A hotel that would soon turn into a doss house because hardly anyone would stay there and a block of empty flats, sounds great!
Do you really want to get me started on this one Dave? I'd like them to not even consider building on the local park for a start. The vast majority of the houses in the area are on terraced streets right? They don't have gardens...thus some of the countries finest ever men (Kemp, Paxton etc) provided great PUBLIC spaces within Liverpool to compensate for that....secondly over the last 20 years the ground's become like an oasis of millionaires in a sea of dereliction. Why can't a little of that cash ever trickle down to the local streets, schools, health care facilities and youth facilities? Why have the transport links to and from the ground never been improved? If every player or board member gave up one weeks wages every two years and ploughed that into those things then would Anfield not be the sort of area it's residents deserve? We aren't legally obliged to do any of these things but what does it say about us as a club that we don't? Any more questions? I'm off for a and a now I'm sounding like a right ****ing tree hugger
Agree with what you say about the whole principle of building on the park, but the other things you say are a bit rambling without any real solutions. eg how does the club improve the transport links? Build it's own railway?
Billy, you're very welcome to hug trees if you want to. The problem as I see it is that the club has been there for over 100 years and those residents who made a small fortune by parking bikes in their backyards are long gone. Even at it's best, the area was never one of the most salubrious (having been born in The Dingle and starting my secondry education in a condemned building next to the old St. Margarets church I do have the background to be able to judge). However, the mess that it is today is also partly the responsibility of Liverpool City Council. Therefore, the cost of re-development cannot be laid at the door of LFC solely. Now, the club appear to favour redeveloping Anfield and with goodwill on both sides I feel sure that a contribution towards local redevelopment can be agreed with the council. What I do not know is what the council are actually asking for in terms of facilities and costs. This would appear to be a 'normal' negotiation when any major development is proposed. From what Ian Ayre said a few weeks ago, it appears that it is the council who are delaying any agreement being concluded -to the point that LFC were prepared to return to the new build option! I agree with your comments about the park. As a kid I had both Princes and Sefton Parks within walking distance - my first competitive football match was on a pitch on the Revue Field.
With my conspitiorial hat firmly on. Are the council decision makers really Bluenoses trying to force a ground share?
I think FSG want a ground share but want to "blame" the council for doing so and get as much free funding for it as they can.
Dave you're spot on about the council but you grew up in the Dingle right? I grew up for a while in Kensington then Speke so I know as well as you do that Liverpool council in its various guises over the years, Militant, Labour or Lib Dem have always been a useless bunch of crooks (in the main) so I'd never blame the plight of an area like Anfield solely at the doorstep of the football club but that still doesn't excuse it from making it even worse. Salubrious or not the communities of Liverpool deserve better from BOTH their football clubs...and that's a fact. Like the conspiracy hat btw
Fenway do want regenerate the the area aswell as anfield, even H&G wanted to in the plans for the ground (including opening the old railway to people) and if fenway do opt to build for a new stadium they have said the will look at H&G plans, the council is to blame for the state of area around anfield especially bitter blue joe for stopping us from revedeveloping ground/area, to blame club is nonsense. As for the groundshare, damn right the council in particular anderson is desperately pushing for one (and bradley before him) one things for sure, if a red was council leader the Anfield redevelopment would already be underway I would be happy for Anfield to be redeveloped, we'd know once and for all there would be no groundshare, which thats last thing we want Oh and for the record I use to live in Thurston Road(off priory) grew up in Anfield(and the council always has been poor)now in fazakerley
The council always mess up, I remember in 2008 when sir macca did his anfield gig, I many many others paid 80 odd quid for the best seats(in the centenary stand) right overlooking the stage, just two weeks or so before a letter from the incompetent council said due to a council cock-up despite paying full price we had been put in the worst place and the cheapest place, on the kop(behind the lighting poles), macca was the size of a ant when you could see him. and all they said was we either had to keep our current tickets or a refund that was it, we should have had a refund as well as at the very least, and they should have made every effort to sort it, presumably the let the people with the cheap tickets in our place, a lifetimes dream ruined by this sham of a council. A total and complete disgrace and absolute farce, so typical of the inept Liverpool council
Surely better to develop anfield into say a 55k stadium with good atmos. Better than a two thirds full 75k stadium
My thoughts are to redevelop Anfield. YOu have two sides to this. One is a Juventus for example, they hated their stadium, got a new one ( smaller btw!!) that is closer to the pitch and it is rocking! Then you have what every Arsenal player has pretty much come out and said is that for all the glitz and glam the emirates has, it doesn't hold the same atmosphere as Highbury. I would hate to lose all of that just to try and rake in more money. I understand money makes the footy world go round these days but if you can bump anfield up to 60 then why not? Still get extra profit and if we get back into the CL again that is more revenue with all of that ( I know this stuff is down the road but just thinking ahead).
