is currently fifth favourite to take the reins at St James Park. Whelan said he would support Bruce in any career decision, but alluded to the man from the north east being destined for bigger things than the Magpies:

“One day he will get a big-four job - I realise that, and I think the whole country realises he is one of the best four managers in the world.”

Does the whole country realise that? Yes, he helped Birmingham get promoted twice and kept Wigan away from the danger zone last season, but does he deserve to sit among the Mourinhos and Fergusons of the game?

If you have any thoughts on Whelan’s comments, or know who take up the other three spots in the top managers list, let us know with a comment below.

Shinawatra’s best friend didn’t get the memo

Just a few days ago, City executive chairman Garry Cook was boasting about how Manchester City will be more popular than Coca-Cola around the world, thanks to the ten year plan of a disgraced former Thai Prime Minister. He also assured us that the Citizens were financially stable and uninterested in attracting additional investors:

“I was in Beijing last week,” began Cook, “sitting with [Thaksin Shinawatra] and the second richest man in China and other guys. They all want to be part of Manchester City. I’ve had representatives of companies from Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait on. Some of those representatives have actually phoned the supporters’ club because they couldn’t find the club number. So I get the supporters’ club secretary saying to me, ‘So the club is for sale, then, because I’ve got Anwar on the phone from Saudi Arabia?’ This club is not for sale.”

The man who wants a break-away league of 10-14 clubs obviously wasn’t kept in the loop on this one…

[Quote: The Guardian]

And the biggest transfer deal of the day is…

Things start looking good for Manchester City on the pitch, but there’s a right old kerfuffle going on behind the scenes at eastlands. According to Sky Sports, Thaksin Shinawatra agreed a deal last night to sell the club to the Abu Dhabi United Group for Development.

Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim, the chief executive of Hydra Properties, will represent the new owners on the board:

“We will release details later, but this is a great event for both the club and Abu Dhabi. Our goal is very simple - to make Manchester City the biggest club in the Premier League, and to begin with, to finish in the top four this season.”

So, just months after Shinawatra sacked Sven Goran Eriksson for failing to meet his ridiculous expectations, along comes a new owner with even tougher targets. Is this good news for Manchester City? Will Garry Cook continue to defend his favourite disgraced Thai? Let us know with a comment below.

Former Thai PM has a semi-ironic educational past

Thaksin Shinawatra (the gentleman who broke the terms of his bail by attending the Olympics, and who is seeking in asylum in Britain in order to escape the arrest warrant issued by the Thailand Supreme Court) is often referred to as ‘Dr Thaksin Shinawatra’. This is because he received a doctorate from the Sam Houston State University in Texas in 1978. The subject of said doctorate and also his masters degree? Criminal Justice.

We get the lowdown on the Magpies’ potential new saviour

Despite Newcastle insisting that giving up complete control of Newcastle United would not appeal to Mike Ashley, rumours are rife of a takeover by Mumbai-born businessman named Anil Ambani. Like most of the new school of Premier League owners, Ambani has no history in sport, but his links to the hugely expanding Indian market and reported willingness to sink £150m into the Toon could prove very fruitful.

Here’s what we know about Mr Ambani:

* According to Forbes magazine’s 2008 Billionaire list, Ambani is has a net worth of around $42bn (£21.5bn), making him the sixth richest man in the world, behind filthy rich folksfolks like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. That gives him nearly double the spending power of Roman Abramovich (worth a measly $12bn) and streets ahead of Mike Ashley (whose empire is worth a pitiful £1.4bn).

* In 2003 he beat Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar to become MTV’s Youth Icon of the Year. “Young people are the future of our nation and they give me the strength to carry forward the vision of my late father, Dhirubhai Ambani, of making India a successful and super reliant power house,” he gushed at the time.

* His aforementioned father founded conglomerate Reliance Industries back