Liverpool revealed yesterday that their proposed, new £60 million stadium at Stanley Park will hold 55,000 supporters, only 10,000 more than at their current home 300 yards away, because they do not want it to come at the expense of success on the field. It will, however, still be called Anfield.
The original idea had been to build a 70,000-seat stadium, at a cost approaching £120 million, but those plans were scaled down considerably after the club decided it could not risk jeopardising success on the field by creating an oversized stadium.
The move may go through as early as the summer of 2005, although Liverpool's chief executive, Rick Parry, assured supporters on Friday that, having explored all available options, a smaller ground on Stanley Park was the only way forward.
"What we don't want to do, and what we won't ever do, is lose the focus that the team comes first," Parry said. "We always want to ensure the revenue is available for the manager to strengthen his squad.
"That is one reason why we haven't pressed ahead with our original plan for a 70,000 stadium. The cost of building the stadium would be doubled if we went with our initial design. We must keep up with the game's other leading clubs, but we don't want a huge financial millstone hanging around our necks.
"It would be very difficult to increase the size of the current stadium to what we want. We are very short on space and the implications of rebuilding the main stand would be considerable. It's a very emotional issue, and moving from Anfield is not a decision that has been taken lightly."
The club is not sure whether the famous "This is Anfield" sign in the players' tunnel would be moved to the ground, but indicated that the Paisley and Shankly gates and the Hillsborough memorial would.
Liverpool's commitment to strengthening the team was underlined yesterday as their manager, Gerard Houllier, sought once more to entice the outstanding French forward Djibril Cisse from Auxerre. Houllier is believed to have held talks with the player's agent, Richard Bettoni, while in Paris.
Cisse has repeatedly stated that he wants to spend one more season at Auxerre before moving to England, but Houllier is refusing to take no for an answer.
The Liverpool manager is also determined to test Blackburn Rovers' resolve by tabling a bid for the Republic of Ireland winger Damien Duff.
Liverpool will be without Jamie Carragher at the beginning of next season, as the 24-year-old England defender, left out of the World Cup squad, will need time to recover from the knee operation that he underwent this week.
"The operation was a success, but I expect it will be about four months before Jamie is available to play again," Houllier said. "He needed surgery to repair the patella tendon."
