WELCOME WIN AWAY AT BOLTON

In a battling display by Roy Hodgson's Liverpool as we eventualy emerged victorious thanks to a good finish by Maxi Rodrigues thanks to a clever back-heel by Fernando Torres.
It was a very welcome 3 points in which we kept a clean sheet and despite lacking quality at times,we managed to gain 3 precious points to move us up to joint tenth in the table and out of the relegation-zone at last.
Hodgson said: "If we had come into this game in a different position in the league table and with a few wins behind us, I think we would have settled down and been a bit more relaxed. As it is we are affected by the table and the fact we have started so badly."

He added: "We have been rightly criticised for starting so badly and when that happens one of the things that goes out of the window is composure and confidence.
"I have been as devastated as everyone has by the lack of results but I have never stopped believing that work would pay dividends. It is just a question of timescales. I am still not convinced it is going to pay dividends in a short timescale, it is going to be a longer job.
"It is still too early to be too optimistic but at least it is a step in the right direction.
"The players now know they have got the ability to dig in, even in games like this, which is a good thing to know. It is nice to see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel."
I think we need a controlling midfielder at the heart of the Liverpool team.
Stevie G is a great player, Meirles is also a good aquisition butwe really need a top-quality, holding midfielder who will take the ball from Reina or the back-four and turn it into a defence-splitting pass.
Still, a win is a win, onwards and upwards.

WELCOME WORDS FROM NEW OWNER JOHN HENRY

Welcome and reassuring words today from our new owner John W Henry regarding the future direction our club is going to take under NESV's reign at Anfield.
In a bid to stop all the rubbish reported in the media all week that the club was about to lose Reina and Torres and that New England Sports Ventures were not going to invest much money in the club for new, top-quality players, Henry said:
“Stories about our top players leaving are destructive and unwarranted but we realise that this kind of speculation is also common.

“We intend to build on the strength of the current squad, not undermine it. And I can reassure our supporters that we have no intention of allowing the team to be weakened going forward.”
Hodgson, in an exclusive interview with the ECHO, today spoke at length about his plans for the forthcoming transfer window.
He pointed out that while he is determined to bring players in, he will not allow the club to be held to ransom and that is a view with which Henry concurs.
“As everyone knows we are new to English football, but not to sport, and we are studying all options,” said Henry. “Opportunities and value will drive spending in January and in the future.
“Our clear focus from day one of our ownership has been – and will be – to improve the club and focus on what it will take to put Liverpool FC consistently in a position to challenge for trophies.
“We intend to build this club the right way.”
Great news Mr. Henry, we badly need a quality striker to help support Fernando Torres and stand in for him when injured and it looks like you are the man to pay for a top-drawer forward this January.
All eyes on the January transfer-window then, when, hopefully, we will bring in a top forward such as Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez, who we almost signed in the Summer but now look likely to sign in January.
So an all-important victory is a must against at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday against Owen Coyles' Bolton.
If we play with the attacking verve we showed against Blackburn last Sunday, then I am sure we will win and move up the League.

Verdict: Bolton 1 Liverpool 3 

EVEN IF WE WIN TOMORROW WE ARE STILL IN THE RELEGATION ZONE

After today's results in the Premier League, Liverpool face into a game against Blackburn Rovers today at Anfield, knowing that a must-win game will see us stay in 18th, even if we win it.
Poor consolation for the Reds, but win it we must, just to keep in touch with all those teams above us, the Fulham's, Wigan's and Stoke's of this world!
Roy Hodgson will send out his percieved first-choice eleven today expecting a win.
Steven Gerrard, Raul Meireles and Fernando Torres will all return in the starting line-up for this game which we will win 3-1, I cautioustly predict as the team in finally forgetting 6 years of Rafa's tactics to begin to play under new-man Hodgson's approach.
Rumours of Torres, Reina and Johnson wanting to leave are just that, rumours.
Fernando Torres, it is reported, has lost faith in Hodgson, well Torres hasn't exactly been pulling up trees with his perfomances so far this season, has he?
Pepe Reina has been one of the best goal-keepers we ever had at Anfield and I hope he doesn't want to go.
Glen Johnson, I would happily sell at the highest price as young Martin Kelly has proven he is worth his place in the first-team this season.

