SELF-PUBLICIST Warren Bradley resurfaced earlier this week to make a string of fanciful boasts and declarations that threaten to destroy his credibility. “I don’t see any reason why Goodison Park can’t be redeveloped,” he claimed, adding that he “wants the club to stay in the city” and, most bafflingly of all, wondering if Liverpool’s new owners “will consider a shared stadium”. Predictably, his comments caused a stir. Unfortunately for Bradley, however, his masterplan is flawed. He might be able to offer Everton sites for a new ground in north and south Liverpool, but there is one thing he simply can’t provide – money. Bradley can be pictured all he wants standing outside Liverpool Town Hall with a blue scarf draped over his shoulders, trying to tug at the heartstrings of Evertonians, but deep down, surely he must know things have been left too late. Try, if you can, to put emotions to one side for a minute and just consider the simple economics of the deal that could be struck with Tesco and Knowsley Council. A prime piece of land and between £50m-£60m to build a new stadium? Not bad, is it? Chances like this rarely come along. Could Liverpool Council offer anything similar? No. If they could, you would have thought Cllr Bradley would have been a bit more savvy, kept a low profile until Everton’s exclusivity deal with Tesco runs out and made an offer then. Not so. Unable to stop his utterances running away with him, he pointed out that you “don’t have to be a mathematician to know where the land (in south Liverpool) is.” Well, for the record, it’s somewhere in Speke – around 15 miles away from Goodison Park. Makes the four miles to the proposed site in Kirkby seem a short stroll down the road, doesn’t it? The other site, in north Liverpool, meanwhile, makes little appeal and – most significantly – makes little financial appeal. Had Bradley come up with both an attractive site – and it should be remembered that the swift regeneration of Liverpool means there are few suitable areas – and the money before, things might be different. As leader of the council, though, he must account for every penny he spends and prove that it is in the best interest of the people he serves. How many of Liverpool’s population, other than Blues, would say £50m on a new football ground would benefit them? What about regenerating Goodison Park then? No chance. It would cost less to build a new ground than it would to update the Grand Old Lady and doing that would mean playing four seasons with just three sides of the ground open. The outcome? A substantial loss of revenue for the club. For all the memories and emotions attached to Goodison, it simply can’t be considered. Hard as it may seem, the time has come to move on. Walton Hall Park would have been an absolutely ideal venue, but Bradley won’t consider that, so Everton are pursuing other alternatives, namely Kirkby, the mere mention of which sends shivers down the spine of some individuals, Bradley, in particular. But unless he can offer the attractive site and the barrel of cash, this is a battle he looks destined to lose, and no amount of vague and wistful comments will change that. | 
