Bolton, Manchester & a new stadium

I don't have the ESPN channel and long before I read how abysmal a performance it had been at the Reebok, I vowed not to give myself a sleepless night and frankly shut the defeat out of my brain.

Looks like we might get away with it to an extent, but this 'if only' season seems to just go from bad to worse. Every time there's an opportunity to take a step forward we take two back.

Since the very best we can realistically hope for Premiership-wise is 4th place (and even that is looking more and more unlikely), it's worth a couple of thoughts on what we'll be wishing for with regards to those teams around us.

I have just two of consequence: The first is about the title -Simple: ABU (Anyone but United!)

The second concerns Chelsea. Now, I cannot in all honesty see them being in the running to win the title come the end of the season, but it is worth a note that Liverpool play them at Anfield the second last game and the last thing we'd want is a repeat of two years ago when a win for us would have let Ferguson in.

Now, looking ahead to this week's two cup games. After Saturday, I really don't know what to think. In terms of City, Having seen them at Anfield earlier on and then there most recent performances, they come over as a touch two faced. Their tails will undoubtedly be up after the Spurs victory but that might be a tough match to recover from physically and it will be interesting to see how Mancini reacts with his selections.

My instincts tell me we have plenty on. In a perverse sort of way, I'm almost inclined to think that a 1-1 draw might have been better in the first leg, since that would concentrate the mind. This is a bit of a no-mans land -neither one thing nor the other. It's true an early goal would see City needing two but one to them at any stage would be game on with a 2-1 away win seeing them through. The psychology of football, what? League Cup rules state that away goals do count, but only after extra time.

And so to next Saturday and the FA Cup. Realistically this one is not worth a moment's consideration until after Wednesday, though Manchester will have a whole week to prepare, especially with Evra learning how to play with ear plugs!

As for the team in general terms, a few thoughts come to mind. Many moons ago, Liverpool were absolutely hopeless when it was a windy day. Never could figure it out and stadiums were a lot more exposed pre-Premiership. However, it's almost as if it's a case of déjà-vu. Footballs, while being eminently lighter do appear less vulnerable to strong winds but the smallest of deviations can make a total fool out of any footballer with the speed of the game today. Forwards in particular can easily miskick as a result of the tiniest swerve of the ball when precision is needed and are made to look like fools.. Not so much so at the other end where defenders can simply kick the ball anywhere if in doubt.

Anyway, very little logic to what I'm saying there, simply an observation.

The loss of Spearing on top of Lucas is turning out to be a really bad blow. We can but hope he'll be fit for Wednesday because their replacements, even experienced players like Gerrard, are turning out to be hopelessly inadequate in what is a very specialist position in front of the back four. Psychologically if the rest of the midfield feels insecure they'll tend to stay back those extra few yards rather than risk supporting the forwards. And so the lack of chances and goals becomes all the more acute. And in all honesty, if both City and United have done their homework they'll be looking to expose that glaring area of weakness in the Reds' make-up.

With 8 days to go to the window closure, there doesn't seem to be as much as a hint of filling the gap and even though Kenny is the master of subterfuge, I'm sure there would have been a spot of leakage somewhere if anything was brewing.

Interesting to see that Arsenal were quite prepared to put young Oxade-Chamberlain straight into the fray against Manchester and indeed he more than held his own. It's not as if he was being held back for a time when the side were comfortably in the lead, is it? And indeed his substitution has been the source of anger aplenty. Sterling was given a spell at the kick-in against Swansea, as have a couple of other youngsters earlier in the season, but that's the nearest they've got to playing a part. (Oh, for the Europa Cup!) No question, they need to be physically strong enough to cope in a 1st team game, something that many pundits forget, but realistically there have to be a few question marks about attitude with some of the more senior players.

Apart from the defensive midfield, I'm more than a touch discontented with the two fullbacks at present. In the present make up of the team, much more is expected of them as attackers even if their defensive work has been solid enough. Their offensive play has left an awful lot to be desired. It would take a hugely brave manager to replace either for this week's games, but for me both Kelly and Flanagan are far too good to be kicking their heels week after week after week. Indeed on the right in particular Kelly's style of putting in early crosses at speed might have brought far more reward at home rather than Johnson's intricate dribbling into an already crowded penalty area.

Still, a bad run of form inevitably creates an environment in which thrashing about for solutions becomes a short term norm. The hours since Bolton have seen just such a setting. But let's be super-optimistic and consider the frame of mind amongst supporters if we were due a visit to Wembley and Patrice Evra had conceded a match-winning own goal in front of the Kop. Well, we can but hope!

And now, but not least, changing to a completely different topic -the new stadium. The Telegraph's Chris Bascombe had been sitting for some time on his two excellent stories last week on the subject of Stanley Park. He'd been hoping that positive news would, by now, be emanating from the Club and for my part too I've certainly been hearing that matters are coming to a head.

It has struck me how short some people's memories are, though perhaps many supporters have simply shut out of their minds all that went on in the H & G regime.

The reality is that LFC have had planning permission for a ground of around 60,000 for ages. Hicks endeavoured to create a plan which would allow, some years on, for an increased build, Lego-style, though that would have been subject to a new planning application and involved an improved local transport infra-structure. The Council, as I understand it, have been hugely understanding and helpful in relation to the new stadium, but not so with regard to the notion of extending Anfield. And more to the point, there is no planning permission in place on that score and to acquire any would have meant the whole process starting from scratch and taking a minimum of three years; probably more.

Obtaining planning permission for Stanley Park had been incredibly long drawn out (and rightly so) with marathon house-to-house calling and completed and signed questionnaires involving thousands of local residents, many of whom, let it be said, held blue favours. In the circumstances, the final approval was a massive achievement by both the City Council and LFC. To jettison that now would surely be a betrayal of all that hard work.

I've been told the Council believes a decision on a stadium naming rights is close, though realistically with such vast amounts of money involved in any such contract, even getting the final full stop agreed can always be precarious. Furthermore, I believe that Fenway are being scrupulously careful to ensure that whoever they might have lined up will not suffer for being perceived (even by a small minority of shit-stirrers) as inappropriate sponsors. The difficulty is that if they endeavoured, on that score, to consult even a relatively small number of trusted confidantes, that would expose the ongoing consultation to potential rumour and intrigue and indeed, endanger the process of commercial confidentiality.

Mike Hopper