BE MORE POSITIVE ROY

Under pressure Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has been commenting on the possibility of Fernando Torres possibly leaving the club:
"There will always be speculation. When a great player like Wayne Rooney is looking to leave his club, Manchester United will be in a position to target a lot of players around the world.

"I don't think Fernando Torres will be the only striker they target, and I don't think that we will be the only club that will be worried their striker can be targeted.
"I am not naive to believe there won't be any danger and we will never lose a player like Torres, I understand these things can happen."
Hardly the words we want to hear from a Liverpool manager Roy,
you should be clearly stating that Torres is not for sale at any price, as you did when you arrived at the club this Summer.
Also, leaving Torres, Gerrard and Meireles out of the Europa League squad is hardly likely to inspire confidence among the ranks.
Bring your strongest squad to Naples, put some of the stars on the bench and bring them on after an hour, if need be.
After all, a defeat to Napoli will not help confidence going into the game against Blackburn Rovers at Anfield on Sunday.
Be positive Roy.

HICKS THE SWINDLER HAS BEEN SWINDLED OUT OF LIVERPOOL, AT LAST

Tom Hicks in an interview tonight has tried to portray himself as the fall-guy, the innocent victum of a protracted sale to new owners NESV. "This was a very valuable asset that was swindled away from me, my family are very upset." he claimed.
Has he forgot that he himself swindled Liverpool FC to the tune of £240 million to buy the club in the first place?
Or that he swindled the club out of £30 to £40 million pounds a year in interest payments on that loan which nearly brought Liverpool to its knees and into administration and virtual collapse?
He blames Rafael Benitez, the manager he gave a bumper 5 year contract last season as the reason for the malaise at the club.
"Rafa lost the club. We didn't finish at the top – that's not the fault of the owners, we spent good money. Rafa has to take accountability for his own results. When we finished second the year before, people weren't nearly as angry.

"Liverpool fans are just unbelievably strong supporters and they want to win. I'm not a novice, I've been in sport for almost 15 years. Whether it's hockey or baseball in the US or soccer fans in Liverpool, people want to win."
Hicks also alleges that chairman Martin Broughton and the other independent directors were part of "an organised conspiracy" against him and hit out at protesting supporters, whose "internet terrorism" he claims deterred wealthy would-be buyers.
He added: "The process was continually frustrated by chatter about financial distress coming out of RBS. The interested buyers that we knew would be the right type of buyers for the club.
"Look what's happened to Manchester City now with their new ownership – that's the kind of buyer we were trying to find for Liverpool.
"And those people were scared off by the distress chatter and the organised internet terrorism campaign that was directed against people involved.
"I just want the truth to come out in the courts. Our desire was to get Liverpool into the hands of an owner who would be able to build a stadium and make Liverpool the top club in the world they deserve to be."
The truth Mr Hicks is you are finished with you and your lies and you wont swindle £1 billion out of LFC in 'damages'.

BROUGHTON HOPEFUL OF VICTORY BY TOMORROW

Liverpool's English Board of Directors have tonight stated their delight at the decision of the High Court to order Hicks and Gillette to drop their lawsuit against Broughton, Purslow, Ayre and NESV.
The nasty duo have until 4pm tomorrow to do so.
If they fail to suspend the suit, they will be found in contempt of court in the UK.
LFC issued a statement this evening:

"The Independent Directors of Liverpool Football Club are delighted with the verdict of Mr. Justice Floyd in the High Court this afternoon which now requires Mr. Hicks and Mr. Gillett to withdraw their Texas Restraining Order by 4pm tomorrow.

We are glad to have taken another important step towards completing the sale process."

Hicks & Gillette were in court in Dallas again this evening. It is unclear as yet as to what was said at that sitting but it is believed that NESV and LFC have made representations at this court case.
The Dallas court, presided over by Judge Jordan has adjorned for this evening and will resume at 1pm GMT.

HICKS SEEKING $1.6 BILLION IN DAMAGES!

That Tom Hicks simply will not go away.

Associated Press claim that Hicks & Gillette have obtained a restraining order in a Texas court, blocking the sale of Liverpool FC to NESV by Martin Broughton following today's London High Court ruling that a sale could take place.
Hicks and Gillette claim the sale is "an epic swindle and undervalues the club by hundreds of millions of pounds."
They only 'paid' Rick Parry £230 million for our club 3 years ago so thats another lie.

