Liverpool’s bitter, farcical sales process continues on apace, as current co-owner Tom Hicks explores every possible legal avenue to hold up the sale of the club to “New England Sports Ventures.”

Twice this week, the London High Court has effectively ruled that Liverpool’s board were perfectly within their rights to act as they did in selling to NESV. Twice, Hicks has sought courtroom avenues in his home state of Texas to negate these rulings.

The case, as they say, continues…

 

In “normal” circumstances, Roy Hodgson’s team would be monopolising the Liverpool headlines for approaching a Merseyside Derby in the bottom three of the EPL for the first time in the league’s 19-year history, and for the first time at all since 1953, a year which ended in relegation.

Liverpool’s embarrassing pre-international break home defeat to Blackpool placed them in the relegation zone.

Sunday lunchtime’s Goodison Park trip has all the appearances of a relegation six-pointer, with Everton themselves only just off the bottom of the EPL.

And although such descriptions address the need for pre-match hype more than they do the reality of the situation this early in the season, this is a vital game both for the team and for its increasingly under-fire boss.

Carling Cup exit to Northampton was followed by equally humiliating defeat at home to Blackpool, whose first EPL season had already included a 6-0 defeat at Arsenal and a 4-0 defeat at Chelsea, teams with whom Liverpool could compete not so long ago.

But the Reds were, deservedly, 2-0 down to the Tangerines at half-time and were unable to turn things around.

Liverpool also lost talismanic but under-performing striker Fernando Torres when he tore an abductor muscle in the first ten minutes of the Blackpool game.

He will, however, be back for the derby, a welcome boost for a Liverpool side who will be without hard-working frontman Dirk Kuyt after he injured an ankle while on international duty with the Netherlands last week.

Initially it was feared that Kuyt’s injury absence could be long-term, as he damaged ligaments while twisting his ankle. But manager Hodgson said this week:

“Our doctor and sports science people are much more optimistic. They think it is more likely to be one month – or if we are lucky three weeks.”

It is also one-in, one-out at the back, as left-back Paul Konchesky will be available for his Merseyside derby debut while Daniel Agger’s return from injury was short-lived.

Konchesky strained a hamstring in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland last month but, according to Hodgson, has made a “good recovery.”

Agger, meanwhile, lasted less than one half of his return from a groin injury, coming off after only 39 minutes of Denmark’s 2-0 win over Cyprus in Euro 2012 qualification.

And he revealed this week that he has been suffering with a back complaint that appeared career-threatening until treated recently.

Liverpool are waiting to discover the full extent of his new injury. But he has been ruled out of the derby.