Liverpool's prospective owners plan to attend Merseyside derby

| Friday October 8, 2010 00:00

New England Sports Ventures, together with the Liverpool board members Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre, are confident of gaining control of the Anfield club within the next week.

Liverpool face their local rivals Everton on 17 October with the manager Roy Hodgson, who has been assured his position is safe following a change of ownership, under pressure for a result following a dreadful start to the season. And members of NESV, owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, have told Broughton, the chairman, they expect to pay a personal visit to the emotive game at Goodison if the deal goes through.

The Liverpool chairman said: 'I would be very surprised if they weren't there, certainly if it has gone through. I think you will find that these are people who will come to the matches.' The current owners, Hicks and Gillett, have rarely been seen at Anfield during their tumultuous three-and-a-half year reign.

Meanwhile, Hicks is determined to fight to hang on to control of the club after refusing to recognise Broughton's authority. Broughton, appointed in April to oversee the sale, revealed this week that Hicks attempted to sack Purslow, the managing director, and Ayr, the commercial director, and install his own people in order to block the NESV deal.

That was blocked by Broughton, who insists Hicks signed agreements not to oppose the sale when the club received an extension to their refinancing deal with Royal Bank of Scotland earlier this year. Hicks and Gillett stand to lose a total of £144m if the NESV deal goes through.

Hicks's New York-based spokesman Mark Semer said that Broughton's claim was disputed by the Americans. 'There were no such undertakings given to Broughton, the board has been legally reconstituted, and the new board does not approve of this proposed transaction,' Semer told Bloomberg News.

After rejecting the attempted coup, which would have seen Hicks's son Mack and Lori McCutcheon, of Hicks Holdings, replace Purslow and Ayre, Broughton continued with the conference call board meeting even though Hicks had put the phone down.

The chairman is confident he and the other two England-based members of the board have acted appropriately but they will not be able to have that confirmed until the issue is thrashed out in court next week.

Hodgson himself has welcomed news of the planned sale. 'It's very positive and of course I'm delighted,' he said. 'It's been going on a long time and I know how hard the board have worked to set things up.

'I know it's not easy for them because the owners have other ideas in terms of the sale of the club and what is achievable. But I was delighted to hear the news and have it confirmed that it looks like it is going to go through.' (Guardian)