LIVERPOOL NEED TO BEAT HICKS AND GILLETT IN COURT NEXT WEEK

Liverpool must win the High Court case next week in order to accept the £300 million bid from Boston Red Sox owner John W Henry and his consortium and get rid of the current owners,fellow Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett.Henry has proved what he has done at the Red Sox and would be a real hero in turning the great English club around.Randy Lerner has done a good job at Aston Villa,Henry will I am sure do even better at this big club.Liverpool may be worth more than £300 million but in current times and with the Royal Bank of Scotland about to call in their £200 million from Liverpool,its a fair deal with the investment promised by Henry.By the way when Villa's previous owner Doug Ellis was open to sell the club he turned down George Gillett for Lerner.Villa fans should be very grateful...as Liverpool fans will be if the three other members of their Board win next week's court case to allow the sale to go through.The sooner this happens the better for a great club and their supporters!Its a disgrace that it has to go to the High Court,in view of everything we have been told this week.

ROY HODGSON AND LIVERPOOL STRUGGLING

Roy Hodgson was voted manager of the year by his peers after a good season by Fulham standards.Liverpool's expectations are far,far higher.Today the club that have not won the League title for donkeys years (while great rivals Manchester United do it with the frequency of shampoo!)are languishing in the relegation zone which just six points from 7 games,7 goals scored and 11 conceeded--all under Hodgson!The latest defeat 2-1 at
Anfield no less to the still favourites for relegation Blackpool.I know,I know Hodgson is class and its a long season.Rightly you argue you don't become a bad manager overnight but I will tell you what, Liverpool have for a variety of reasons become an average team.The club has the wrong owners,the wrong attitude and some pretty disappointing players.I feel for Roy Hodgson but he took the job knowing the score.Now he need to get some scores-quickly!

SVEN-GORAN ERIKSSON LATEST MANAGER AT LEICESTER

Sven Goran Eriksson has become Leicester's eighth manager in the three years that Milan Mandaric has been chairman.Nigel Pearson was not encouraged to stay at the end of last season despite being the best of the seven.The League Managers Association understandably condemned Mandaric for the latest sacking of Paulo Sousa after just nine games but failed to point out that Sousa walked out of Swansea after serving just one year of a three year contact.You cannot always have your cake and eat it.Ther LMA,like lots of other bodies,have selective memories.You get what you see with Mandaric,an ambitious,impatient,ruthless chairman but I have told Milan several times that you don't get success by quickly changing your manager so many times.Ian Holloway may have ultimately got Leicester relegated but where are Blackpool right now.Personally I did not think Sousa was what Leicester needed.I certainly don't rate him above Pearson who was told he was free to talk to Hull.Now Eriksson who has a two year contract and is seriously wedged up from football.He did ok for England,ok for Manchester City.But will he do it for Leicester without huge financial backing and top class players?I really doubt it.

WEST BROMWICH ALBION GREAT START TO LEAGUE SEASON

Barclays Premier League manager of the month is West Bromwich Albion's Roberto Di Matteo and the player's award went to his stunning new striker Peter Odemwingie.The Baggies have been yo-yoing between the Premier and Championship in recent seasons but this time it looks different.Di Matteo is getting the best out of talented wingers Chris Brunt and Chris Brunt while tightening up the defence.Albion's recent 3-2 win at Arsenal followed up by the weekend's 1-1 home draw with Bolton leaves them sixth in the league with 11 points from 7 games,five clear of the drop zone.Long way to go but what a fine start.

KARL HENRY HORROR TACKLE CONDEMNED BY HIS BOSS

Well done Wolves manager Mick McCarthy for stating that Karl Henry deserved to be sent off for an ill-timed,reckless tackle on Wigan's Jordi Gomez.McCarthy has defended Wolves reputation of being a dirty team but that tackle,two sent off in the last four Premier League games and an average of 3 yellows per game(7 PL matches to date) is not exactly helpful!

GERARD HOULLIER GETS HESKEY TO PLAY

Emile Heskey has most things going for him...size,speed and the skill to score.Too often he has been found wanting in other areas.Even Martin O'Neill did not resurrect the Leicester Heskey into the Aston Villa Heskey..and then along came Gerard Houllier and the Liverpool at his best Heskey suddenly gets it all back!Pity he did not do it for England but at least its happening again now for Villa.The question now is for how long?
Meanwhile Houllier moans about the referee in Saturday's 2-1 deat at Spurs,playing a little bit more added time than indicated in the first half.Maybe he should have highlighted his team's failure to capitalise in that first half.Ah well,always the ref never the players who cop it from managers in public.Bring back Brian Clough-types.

TECHNOLOGY WORKS FOR FANS BUT NOT UEFA OR FIFA!

Baseball spectators in Philadelphia can now use their machines to order food to be delievered to their seats while watching play.They can tap in their order and credit card details and wait for their food to arrive!Here in Europe UEFA have refused to use technology for major decisions in their European competitions.Instead they have added actual goal-line area officials one of whom some how missed Twente goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov rushing metres off his line to save Rafael van der Vaart's penalty for Spurs at White Hart Lane.The penalty itself was disputed.The referee would not say whether it was the extra official or him.Very helpful! This is not the first instance of it not working.The video replay is to overcome human error!Football is stupid not to use it.Rugby League is a non-stop action game but I watched video used well in the weekend Grand Challenge final at Old Trafford.But it will not be used there for football.Barmy!In the end by the way Spurs won their European Champions League match 4-1 but that's not the point.It might have been a match decider............