The Leverages Of Power – 4

And so, after a night sleeping on the matter before him, Mr Justice Floyd has granted the injunction sought by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). This required Tom Hicks and George Gillett to effectively restore the board of Liverpool FC to its state before Hicks’ intervention last week, where he tried to sack two of that board’s members and replace them with his own appointees.

Moreover, costs have been awarded against Hicks and Gillett in the matter of the action by RBS. Chairman Martin Broughton is now pushing for a board meeting by this evening in order to facilitate a sale of the club. The consequences for Hicks and Gillett are straightforward: unless they can overturn the decision, Liverpool FC will be sold and they will lose a cool 140 million quid (plus costs).

But, given the soap opera which the Liverpool saga has become, there will be no sympathy whatever on Merseyside for the two owners, and that will include the Blue part of the area as well as the Red. The only unanswered question now appears to be the identity of the new owner – will it still be New England Sports Ventures (NESV), or perhaps Peter Lim from Singapore?

Leveraged buyouts – the end of one, and maybe a vision of what might await Man U. Not good for the game.

[And Mr Justice Floyd has declined to grant an appeal. Sound fellow]