Mr Justice Floyd had given a ruling in London on Wednesday that meant the English directors of Liverpool could agree a £300million takeover by John W Henry's New England Sports Ventures. But before the board could make any decision last night, Tom Hicks, one of the owners, secured a temporary restraining order from a Texas court. Mr Justice Floyd had totally rejected Mr Hicks and George Gillett's attempts to stand in the way of the sale in a ruling which should have left them helpless to intervene. Both the Liverpool board and NESV believed a deal could be reached on Wednesday night but the last-ditch intervention by the American owners meant more court action is necessary. The case will go before Mr Justice Floyd again on Thursday afternoon - and Martin Broughton remains confident the takeover of Liverpool will go through. Despite the latest twist in the saga, Broughton is optimistic after accusing Hicks and Gillett of 'trying every trick in the book'. "They are trying every trick in the book, but keep the faith," Broughton told Sky Sports News HD. "We will keep trying. I haven't heard anything [this morning] I haven't had time." Asked if he remained confident of doing the deal with NESV, Broughton added: "I always remain confident." Liverpool are looking to remove the restraining order obtained by Hicks and Gillett and they intend to complete the sale to NESV, with Henry believed to be prepared to wait for the order to be lifted to conclude the takeover. Hicks, meanwhile, remains in control of his share of the club and has not sold out to Mill Financial, as had been reported this morning. Reports suggested the hedge fund, a branch of Washington-based Springfield Financial, had acquired the Texan's 50% share having already taken ownership of his fellow co-owner George Gillett's half. However, a UK-based spokesman for Hicks said Mill Financial had not acquired his shares.
