If Twitter's not owning your life yet, it should be.
Around 1:40EST tonight, news broke thusly from @tariqpanja:
"Just been woken up to be told #LFC sold to NESV. Full details likely in half an hour on club website."
"NESV deal to buy Liverpool subject to approval from Premier League and resolving dispute with previous owners."
"LFC deal subject to the quality of the legal teams now."
As of writing (2:05am EST), this source is as verified as I can get---checked around a bit, and by all accounts it's plenty trustworthy. The "resolving dispute with previous owners" might prove to be a sticking point, but let's hope something works out.
No need to say it, but I will---the importance of this can't be overstated.
I'm not drunk enough to put together a liveblog, but I'll be updating this with whatever news I can gather.
**Update**
Announcement due from the club shortly..."civil war going on behind me" says the SkySports reporter. Joy.
**Update**
Board agrees to sale of club to New England Sports Ventures---Broughton impressed, process been taking awhile, owners blocking. Shit has gotten real.
**Update**
Press release from Liverpool and Martin Broughton:
"I am delighted that we have been able to successfully conclude the sale process which has been thorough and extensive. The Board decided to accept NESV's proposal on the basis that it best met the criteria we set out originally for a suitable new owner. NESV's philosophy is all about winning and they have fully demonstrated that at Red Sox.
"We've met them in Boston, London and Liverpool over several weeks and I am immensely impressed with what they have achieved and with their vision for Liverpool Football Club.
"By removing the burden of acquisition debt, this offer allows us to focus on investment in the team. I am only disappointed that the owners have tried everything to prevent the deal from happening and that we need to go through legal proceedings in order to complete the sale."
The sale is conditional on Premier League approval, resolution of the dispute concerning Board membership and other matters.
That bolded part is the biggie---plenty left to do.
**Update**
The permanently-frowning Sky Sports reporter is doing plenty to make it sound like it's far from done---he's used the words "murky" and "messy" more than a few times. I have a general rule that I don't trust anyone that does that. Court battles, small print, people with juris doctorates. He's name-dropped it all. But apparently George Gillett is out of the picture, Tom Hicks has both votes---further cementing the fact that Hicks is a charlatan with mouths for eyes.
**Update**
Agreed with Matty in the comments; pretty surreal stuff right now. They're talking about Liverpool as a club independent of their owners. Still very impressed with the way things were handled on the end of Christian Purslow and Martin Broughton---basically a f*ck you after months of speculation that they were a giant part of the problem.
Good point from whatever the hell this guy's name is on the teletube---when it comes down to it, RBS is going to ask for the debt to be paid.
**Update**
I think this is what we're left with for the time being. As if you'd expected anything else, it's looking like the process leading to the final sale will be plenty dramatic. Again, the board has agreed a sale, but the votes of Tom Hicks and George Gillett (of which Gillett apparently had no part) were against the sale. Legal process ensues, so no telling what exactly happens from here. Something, though.
With that I bid you adieu---Fox Soccer Channel cut away from Sky Sports to show a massively important FanZone replay of Chelsea v. Arsenal, so I'm off to bed. Noel and I will most certainly be back tomorrow.