But Liverpool are now under considerable pressure from a number of sides to agree to a groundshare. They include:
* Everton's new chief executive Trevor Birch has said he will formally approach Liverpool about a groundshare. He has acknowledged Everton need a new ground to increase revenues and return to the elite.
With little money apparently available from the board, sharing with Liverpool could provide their only chance of a new ground, however unpalatable or unpopular it might be.
* It was the North West Development Agency which first publicly mooted the possible of groundshare.
It has offered up to £20m for infrastructure improvements in and around a new shared stadium which it believes could be a key driving force in the much-needed regeneration of north Liverpool.
* Liverpool city council, along with the NWDA, has acted as an honest broker in negotiations between the clubs. Most of its work has been in the background but Storey has now broken ranks and thrown his weight publicly behind a groundshare. A single world class stadium facility in Liverpool would be seen as a huge bonus to celebrations in 2008.
* Club finances are possibly the key pressure on Liverpool. The club is due to finance much of its £80m-plus stadium through a loan drawn from major banks. That will put considerable strain on finances in forthcoming years, thereby lessening the chances of it buying the quality players needed to win top honours.
It is success on the pitch which will ultimately bring in extra money. With each passing month the cost of the stadium will also be rising, adding an even greater financial burden, with a possible lengthy public inquiry into the Stanley Park stadium still ahead.
The key question may be whether Everton have enough collateral to bring to the table to convince Liverpool of the viability of groundshare.
With considerable debts already, Everton would be left with the need to sell their two most valuable assets to pay for their half of the stadium: a surplus to requirements Goodison Park (at least £15m) and Wayne Rooney (name your own price).
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