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Should Liverpool and Everton share a ground?
Having seen that a Liverpool City councillor has called on Liverpool to reconsider ground-sharing with Everton, I turned my thoughts to the prospect of the two rivals sharing a ground. Apart from the obvious questions about what colours to paint the ground and what colour should the seats be, there are the logistical problems. Is the turf going to be able to cope with two teams? Well that is obviously going to be a no, the UK weather would mean the pitch would never make it through the season. Especially if both teams are in Europe and have good cup runs, no pitch could stand up to that kind of abuse.
But really the big thing is club identity, we, the fans, identify a club and its ground together. It showed clearly when Charlton were forced to use Selhurst Park that ground sharing does not work. The example held up by proponents of ground sharing is that of the San Siro. But this is an example that does not hold up to closer examination, both Inter and AC Milan are looking to move to their own purpose-built stadiums because of their dissatisfaction at sharing.
Liverpool is certainly a big enough city to not only sustain but to need two football stadiums, especially in view of the city’s fanaticism about the game of football. None of the fans actually WANT to share a stadium and the finances are available for both clubs, so why even talk again about sharing? I know Everton’s fans are not too keen on seeing their new stadium built outside of the city itself, but it is hardly the worst thing in the world and Kirkby could certainly do with the investment. It certainly seems a better bet than sharing with hated rivals, especially considering the two teams disparity in trophy hauls. It is bad enough to be in the shadow of your neighbours without having the fact rammed down your throat every time you go to your own team’s stadium.
A ground needs to belong to a club or the club itself will suffer, just ask Charlton how many fans they lost while the Valley was shut.
Article written by Tris Burke
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