Manchester City backs 81.6 mln stg Thaksin bid

LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) Manchester City said today the Premier League club were backing an 81.6 million pound (162.6 million dollars) takeover bid led by ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

City said its board intended to recommend the bid from UK Sports Investments, a vehicle indirectly controlled by Thaksin and his son and daughter, Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra.

The move came hours after Thaksin, who has been based in London since being ousted in a bloodless coup in September, was formally charged with ''official misconduct'' over a property deal involving his wife.

Commenting on the board's response to his offer, Thaksin said in a statement: ''We share a determination to take the club back to its rightful place at the highest level of competition in both the FA Premier League and European football.

''I am in no doubt of the responsibility associated with leading Manchester City and pledge to the fans, players and staff my utmost commitment to the future success of this great club.'' However, Thai analysts said the bid had just as much to do with the former telecommunications tycoon maintaining a high profile with a soccer-mad public back home, where few believe his stated desire to retire from politics.

''One certain thing is that from a public relations point of view, having a football club is probably better than having an election rally,'' Bangkok-based business consultant Christopher Bruton said.

''People watch football, there's a lot of interest in football, and one very good way to get yourself on the TV screens is to be the proud owner of a football club.'' SVEN COMING BACK? A successful bid is widely expected to see the appointment of former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson as manager, taking over the vacancy after Stuart Pearce was sacked last month.

The Swede has been out of the game since stepping down after last year's World Cup, where England made a quarter-final exit on penalties to Portugal.

There was set to be a mixed response from City fans.

Alan Galley, chairman of the Manchester City Supporters Club, welcomed the Thaksin bid, telling Sky Sports News: ''The club's been drifting for a long, long time and we need to make progress.

''We've got nothing sorted out at the moment -- no pre-season, no nothing. Some of the players have left and there's nobody coming in,'' he said. ''We can see light at the end of the tunnel.'' Galley was less sure about Eriksson's reception, saying: ''He may not be a popular choice among the rank and file fans. It may be that he will have to get everything right first time.'' Now a lacklustre Premier League club, City's golden years spanned the late 1960s to the late 1970s, when they were league champions (1968) and winners of the FA Cup (1969), League Cup (1970, 1976) and European Cup Winners Cup (1970).

Galley also expressed reservations about what would happen if Thaksin's problems in Thailand were to mount.

Though 1.5 billion dollars in Thaksin family bank accounts were frozen by Thai authorities last week, today's filing at the Supreme Court is the first formal legal action taken against him since the coup.

Judges are expected to rule on July 10 whether to proceed with the charges. If convicted, Thaksin could face up to 10 years in jail and a fine.

The 81.6 million price tag for City includes 40 pence each for the club's shares and 60 million pounds of debt. UK Sports Investments currently controls around 56 per cent of the shares.

REUTERS BJR BD1755