Liverpool D-day: Fans praying for High Court result

Liverpool head for the High Court today, with their fans hoping to see the end of hated owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

The court will determine if the proposed £300million sale of the club to Boston Red Sox owner John W Henry and his New England Sports Ventures can go through or whether Hicks and Gillett can legally block it.

Hundreds of Liverpool fans are expected to descend on the High Court in London on arguably the most pivotal day in their club’s history, with administration and a nine-point penalty still a real threat.

And with experts predicting the court will find in Liverpool’s favour, fans are ready to celebrate Hicks and Gillett’s exit after four turbulent years.

Liverpool enjoyed one victory last night after the Royal Bank of Scotland were successful in obtaining an interim injunction preventing Hicks and Gillett from firing board members who had agreed the sale of the club to NESV.

Mr Justice Floyd will decide whether Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton and the Anfield board had the legal right to accept the buy-out offer from Henry’s New England Sports Ventures (NESV).

Broughton insists he accepted the NESV offer after being given a written undertaking from Hicks and business partner Gillett empowering him to do so, following the restructuring of the Anfield board.

Hicks and Gillett say no such undertaking was given and claim the board had no authority to make such a decision. The Americans each stand to lose an estimated £70m if the case in Court 18 goes against them.

Hicks says the deal with NESV cannot go ahead, not least because he claims he had already sacked two members of the board – managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre.

Hicks tried to replace the pair with his son and a member of his Texas staff, but the injunction obtained by RBS, blocking such a move, has been hailed as a potentially significant victory ahead of today’s key battle.

A statement released by RBS said: “The interim injunction prevents Mr Hicks or Mr Gillett taking any steps to remove or replace Mr Broughton from his position as chairman of the board of the Kop companies or from taking any other steps to appoint or remove any directors from the board of the Kop companies.

“The proceedings tomorrow [Tuesday] represent the continuation of Friday’s proceedings and relates to breach of contract only.”

The Premier League have already approved the sale of Liverpool to NESV and experts expect Mr Justice Floyd to give the deal the go-ahead following today’s hearing.

The worst-case scenario for Liverpool fans is Hicks and Gillett winning the case and providing assurances they have sufficient capital to cover their debts with RBS, ensuring they remained in charge at Anfield.

But the most likely scenario, even if Hicks and Gillette win today, is RBS taking control of the club on Friday, with the two Americans unlikely to raise enough money to clear their debt.

That could see Liverpool plunged into administration and facing the threat of a nine-point deduction from the Premier League, although RBS would most likely sell the club straight to NESV.

RBS have indicated it is unlikely to press ahead with administration, even if any appeal is not heard before Friday’s deadline for refinancing their £237m loans.

Any delay could open the way for other parties to bid for Liverpool, with a mystery Asian consortium said to be watching developments closely and ready to enter the bidding process should the deal involving NESV collapse.

There were also reports last night that Peter Lim, a Singapore billionaire, was ready to approach Liverpool’s board with a view to outbidiing NESV.

But it is understood the Liverpool board, having signed a deal in principle with Henry last week and the severity of the current crisis at the club, are keen to have new owners on board as soon as possible.

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