An old and glaring problem that is no closer to being solved
It is almost unbelievable that in the last 12 years while Manchesters United and City, Arsenal and even the likes of Newcastle United have managed to either significantly upgrade or move to a new stadium, two of the country's biggest clubs - Liverpool and Everton - have made little or no progress on either front.
There is no argument that both sides are at a point where something has to happen for both of them in terms of their respective stadiums be it upgrading or moving elsewhere. The issue of groundshare remains thorny and, despite efforts, present (but perhaps not as much as in the days of Warren Bradley as council leader).
Everton's failed plan to move to Kirkby and Liverpool's disastrous previous ownership have set both sides back and at this stage the sad and painful truth is that it will be years before either can enjoy the fruits of either a redeveloped home ground or a new stadium.
For Liverpool, the noises coming from owner John Henry indicate that a redeveloped Anfield is what is about to happen and a new poll published today by the Spirit of Shankly supporters union indicates that the fans are in favour of that too or at least the 300+ who took part in the survey.
The group asked members a variety of questions about a new or redeveloped home ground but the overwhelming consensus among them is a desire for a greater capacity - most opting for something in the region of 65,000 - and for it to be done at Anfield.
You can see the full results of the survey here but another interesting outcome from it is that a whopping 91 per cent of those surveyed believe that Liverpool FC has a key role to play in the regeneration of the Anfield area.
Fans also appear to see some merit in the Football Quarter idea, something being pushed by supporters' groups from both teams.
The idea for there to be an area of L4 where both clubs can co-exist in a redeveloped and upgraded locality is a popular one for understandable reasons and has all sorts of good support from various people.
The difficulty is in getting the idea beyond an idea. It was an idea back when I first covered it in 2010 and it remains an idea today despite some progress.
Meanwhile as the seasons go on both clubs are losing out on the type of benefits new and redeveloped stadiums can offer.
For all the fantastic regeneration that has gone on in Liverpool over the past ten years, the stadium issues for both sides remain a glaring problem that is no closer to being addressed.
Dale Street Associates
David Bartlett
City editor of the Post and Echo covering politics, regeneration, and urban affairs.
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