LIVERPOOL'S owners finally had their day in court - and put up a more spirited defence than their team have all season. Tom Hicks and George Gillett might be drowning in a sea of debt but are determined to go down fighting.
There was no sign of the dynamic duo at London's Royal Courts of Justice as the legal battle for ownership of football's fading giants got underway.
With dozens of Scousers singing their angry songs for the TV cameras, it was probably a good job the defaulting owners stayed on their side of the Atlantic.
But they would have been proud of the way their legal representatives took the fight to their bitter rivals in the Gothic surroundings of Court 16.
And in a hearing which was scheduled to last for two hours, the barristers, QCs and solicitors managed to drag it out all day.
It was extra-time we could have done without, with the exception of Lord Grabiner QC.
The lawyer representing Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton is on £3,000 per hour.
For that kind of money, Broughton could have employed Fernando Torres himself.
Not that the out-of-sorts Spaniard could have launched as many attacks as the good Lord.
For three hours he sat in virtual silence as Hicks' and Gillett's lawyers engaged in delaying tactics which merited a yellow card for timewasting.
They were given a virtual free ride by Richard Snowden, the QC presenting the case for the Royal Bank of Scotland... badly.
The claims and counter-claims were interminable as one poor sod in a red jumper quietly fell asleep in the public gallery.
By the time Lord Grabiner took the floor we were all losing our thirst for justice.
But the balding barrister saved the day with a series of lightning thrusts to leave Hicks' team on the deck.
The Americans' defence to charges of breach of contract was they had no choice but to change the board of directors despite assurances to RBS to the contrary. They argued they had been deliberately sidelined in the sale process.
And they claimed they were unlawfully excluded from the October 5 board meeting when the club accepted the £300million takeover over from Boston Red Sox owner John Henry and his NESV group.
But Lord Grabiner insisted: "Hicks and Gillett were notified of the meeting but refused to attend.
"They chose not to participate and sought to adjourn the meeting for a week because they knew the NESV offer was timed to expire on October 5. It was slippery behaviour to say the very least."
Now it is down to Mr Justice Floyd to make his judgment at 10.30 this morning.
If he rules in favour of RBS and Liverpool's English directors, the sale of the club to NESV could be completed within a matter of days.
If he rules for Hicks and Gillett, negotiations with Singapore-based businessman Peter Lim over a counter £320m bid will resume.
Whatever Justice Floyd's judgment, it is unlikely to be the end of the matter.
God help us all.
Source: The Sun
