I was very annoyed when the DIC deal fell through and I was very hard on the board and the one remaining bidder, George Gillett.

What was really annoying about his bid was that there was talk of a ground-share option with Everton. My first reaction was: ''If the new chairman cares so little about what the fans think at this early stage, then what does the future hold - and this can't be very good news for Liverpool Football Club.''

I said at the time I would apologise if new facts came too light, so here I am apologising and eating my hat.

The new duo in charge, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, held their first press conferences today and you really can't make much out from these pre-organised soundbites. It's not so much what they say; it's more a case of what they may not talk about and consequently leave us in doubt about their intentions.

But for me they said all the right words, killing speculation on our worst fears - first of all mentioning that they may be lynched for even considering a ground-share option and for saying that the money used to buy the club was not borrowed against the value of the club. Gillett said he had sat down with the most important man at Liverpool, Rafael Benitez, and that he expects future transfer plans from Rafa. So it seems he already knows Rafa is the man to lead us to glory.

The simple fact is these two American businessmen are running sporting clubs. They know the future of football is in getting people to pay to watch, be it live games, on Sky TV or via the forseen money-spinner of the future, the Internet. And they have been in the world of sport long enough to realise that the club has to be successful on the pitch before it can be successful off the pitch.