Home shirt as worn when the side finished 9th in the Premier League under new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. The season started with the club being taken over by Thai businessman Thaksin Shinawatra. The new owner immediately invested in new blood for the City squad which had spent the past few seasons in and around the relegation zone with almost £30m spent on the signings of Rolando Bianchi, Gélson Fernandes, Geovanni, Martin Petrov, Vedran Ćorluka, Javier Garrido, Valeri Bojinov, Felipe Caicedo, Benjani, and Brazilian midfielder Elano. This new influx of talent saw City rise up the table, with the side starting well and remaining in the top 3 until November. Indifferent form around December and January saw the Cityzens start to fall down the table and the new owner made the decision to sack Eriksson at the end of the season, a decision which was met with dismay by City fans and players alike. The season culminated in an 8-1 loss to Middlesbrough on the last day of the season, seen by many City fans as a protest by the players to the imminent sacking of the popular Swedish manager as Mark Hughes was already lined up to replace him