| Italy's Top Soccer League Could Avert Strike Italy's top soccer league has taken a step that might avert a player strike. feeds.nytimes.com |
Liverpool receive new £320m takeover offer from billionaire Peter Lim • Lim offers £320m for Liverpool plus £40m for players• Comes as high court hearing takes place in LondonLiverpool's complicated ownership issues took another twist today when the Singapore businessman Peter Lim lodged an increased offer for the club.The billionaire, whose original bid was overlooked in favour of the £300m offer from New England Sports Ventures, has returned with an improved package.Royal Bank of Scotland, the club's major creditors, are currently in the high court arguing over the validity of who has the authority to sell the club and if they are successful then the NESV deal will go through. But Lim hopes to trump that with a £320m offer, with a further £40m to be spent on players.Lim claims his offer is entirely in cash from his personal wealth, paying off the £200m acquisition debt, the club's existing debt and outstanding bank fees and providing much-needed funds for squad strengthening in January."I believe that if its massive debt burden can be removed, the club would be able to focus on improving its performance on the pitch," Lim said. "If the board accepts this offer, the monies are available immediately thereby removing the threat of administration."The club needs to strengthen its existing squad. As part of this offer, I will be injecting £40m in cash into the club for Roy Hodgson to bring in new players during the upcoming transfer window. Liverpool needs to start winning again."Lim added in his statement: "I respect and admire Liverpool Football Club, which is steeped in tradition and history. I am committed to rebuild the club so that it can soon regain its position at the pinnacle of English and European football, where it truly belongs."LiverpoolBusinessguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Rampant Arsenal rout City Arsenal underlined their credentials as serious contenders for the Barclays Premier League title with a 3-0 win against Manchester City. foxsports.com.au |
Phillips on the scent of a first cup medal • Fingers crossed for a kind Carling Cup draw• Striker, 37, keen to add to his promotion medalsKevin Phillips is determined to bring the curtain down on an illustrious career by reaching the League Cup final with Birmingham City this season. The 37-year-old has scored more than 250 goals since turning professional at Watford in 1994, won the European golden boot, represented England and helped three different clubs win promotion but he has yet to play in a major cup final.It is a record that the former Sunderland, Southampton, Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion striker hopes he can put right this season after helping Birmingham reach the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup last night. Phillips, who signed a new one-year contract at St Andrew's in the summer, equalised two minutes into injury-time against Brentford to take the game into extra-time and later converted from the spot in the penalty shoot-out where Birmingham triumphed 4-3."It would be fantastic [to play in a cup final], it's every player's dream," said Phillips, who reached the semi-final of the League Cup with Sunderland in 1999 and the same stage of the FA Cup with West Bromwich Albion in 2008 only to suffer defeat on both occasions."We all want to play in a cup final and we all want silverware. I've had a fantastic career but I'd love to end it with a trophy; any player would. We've got a good opportunity [and] hopefully the draw will be kind to us. If we get a home draw and win that, then you're in a two-legged semi-final; anything could happen then. All I've ever won are promotion medals, so naturally I'd like to go to a cup final."Having missed the start of the season with a torn thigh muscle, Phillips returned to fitness last month but had only two substitute appearances to his name before playing 120 minutes against Brentford. He hopes, however, that his crucial contribution against the League One club and his prolific record in derby matches will convince Alex McLeish, the Birmingham manager, that he should be involved again against Aston Villa on Sunday."All I can do is keep giving the manager a problem and I hope I did that against Brentford," Phillips said. "There's two big derbies coming up this week that I've scored in, Sunderland versus Newcastle and Blues versus Villa but I enjoy those sort of games. I score plenty of goals and a lot of them have been in derbies."Birmingham CityCarling CupStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
World Cup 2018: England's complaint against Russian bid leader may well backfire Filing a complaint against Russia's 2018 World Cup bid leader Alexei Sorokin is a provocative step for the England camp. telegraph.co.uk |