Always look on the bright side of life. If there’s a moral to Sven Goran Eriksson’s dismissal at Manchester City it surely is that. And that’s not a reference to the fact that the Swede will once again be getting paid (handsomely) for sitting at home for the next two years but rather to the close shave Liverpool had when David Moores came to choosing the buyers of the club.

Tom Hicks and George Gillet have many faults but at least they’re not Thaksin Shinawatra. Even allowing for a disappointing end to the campaign, City’s has been an excellent season and they’ve been starting to show the promise of building a decent side.

Given that he had so little time to prepare, Eriksson did pretty well in getting a side together. His transfers were largely positive, typified by the arrival of Elano, yet he’s also managed to find space for the club’s many young players to keep on developing with Joe Hart – who has gone from being a reserve to a contender for the England shirt – being a prime example.

Yet Shinawatra isn’t happy so after one season he has decided to get rid of Eriksson and look for someone else instead.

It is a pathetic situation but, then again, not one that Liverpool are entirely unfamiliar with: the two Americans did come close to pushing Benitez out of the club. Five months down the line and there are still echoes of their meeting with Jurgen Klinsmann that nearly brought to an end the Spaniard’s stay at Anfield. Indeed, if Benitez is still at Liverpool it is largely down to the fans and the two owners’ realization that if they wanted to restore some semblance of peace with the supporters then they had to back the manager.

The curious thing about this whole affair is that, when City were spending big to sign the likes of Elano, Rolando Bianchi and Martin Petrov, there were Liverpool fans who were looking on enviously. Had a poll been drawn at the time on who the majority would have liked to own Liverpool, whether it was Shinawatra or Hick and Gillet, the answer would have probably been a pretty close call.

Therein lies another significant message: beware what you wish for. The truth is that you don’t get rich owners investing in your club without expecting them to want things to be run their way. That will hold true whether we’re talking about Thaksin Shinawatra, Tom Hicks, George Gillet or DIC.

Welcoming them with open arms just gives them the feeling that they can mess around that little bit more.