Soccer:Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton is convinced the club now has "a great future" while prospective buyer John W Henry welcomed today's High Court decision to reject a plea by club owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
Mr Justice Floyd rejected a plea from the American owners 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.
In an overwhelming victory for RBS and Liverpool, the American duo were also refused the right to appeal, suggesting the club could be under new ownership before the weekend.
Broughton now has permission to sell Liverpool without interference from Hicks and Gillett, with the fight a straight one between New England Sports Ventures (NESV) and Singapore billionaire Peter Lim.
Henry’s NESV are the preferred bidder with a €340million offer, however, Lim yesterday threw a spanner in the works by improving his bid to €363million and offering €45million for new players.
Speaking outside the High Court, Broughton said: "The board will be properly reconstituted by eight o'clock this evening, that was the judge's order, and proceed with the sale process.
"This will clear the way for a sale, but I'm not going to prejudge the board meeting. It would be inappropriate to prejudge what the board is going to say.
"But the club's going to have a great future. We will re-establish the right basis for the club. The acquisition debt that has been plaguing us will be gone, we have a great future. We will get the right owners for the fans."
Henry welcomed the ruling allowing the club to discuss a takeover. Writing on his Twitter account, he praised Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre, saying: "Well done Martin, Christian & Ian. Well done RBS. Well done supporters!"