Liverpool could have new owners by mid-afternoon if events in a Texas courtroom go their way today.
A hearing in the 160th District Court in Dallas was adjourned by Judge Jim Jordan last night with the ownership issues surrounding Tom Hicks and George Gillett still not clarified.
However, with a 1600 BST deadline imposed by a High Court judge yesterday for removal of a temporary restraining order preventing the sale of the club looming, it could be that by this evening John W Henry's New England Sports Ventures (NESV) have taken control at Anfield.
Today is also the nominal date for Royal Bank of Scotland to be repaid a sum of £240million in loan and fees but with the prospect of the interminable sale process in sight that is likely to be allowed to slip, avoiding the prospect of putting the club into administration and incurring a nine-point penalty.
Their lawyers won a second successive significant victory yesterday when Mr Justice Floyd granted anti-suit injunctions to nullify decisions taken in the court in Dallas late on Wednesday.
The judge said his mandatory orders were not aimed at the Texas court but Hicks and Gillett to stop them taking further action there.
He was scathing in his remarks about the American co-owners' conduct, which he described as "unconscionable".
In setting the 1600 deadline for Hicks and Gillett to comply with his orders, Mr Justice Floyd said it was because there "is a degree of urgency to allow the club's board to control its own affairs".
The fact Hicks has managed to drag out the saga until the final moments of the RBS deadline will give him some encouragement that he can still find the finance to repay the loan in time.
Mill Financial, a hedge fund which now own Gillett's 50 per cent share, have come into the picture more over the last couple of days and could possibly present the only hurdle to NESV, owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball franchise.
However, of more pressing concern to the independent members of Liverpool's board - chairman Martin Broughton, managing director Christian Purslow and commercial director Ian Ayre - will be the Dallas court hearing.
Broughton was sounding positive as he left the offices of their legal team Slaughter and May last night.
"We're nearly there. We've still got to take away the restraining order," said Broughton, who added he hoped to have a deal in place for Henry to attend Sunday's Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.
"Mr Henry is very committed. My guess is we'll have it done and he'll be there - but we've got to get rid of this order first."
A statement from the club expressed the delight of Broughton, Purslow and Ayre, adding: "We are glad to have taken another important step towards completing the sale process."
Yesterday David Chivers QC, who told Mr Justice Floyd that his clients NESV already considered themselves the new owners of Liverpool, asked the judge for a speedy serving of his orders on Hicks and Gillett so the deal with NESV could be completed and money transferred from the US.
He said if the deal was not completed by today then Hicks and Gillett had succeeded in stopping the sale of Liverpool before repayment of the debt to RBS became due.
Chivers described Hicks and Gillett as "the owners from beyond the grave who are seeking to exercise with their dead hand a continuing grip on this company. That is simply not acceptable."
Liverpool's QC Lord Grabiner described the actions brought in Dallas on Wednesday as "abusive, vexatious and oppressive" and that claims made to that court suggesting a conspiracy involving board members and RBS were a "grotesque parody of the truth".
Unlike their previous two days in the High Court, Hicks and Gillett were not represented yesterday.
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