Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is shopping for a British premier league football team. Rumours have it that he has an eye on Liverpool after efforts to buy Fulham collapsed last year.
A fanatical soccer fan, he is reportedly keen to set up a training academy for Thai stars. But when he used a soccer analogy to explain his latest cabinet change, many wondered whether he really understood the game - or democratic politics, for that matter. Captain Thaksin has just made his eighth cabinet reshuffle since he came to power three years ago. He claimed it was necessary because ministers, like football players, get tired. Yet eyebrows have been raised not only over the frequent changes but also the reasons.
Any football fan knows you cannot swap a goalkeeper for a striker. But this is what Mr Thaksin has done, claiming a minister can begin working efficiently from day one. It also has been a headache for the ministries, with education having had five ministers in three years. He is now Thailand's longest-serving democratically elected leader and there is a level of government stability - largely because nobody is willing to challenge the captain.
But the opposition Democrats and critics are scratching their heads over the latest changes. The old cliches of 'old wine in a new bottle' and 'musical chairs' were trotted out, with signals that he is struggling to maintain a grip.
As The Nation's editorial said, the Thaksin cabinet 'resembles a town out of the Wild West in the way it goes through trusted deputy PMs. The current tally is 15, counting the seven incumbents'. One opposition MP says no one can remember who has served in which ministry and how many changes have been made. Nor can they remember a leader who has been able to change his players so easily and so often.
The opposition claims the latest shake-up is aimed at deflecting a no-confidence debate; more the actions of a control-freak than a man in charge.