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Global domination

Overall the City boss thought the tour to Sweden went very
well and told us: "I think Manchester City has got a lot of new football fans
over there.
"There were six and seven thousand people at our games. It
doesn’t seem a lot if you are talking about the Premier League, but we played in
small places and people came from all over to watch.
"I also think the Club
got a lot of good press in Sweden, which is a good thing."
-mcfc.co.uk

Certainly one thing the takeover and appointment of Eriksson has done is generate a hell of a lot of media interest in the club, and whilst Shinawatra's money is undoubtedly a factor, the presence of Eriksson has surely been a factor in the signings we have made so far this season (and I guess will continue to do so) and it is hard to imagine that Stuart Pearce would have had the same appeal to potential targets, even armed with the cash that Eriksson now has.

It is interesting from the article that we seem to have 'recruited' a few new fans on the back of Eriksson and the short trip the club made to Sweden. The takeover by Shinawatra has undoubtedly raised our profile throughout Asia, and the recent signing on trial of three Thai players will not do any harm whatsoever to our profile (plus of course the interest generated by Sun Jihai).

From this blog I know how much worldwide interest there is in City, and in the modern football world that we exist in we see clubs clamouring to get footholds and a presence around the world (witness tours and games played by Premiership sides in Africa, America and Asia this pre-season) due to the potential riches to be made from these lucrative markets.

Shinawatra has also talked of creating academies and City links throughout the world and this is one area that I'm sure Shinawatra will have an eye on as he looks for a return on the outlay made to gain control of the club.