Official Premier League 2010/11 thread

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I hate international breaks.

[Emperor DC]

Hicks and Gillett have lost it.

They are seeking $1.6 billion in damages and have apparently got an injunction to stop the sale of the club.

[Lineker]

A Texas court has granted a temporary restraining order stopping the sale of Liverpool Football Club, owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have claimed.

It comes hours after the American pair saw their challenge against the club's sale thrown out by the High Court.

Hicks and Gillett issued a statement as the Liverpool board met to ratify the sale to New England Sports Ventures.

The American duo described the proposed £300m sale as "an epic swindle" and are seeking more than £1bn in damages.

Hicks claims the injunction prevents Liverpool executing the sale of the club to NESV, with a hearing date of 25 October set.

It was not immediately clear what jurisdiction the order has over the Liverpool board.

The legal action in Texas - signed by Judge Jim Jordan of the 160th District Court in Dallas - is "part of a lawsuit filed against Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow, Ian Ayre, NESV and Philip Nash" read a statement.

"The lawsuit also seeks temporary and permanent injunctions, and damages totalling approximately $1.6 billion (more than £1 billion).

"The suit lays out the defendants' "epic swindle" in which they conspired to devise and execute a scheme to sell LFC to NESV at a price they know to be hundreds of millions of dollars below true market value."

It is the latest twist in the long-running ownership battle at Anfield, one that looked like nearing an end when the High Court ruled against Hicks and Gillett on Wednesday morning.

The unpopular American pair had attempted to oust the boardroom rivals that had sanctioned the sale of the club to NESV, but saw their case ruled against by Mr Justice Floyd.

Speaking as he left the court following that decision, Broughton said: "I am absolutely elated, it's a very important day for our club. This will clear the way for the sale, we will have a board meeting this evening and proceed with the sale.

"It has been an anxious time but we have been confident. But when you go to court you can never be sure."

"The board has to be reconstituted and I can't prejudge what the board is going to say. It would be inappropriate to prejudge what the board may say.

"But the club's going to have a great future. We will re-establish the right basis for the club.

"The acquisition debt that has been plaguing us will be gone, we have a great future. We will get the right owners for the fans."

John W Henry, who heads the NESV consortium, celebrated the High Court verdict through his Twitter account and praised Broughton managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre.

Henry wrote: "Well done Martin, Christian & Ian. Well done RBS. Well done supporters!"

NESV said in a statement that it had a "binding agreement in place with the Board of Liverpool FC".

It went on: "We are ready to move quickly and help create the stability and certainty which the club needs at this time. It is time to return the focus to the club itself and performances on the pitch."

NESV is thought to be offering about £300m for the club, enough to pay back the £240m of loans and £40m of fees owed to Royal Bank of Scotland. Its bid has been accepted in principle by the club.

In recent days, however, another bid materialised, with Singapore billionaire Peter Lim offering £320m in cash for the club and its liabilities. He is also willing to provide £40m in cash to buy players.

Following Wednesday's High Court ruling, Lim issued a statement outlining his plans.

"I welcome the decision of the court," it read. "I hope that when the board is reconstituted tonight that it will not simply ratify a sale to NESV but will consider all the offers before them.

"I am asking the board to run a full and fair process that enables all of the offers to be considered on their merits before the future of the club is decided.

"I have delivered my offer to the board and believe that my ownership represents the best option for the future of the club and its supporters."

American hedge fund Mill Financial has a bid that also pledges to wipe out Liverpool's debts while providing up to £100m to fund a new stadium.

Mill Financial technically controls Gillett's 50% stake after he defaulted on the loan used by the American to fund his part of the leveraged takeover in 2007.

Hicks and Gillett were also warned by Mr Justice Floyd it would be "inappropriate in the circumstances" for them to be granted the right to appeal the High Court's decision.

Keith Oliver, a solicitor acting for Hicks and Gillett, stated: "We are obviously disappointed with the judge's decision. Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett will now be considering their next steps and that will include whether to make an application to the Court of Appeal."

There were chaotic scenes outside the courts in central London, with more than 100 Liverpool fans surrounding Broughton and singing: "We love you, Martin, we do."

Security guards tried and failed to move the crowd blocking the entrance as they broke into the Liverpool anthem You'll Never Walk Alone.

On Tuesday, the judge heard how Hicks had tried to block the sale to NESV last week by removing Purslow and Ayre from the board.

He had then installed his son, Mack, and business associate Lori McCutcheon so he would have control of voting on the board.

But this was in breach of agreements the Americans had signed with the bank when RBS extended its credit facilities.

The RBS loan facility ends on Friday and the bank had applied to the court for the injunction to allow the sale to go ahead and recoup its money.

I'm amazed that they havn't been lynched yet.

Owen Hargreaves is set to make his long-awaited return from injury in Manchester United's Premier League match against West Brom on Saturday.

The 29-year-old midfielder has not started a match since September 2008 because of a chronic knee problem.

"Owen should play some part on Saturday," the player's knee surgeon Dr Richard Steadman told BBC Sport.

"Our physical therapist, Luke O'Brien, has been working very closely with United's coaches on his rehab."