Hicks is also claiming $1.6 billion in damages for his percieved loss of revenue from the impending sale of the club to John Henry.

The Liverpool board plus Mr. Henry are locked in negotiations since 8pm this evening (Tue).

Let us hope they succeed, lets also hope that hated Hicks looses out again.

LIVERPOOL FC STATEMENT

Following the successful conclusion of High Court proceedings today, the Boards of Directors of Kop Football and Kop Holdings met tonight and resolved to complete the sale of Liverpool FC to New England Sports Ventures.
Regretably, Thomas Hicks and George Gillett have tonight obtained a Temporary Restraining Order from a Texas District Court against the independent directors, Royal Bank of Scotland PLC and NESV to prevent the transaction being completed.
The independent directors consider the restraining order to be unwarranted and damaging and will move as swiftly as possible to seek to have it removed.
A further statement will be made in due course
Please leave a comment, I am doing my best to keep you all informed of the latest goings on at LFC

NESV WILL WANT COMPENSATION IF DEAL IS NOT APPROVED

It has emerged tonight that John W Henry will demand tens of millions of pounds if his deal is not rubber-stamped by the Liverpool board.

NESV insisted that it would defend its deal with the club and could sue for “tens of millions in damages” should it collapse through administration, the board deciding to sell to another bidder, or Hicks and Gillette being granted an injunction to prevent the sale.

“These could result in very substantial damages running into tens of millions of pounds,” said David Chivers QC, acting for NESV.

Hardly the sort of utterances we need to hear from our possible new owners, looking to sue the club before they even get to own it.
It casts John Henry's takeover in a bad light before they even begin to run our club.
Let us hope that they are not another hard-balled owner of the club who are out to make a fast buck on Liverpool FC.
In any event, it is believed that the Liverpool board sanctioned the approval of their bid last week and that contracts may have been signed with NESV for the sale of the club.
Things are changing minute by minute so I really don't know whats going to happen next.
Nice to see RBS respond to our email campaigns to get rid of Hicks & Gillette.

HENRY'S WALKOUT THREAT JUST A STALLING TACTIC TO OWNERSHIP

Prospective new owners of Liverpool FC, NESV have apparently said that they will walk away from the deal if RBS puts the club into administration and the club are deducted 9 points by the Premier League as a result.

New England Sports Ventures, headed by businessman John W Henry had a £300 million offer accepted by Liverpool's board last week.
But as we all know, the validity of the sale is going to the High Court on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Tom Hicks refuses to go down without a fight, the low-life mongrel.
Chairman of the Liverpool, Martin Broughton and Board Member, Christian Purslow have both been quoted as saying they were extremely confident that the courts will approve the sale as they believe that Hicks gave RBS an undertaking in April not to block any sale of the club.
However, if the NESV bid is blocked by the High Court in London, then it appears that the club will go into receivership by RBS on Friday.
If and its a very big if, RBS do call in the debt then Liverpool FC will be deducted the 9 point penalty that will be imposed upon it.
I don't believe that this will happen.
I hope that the court finds in Liverpool FC's favour and allows John W Henry to take ownership of the club.
The rumours of NESV withdrawing their bid maybe just a method of putting pressure on the bank to allow for due legal process to take its course, in the event of an appeal by either side.
Or, if it turns out to be true, then maybe these prospective new owners are not the right candidates for the job.
Lets hope Broughton and Liverpool defeat Hicks and bring to an end to his sad reign and thus usher in a new era at Anfield.
We have suffered for long enough.  

WHY NOT RE-SIGN ROBBIE KEANE ON LOAN ROY?

Here is a possible solution to Roy Hodgson's striking dilemmas for Roy Hodgson in the January.

Get Robbie Keane on loan from Tottenham Hotspur on loan for the rest of the season.

Controversial, I know, but the Spurs and Ireland forward is never short of goals either for club or country, having just scored his 45th against Russia tonight from the penalty spot.

The Irishman is infectious in his attitude, application and dedication and weighed in with 4 goals for Liverpool in his previous ill-fated move to Anfield under Rafa Benitez.

However, under new Manager, Roy Hodgson, he could be the perfect foil for Fernando Torres.

