Hicks-Gillette Sacked Board To Block Takeover

UNPOPULAR owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett faced the wrath of Liverpool supporters again last night after it was revealed they are to set to oppose two fresh bids to buy the club. The Liverpool board met yesterday to discuss proposals from two consortiums – one believed to be from Asia and the other from the current owners of the Boston Red Sox. But while the three independent members of the board – chairman Martin Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre – were all in favour of selling, the proposals were being blocked by Hicks and Gillett, who are holding out for as much profit as possible. Hicks and Gillett need to find a buyer before 15 October to repay their £282m loans to the Royal Bank of Scotland and Wachovia. If no buyer is found by that date, then RBS are free to take control of the club and its assets or even place the company into administration, thus invoking a subsequent nine-point penalty from the Premier League. This latest development came on the day when one potential buyer, Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi, claimed there was "no logic" in Hicks and Gillett's £600m asking price for the club – and vowed to withdraw his interest. "Right now is not the time for me and my group to enter into any negotiations, " Kirdi said. "Once everyone is united and there's logic in the price and the overall deal, me and my group will be prepared to return to the table. " Hicks and Gillett put the club up for sale back in April after struggling with debts of £351m.