England international Hargreaves underwent surgery on each of his knees at Steadman's clinic in Vail, Colorado, in 2008 and his recovery has been beset by problems.

His last appearance for United came in May, when he played for the final three minutes of the Premier League match against Sunderland.

Hargreaves was expected to be fit for the start of this season but suffered a setback during the summer and had to return to Colorado for further work with Steadman.

The surgeon conceded: "It's been a long road back and there have been some setbacks along the way.

"But I've got a lot of admiration for the way Owen has responded - he's worked very hard and has never given up. Things are looking good for him now."

Hargreaves joined United from Bayern Munich in July 2007 but his last start for the Old Trafford outfit came in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea in September 2008.

Sunderland footballer Anton Ferdinand has been arrested after failing to turn up for a court appearance.

The defender was due before Newcastle magistrates on Monday for sentencing after being convicted of using a mobile phone while driving in July.

The 25-year-old brother of England captain Rio faces a driving ban as he already has nine points on his licence from a previous offence.

The player handed himself in to officers in Newcastle on Wednesday.

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said Mr Ferdinand remained in custody after reporting to the city's Pilgrim Street police station by prior appointment.

Sunderland Football Club claimed the player had not received notification of the court appearance and dismissed the matter as a "misunderstanding".

A spokesman said: "The club is liaising with Northumbria Police in order to resolve this quickly. "

Ferdinand was convicted after being seen using a mobile phone while driving his white Range Rover in Newcastle on 13 July.

He was travelling from his home at Baltic Quays in Gateshead to Newcastle Airport.

The England Under-21 international joined Sunderland from West Ham in August 2008 and has played more than 50 times for the Black Cats.

The case has been adjourned until 27 October.

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Please don't get my hopes up about Hargreaves. Every time that I do it ends up with him suffering another setback. Really hoping he plays some sort of a part at the weekend

[R.W.]

I'm struggling to understand in what way a Texas court has any jurisdication over the matter.

[EddieG]

Hicks' company is based in Texas, that might have something to do with it?

Either way, If this is true, we go into administration, blah blah, we should sue Hicks for damages, over £1bn which oh wait, he hasn't got.

[Crybaby Bunting]

Owen Hargreaves has been on the edge of coming back for a few years now almost every time he's set to play, he picks up a little knock that puts him out for 7 months.

Of course, it could just be diversion tactics, with United wanting to keep a little face about a crippled guy on a long contract.

[DavidMarrio]

Thats what i was trying to figure out as well.

If it was a European Court, I could understand it due to European Law being more important then domestic Law here but a Texas Court it's just stupid. If i cba tomorrow i'm gonna try and find out from one of me lecturers how thats possible but seriously these two are beyond retarded

[therockbox]

Apparently it's because RBS and NESV have dealings in Texas, so they won't go ahead and risk being in contempt of a US court. The holding company Hicks set up to own Liverpool has its headquarters in Texas but is registered in Delaware for tax reasons.

[ONO]

There are definitely loopholes around it which is why the injunction has been given, but even at that they are clearly fighting a losing battle. Might as well just give up unless they want to pay more RBS fees.

Edited October 13, 2010 by ONO

[EddieG]

They won't have to pay RBS any fees, this Friday, RBS is gonna say the club is ours, fuck off.

[Crybaby Bunting]

Technically, RBS owned or not, the club cannot be sold until October 25th as that's when the Texas hearing thingy goes on.

[DavidMarrio]

I'm slightly confused as to if this injunction will affect whether we could get points took off as if we can't legally sell the club as we've been blocked before the RBS deadline then would we still get 9 pts deducted?

[stokeriño]

Potential twist #397:

NESV's deal seemed to be legally binding, but sources suggest that Mill Financial has acquired Tom Hicks' shares having already taken Gillett's holding after he defaulted on a loan payment.

With the group also believed to have bought off Wells Fargo's 25% debt stake, it could now be in pole position to force through a deal.

BBC Radio 5 live's Brian Alexander said: "It looks to me as if Mill Financial - the hedge fund owned by Dwight Schar - have now edged ahead in a three-horse race.

"We have heard from RBS that if Mill have taken not only George Gillett's shares but also Tom Hicks' then they are in pole position to complete a takeover.

"If they repay the £200m to RBS, it puts Mill very much in the driving seat and as a result of that the deal with NESV and John Henry would collapse."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/9091246.stm

A Premier League club owned by a hedge fund? Lovely.

[Dont Fear The Reaper]

I wish the Liverpool shit would end, its really getting boring now

[DavidMarrio]

Seriously don't know what the fuck is going on anymore, why can't Hicks and Gillett just fuck off and make things easy

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Hahahahahahaha Hedge Fund. I choose this one! It's hilarious!

[therockbox]

Hicks & Gillett are claiming that yesterday's board meeting (which they took part in, don't forget) was in contempt of court (even though it was a court ordered board meeting). They want those at the meeting to be jailed until they purge themselves of any contempt.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Bwahahaha. This is just ridiculous. Those two guys have got a screw loose and yet somehow they've ended up in control of multi-million sports clubs.

[therockbox]