The fact that we have a new Manager and soon, a new regime at Liverpool, ought to be enough to convince the Irishman to finish some unfinished business at Liverpool.

If I were you Roy Hodgson, I would definitely make a move for the out of favour Tottenham striker in January.

TWO NEW BIDS FOR LIVERPOOL

Liverpool FC Statement

"The Board of Directors have received two excellent financial offers to buy the Club that would repay all its long-term debt.
A Board meeting was called today to review these bids and approve a sale. Shortly prior to the meeting, the owners - Tom Hicks and George Gillett - sought to remove Managing Director Christian Purslow and Commercial Director Ian Ayre from the Board, seeking to replace them with Mack Hicks and Lori Kay McCutcheon.
This matter is now subject to legal review and a further announcement will be made in due course.
Meanwhile Martin Broughton, Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre continue to explore every possible route to achieving a sale of the Club at the earliest opportunity."
Dramatic days at Anfield, those effing Yanks will try to stop at nothing to hold on to our club, lets hope the courts over-rules the bastards and we get rid of them once and for all.
It is rumoured that one of the bidders is the owner of NLB's Boston Redsoxs, John W Henry.
I know nothing about him, as yet, but another American owner is the last thing we need.
The other bidder is believed to be from Asia/China.
One thing is certain, the board members Broughton, Pulson and Nash are determined to rid Liverpool FC of Hicks and Gillette.
Keep it up men!

ROY, PLAY JOVANOVIC UPFRONT

A message to Roy Hodgson in an effort to rediscover our firepower in font of goal.

Start Milan Jovanovic upfront.

The 29 year-old Serbian has a very good goal-scoring record as a striker with his former club Standard Liege with 69 goals in 153 appearances for the Belgian side.

Indeed, he was named Belgian player of the year in 2008 and won the Belgian Golden Boot award in 2009 with 16 goals in 29 games.

With Fernando Torres injured again with a groin strain and David Ngog not able to cut it in the Premiership as yet, if I were Roy Hodgson, under as much pressure as he is, I would definitely start Milan in the Merseyside derby on Sunday-week.

Did you see how well he put away his goal against Northampton Town in the League Cup defeat ?
It was very well-taken and there is much more to come from the Serbian International, if he is given the right opportunity.
As an out and out forward, he has the physical presence to unsettle defenders and he has a proven eye for goal both for club and country.
So Roy, you have got nothing left to lose at this stage, give the man a run up forward and see if he can turn our club's fortunes around.

HELP IN THE CAMPAIGN TO GET THE YANKS OUT OF LIVERPOOL

ONLY DAYS TO GO

With the end of the RBS loan deals coming this month, it is very important that every Liverpool fan make their voice heard in every way possible.
This includes becoming a member of Spirit of Shankly or other protest movements to get rid of Hicks and Gillette for once and for all.

I realise many of you will already have done something meaningful to help save our club but for the few of you remaining, I would urge you to click on the following link to RBS, then click on the Contact Us link and voice your disquiet and anger directly to the bank, I did.

RBS homepage

LIVERPOL EARN DRAW IN HOLLAND

Roy Hodgson's Liverpool came away from Utrecht with a 0-0 draw to top their Europa League Group K.

Liverpool started brightly with plenty of good passing and interplay in their opponents half.

Meireles had the first shot on target which the Utrect keeper dropped down to save.
Liverpool continued to have much of the play throughout and had 10 shots, of which, 7 were saved.

The positives were that we controlled much of the game and showed some nice moves, especially in the first-half.

A goal by Wootens was disallowed on 27 mins by the referee for a foul on a Liverpool defender and it was the nearest the home team had come to a goal.

Torres had a curling shot that went just wide on 32 mins as the great man tries to get back to his awesome best.

And so the game ebbed and flowed, neither side could make the breakthrough.
 El Nino had two glorious chances in the second-half to win it for Liverpool, the first a shot he sent over the bar and the second a shot at the near post which was parried by the Utrecht goalkeeper.
The tiring and ineffectual Joe Cole was replaced by Maxi who had two shots on goal when he was on.

Still, an away draw in Holland is a satisfactory result and while its not completely overwhelming, its good to see us keep a clean sheet away from home.
The draw leaves us top of the group on 4 points ahead of Napoli and Utrect on 2 points and Steau Beaucharest on 1.