Everton v Liverpool: Not a preview

Has there ever been a Merseyside derby of so little interest to Liverpool fans? With everyone’s focus fixed so firmly on events in the courts of London and Dallas, the fact that our football club actually has a football match pending has been largely ignored.

Perhaps had we been at or near the top of the league and playing some scintillating football, interest might have been slightly greater but given that I fully anticipate another tastelessly bad performance courtesy of Hodgson’s archaic tactics accompanying Everton’s easiest derby win in over a decade, in some ways the courtroom drama has provided a welcome distraction.

I’m sure Hodgson must be grateful to have the spotlight firmly pointed elsewhere as he flounders in a job that should never have been offered him.

However, the truth is that all of Liverpool’s current woes on the field, including the presence of Hodgson himself, are symptoms caused by the tragically inept reign of Messrs Hicks and Gillett. Even in the face of Liverpool supporters to a man (and woman) telling him to ‘jog on’ and despite a British Judge ruling that the club was effectively sold legally on Wednesday, the bastard Hicks refuses to fuck off.

Now we find ourselves in day 3 of a saga that has converted average ‘working class’ football fans into students of international case law, business finances, leveraged buy outs and aggressive takeovers as well as scouring the Guardian newspaper’s live blogs and even reading and responding to articles in Forbes magazine.

Ultimately, Sunday’s football match is worth just 3 points. The conclusion of this ownership saga could be worth 9 given the threat of points deduction if RBS call in their loan at 4pm today. A 9 point deduction could be the catalyst for relegation. A 3 point credit will be irrelevant to our long-term future if Hicks somehow retains a stake in Anfield.

Bragging rights? Look at the mess we’re in. What can we possibly brag about?

Sunday’s football match is little more than an unwelcome distraction to the real business taking place in boardrooms and courtrooms around the globe today. Doesn’t that just say it all.