The calendar has not been turned back several months and today is not April 1. The owner of the Boston Red Sox, New England Sports Ventures, has apparently won a bid to purchase Liverpool FC despite opposition from the current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Hicks and Gillett are in default on some 200 million pounds to the Royal Bank of Scotland and have been unable to refinance the debt.
The sale is likely to be the subject of protracted legal wrangling before it's finalized. The board of the club accepted the offer from NESV only after an attempt by Hicks and Gillett to remove the board members in favor of the sale. The Chairman of the Liverpool board, who Hicks tried to sack, is confident the sale will be completed next week, however, Hicks and Gillett have promised to take the whole matter to court. The battle over the ultimate ownership of the club should be one of the more entertaining legal battles to follow, if you're not a Liverpool fan, this side of the McCourts divorce proceeding.
