Hicks & Gellitt lose court battle

The High Court has granted injunctions that could open the way for the prompt sale of Liverpool.
The club's owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett asked a judge to delay the hearing of an application by creditors Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for mandatory orders paving the way for a possible sale this week.

But the plea was rejected by Mr Justice Floyd, sitting at the High Court in London.

At RBS's request, the judge imposed injunctions on the two men requiring them to restore the original constitutions of the companies and managing directors.

This removes the final stumbling block to a £300million takeover by New England Sports Ventures (NESV), which will see the RBS recoup its original £237million loan to Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett when they bought the club in March 2007.

Mr Justice Floyd rejected applications by the owners for an injunction to halt the sale negotiations until they had attended a board meeting and there be further discussions over any sale agreement.

"I am not prepared to grant any relief," he said. "If I did it would risk stopping the sale and purchase agreement going ahead."

He said this would result in potential serious damage to the club and RBS.

Yesterday the judge heard Hicks had tried to block the NESV deal last week by removing managing director Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre from the board of the Liverpool Football Club companies.

He had then installed his son, Mack, and business associate Lori McCutcheon so that he had control of voting on the board before a meeting to decide on which bid to accept for the sale of the club.

But this was in breach of agreements the Americans signed with the bank when RBS extended it 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.

The owners were refused permission to appeal.
The judge said it would be "inappropriate in the circumstances" for him to grant leave, and they would have to apply to the appeal court for permission.

www.sportsroundabout.blogspot.com; www.espnstar.com

"The Special One" keen to sign Zidane

Jose Mourinho is keen to add Zinedine Zidane to his team of coaching staff at Spanish giants Real Madrid.

The Bernabeu legend has won every title possible in club football with the Los Merengues and has been focusing on his role as advisor to club president Florentino Perez this term.

The three-time world player of the year has attracted the attention of Mourinho who now wants him to come onboard as a coach.
Speaking to French TV, "I would like to have him more with me and less with the president,' Mourinho, who joined Real during the close season,

"I don't think he wants to become a coach but I would still like to have him with me," said Mourinho.

Can Madrid wrestle the La Liga title away from Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Barcelona side this season?

www.sportsroundabout.blogspot.com

http://www.espnstar.com/football/primera-liga/news/detail/item512873/Mourinho-keen-to-sign-Zidane/

Can Liverpool Keep Hold of Steven Gerrard?

Remember Wednesday 25 May, 2005? Sure you do. It was the day Liverpool beat AC Milan on penalties to lift the Champions League trophy for the fifth time. One of my most lasting memories from that night? Steven Gerrard saying, "How can I think of leaving Liverpool after a night like this?"
That probably produced the biggest smile I had had all evening. And despite some further drama when it seemed like a new contract wouldn't be agreed and that Gerrard would be moving to Chelsea, Liverpool's best player since Kenny Dalglish has been at the club ever since.

There were two main reasons for Gerrard's decisions to stay at Anfield.

Firstly, his love for the club which he had spent his entire career playing for. And second, his belief that the club was moving forwards under Rafa Benitez.

Now fast-forward five and a half years.

Liverpool are languishing in the bottom three of the Premier League and failed to qualify for the Champions League last season. They have been overtaken by Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in terms of ability to attract top players and are reeling after a 1-2 home defeat at the hands of Premier League new boys Blackpool. The future doesn't look quite so bright.

Today the news was released that finally—finally—a deal had been agreed that will signal the end of the Tom Hicks and George Gillett era of the club. This should go through soon, subject to Premier League approval and the end of a surely frivolous legal challenge by the American duo.

Next problem is to turn around the fortunes of the ailing club.

Key to this task will be that man Steven Gerrard.

No one has been more important to Liverpool over the last decade than the England midfielder. Gerrard is one of the very best players in the world and has shown time and time again that he has the ability to singlehandedly pull Liverpool back from the brink of defeat. But this means that he has to stay at the club.
His supreme ability rightly means that he wants to play and compete in the world's best competitions. It is this drive and ambition that almost caused him to leave five years ago. He will also be 31 at the end of the season and the clock is ticking on his illustrious career. He does not have the time to endure a long rebuilding period at Liverpool.

So what do Liverpool need to do to keep hold of their inspirational captain?
They need to do everything they can.
He is the one player the club cannot do without. Not only is he irreplaceable as a player, he is irreplaceable as an icon and as a leader.
In Liverpool's favour, Gerrard undoubtedly loves the club and loves the city. And he knows that he is adored by the Kop. But Liverpool have to show him that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I fully expect—and Liverpool fans demand—an improvement not just to the football that is being played at Anfield but also to the level of commitment being shown by the players. I feel that the end of the ownership saga will help this process.
However, Gerrard doesn't want to be playing for the sixth best team in England.
I don't think Gerrard will expect or demand the club to be challenging for a top four spot this year—although he'll be doing his uppermost to enable that—but I do think he'll expect to see strides made forwards off the pitch to ensure Liverpool's long-term competitiveness.
This means investment in a new stadium and the guarantee that there will be substantial money made available for new players. If this doesn't happen, then I think he'll leave.

And I for one would not deny him the chance to compete for the honours that his dedication and natural ability so richly deserve.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/484375-can-liverpool-football-club-keep-hold-of-steven-gerrard
 

Who's Through and Who's Out at the World Cup?

Group A              Group B           Group C


Uruguay                        Argentina                    USA
Mexico                          South Korea                England
South                           Africa Greece               Slovenia
France                           Nigeria                        Algeria

Group D              Group E              Group F

Germany                        Netherlands                 Paraguay
Ghana                            Japan                          Slovakia
Australia                        Denmark                     New Zealand
Serbia                            Cameroon                   Italy

Group G              Group H

Brazil                             Chile
Portugal                        Spain
Ivory Coast                   Switzerland
Korea DPR                     Honduras

www.sportsroundabout.blogspot.com

Robinho Says GoodBye

via http://www.mcfc.co.uk/
http://www.sportsroundabout.blogspot.com/

Premierleague Match Results

Liverpool     1  -  0   Everton
Bolton         0  -  2   Fulham
Burnley       2  -  1   West Ham
Hull City      2  -  2   Wolves
Man Utd      5  -  0   Portsmouth
Stock City   3  -  0   Blackburn
Sunderland  1  -  1   Wigan Athletics
Tottenham   1  -  1   Aston Villa
www.sportsroundabout.blogspot.com

Liverpool has signed Milan Jovanovic from Standard Liege

The Reds have been tracking the Serbia international, who was also wanted by AC Milan, for quite some time.

The 28-year-old will sign a three-year contract reportedly worth £10million.Intially, Jovanovic had reservations about joining Liverpool as a back-up to Fernando Torres but he was convinced that he will be given a fair chance to be in the first-team next season.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez had wanted to bring in more attacking options during the transfer window but he only managed to bring in Maxi Rodriguez from Atletico Madrid.
This deal to bring in Jovanovic will help to strengthen the striking department and also prove that Benitez's long-term future lies at Anfield.
www.sportsroundabout.blogspot.com
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