THERE WOULD BE no better way for New England Sports Ventures to demonstrate that Liverpool have moved on than by taking in their first game as owners at Goodison Park on Sunday. The club have been exposed to ridicule, prostituted and fractured for three years and have had to rely on Mr Justice Floyd to deliver their one impressive performance of the season so far. It is time to get on with the game.

John W Henry, Tom Werner and company have promised to attend the 214th Merseyside derby, providing their €341m purchase is ratified, and, regardless of the performance of Roy Hodgson’s team against Everton, they are unlikely to lose sight of the formidable task ahead.

NESV has already granted a beleaguered manager time to prove himself at Anfield and Hodgson must be relieved at not only the prospect of a stable financial future but how the off-field drama has shifted the scrutiny from himself.

It has not vanished entirely, however, and whatever the intentions in the boardroom Hodgson must produce some emphatic verdicts of his own to convince the club’s support.

The argument that this is a derby the Liverpool manager can ill-afford to lose remains as valid today as it did in the aftermath of being outplayed at home by Blackpool. “Above Us Only Sky” is the neat tag line at the city’s John Lennon Airport, prompting one wag to note “Below Us Only Wolves and West Ham”.

The cries for Kenny Dalglish at Anfield on October 3rd were a lament for Liverpool’s accelerated decline this season but also an outpouring of the frustration that had developed over how the club was run. The latter, at least, has been released.

Tom Hicks and George Gillett being run out of town and losing a minimum of €115m along the way is a prospect that will uplift everyone connected with Liverpool.

Teams that hide behind the excuse of off-field distractions do not generally command sympathy but some is due here. Such has been the negativity around Liverpool since the relationship between Hicks and Gillett fractured in late 2007 over plans for a new stadium that the impact has been unavoidable.

As Steven Gerrard said yesterday: “It seems things are nearly sorted off the pitch, so we need to start getting them right on it by getting three points at Goodison. I know how frustrated the fans have been and I can understand their feelings. But we’ve all suffered in this, especially the supporters, and now it’s time for us all to pull together.”

• Guardian Service