Liverpool's rumour mill has been spinning wildly with claims about a big-name departure from Anfield - now we know it has been a case of right rumour wrong man.
Rafael Benitez was the name in the frame in the hours before Liverpool's Champions League victory against Real Madrid on Wednesday, .
Now we know it will be chief executive at the end of the season after the latest twist in the public power battle being waged inside Anfield.
My understanding is that talks over the past fortnight have led to a "mature" acceptance that Parry and combative American co-owner Hicks' philosophies are so apart that they will never be reconciled.
One of the pair had to go - and in the current climate it was never going to be Hicks.
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The English elite were all handed hazardous assignments in the last 16 of the Champions League - but Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have established a solid platform to move forward into the quarter-finals.
Qualification is still a work in progress for all four, but there is now a clear opportunity for the Premier League to take up half the allocation of places in the last eight of Europe's elite competition.
Liverpool take top honours for an in The Bernabeu, but there was real merit in the work of the rest of the so-called "Big Four" as they once again attempt to place their imprint on the latter stages of the tournament.
Not a goal conceded at home or away and a lead in three out of four ties tells the story of a job well done after the first round of games.
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Chelsea's group hug at the final whistle was a symbolic gesture to - of more interest to new coach Guus Hiddink will be a display that showed real substance still exists at Stamford Bridge.
It is fanciful to claim Hiddink's new charges produced compelling evidence to suggest Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United face a renewed threat to their supremacy, or that his brief reign will bring a guarantee of silverware.
The air of invincibilty Chelsea carried for so long has been stripped away and they are still clearly a team in need of renovation.
But a is an outstanding start and there was enough on offer, particularly during a flowing first half, to give Hiddink genuine optimism for his temporary tenure.
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briefly sent bookmakers into overdrive as a list of exotic foreign names was produced before the
Two names that never appeared near the top of any odds were Everton manager David Moyes and his Aston Villa counterpart Martin O'Neill - a tribute to the stability of their positions but also inexplicable given their proven abilities.
O'Neill crept into some quarters at 33/1 and Moyes at 40/1, but might they not have actually been just as suited to doing the job at Stamford Bridge as Hiddink?
Former Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini, Bayern Munich's Jurgen Klinsmann, Croatia coach Slaven Bilic and Spartak Moscow's Michael Laudrup were placed ahead of both in the betting.
Is it because they are not fashionable or showbiz enough for the top four? Is it that the default position for many clubs is to simply reach for the familiar list of foreign names when two prime candidates are actually on the doorstep?
Mysterious, but just perfect for two great institutions of English football who meet in .
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David Beckham has split opinions as often as defences in a recent nomadic existence that has taken him from the Bernabeu to and back to Europe with
So when he matched Bobby Moore's tally of 108 England caps - the record for an outfield player - by coming on against Spain in Seville, it was the signal for another debate centred around one the country's great sporting polemics.
Is Beckham worthy of matching Moore,
It is a debate that must be set in its proper context. In the modern days of more regular internationals, 108 is only a number and we are comparing two players who operated in vastly different eras in different positions.
And unless and until Beckham wins the World Cup with England, Moore's iconic status and reputation will always be preserved in the more precious metal of the Jules Rimet Trophy.
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Fabio Capello does not deal in the cheap currency of hype and jingoism - so when he declares he has "big confidence" as England prepare to face Euro 2008 holders Spain in Seville he can be taken at his word.
If a similar bold profession had been made 12 months ago, it would have treated with scepticism or as a bid by Capello to talk up England's squad.
Now, faith in the Italian's iron discipline and tactical adaptability is so strong that it is unlikely many will take issue with Capello's belief that England can flourish against the team ranked number one in the world by Fifa.
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If anyone ever doubted that Roman Abramovich still takes more than a passing interest in the affairs of Chelsea Football Club, then the brutal sacking of Luiz Felipe Scolari on Monday provides the most compelling evidence to the contrary.
The sudden dismissal of Scolari just seven months after he was paraded in a barrage of flashbulbs and a blizzard of optimism in a plush Cobham hotel in Surrey has all the hallmarks of Abramovich's refusal to settle for second best.
Chelsea's hierarchy smiled in satisfaction back on that sunny July day when "Big Phil" charmed allcomers with his sense of humour and clever command of the English language. 
Abramovich was absent - but his fingerprints were all over the appointment of .
It all seems an age away now as the coach who won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002, and looked like he would win everything in sight in the opening weeks of the season, is sacked with a ruthlessness that might shock even seasoned Chelsea observers.
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Harry Redknapp and Arsene Wenger are aiming at contrasting goals as the Premier League campaign enters its final straight - and a swift lesson in body language during the north London derby deadlock told you who was more confident of hitting the target.
Redknapp's eyes are solely on salvation for Spurs after being employed to mount a rescue job at White Hart Lane, while failure to reach the Champions League is an option Wenger cannot afford to contemplate.
White Hart Lane offers almost a "reach out and touch" experience when it comes to examining Premier League managers at close quarters under intense pressure - and what an education it was.
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Rafael Benitez looked as satisfied as any man would after recording a major triumph on the pitch and moving closer to securing a significant victory off it.
Indeed, Benitez was so pleased with - a win that re-ignited hopes of a - that he even happily refused to discuss his new contract.
Liverpool co-owners were at Anfield, although pointedly sitting well apart, to broker a deal on the proposed four-and-a-half year extension to Benitez's Anfield tenure.
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