Liverpool have released teir plans for a new stadium. It will be a 60,000 all seated stadium with the possibility of extending the capacity to 78,000, it will cost around 300 million pounds and it should be with us in 2010. It looks iffy, and I can't say I was hugely impressed by the design, to me it looks more like a sports complex or leisure centre then a stadium, but architecture is all down to personal taste. Still, let me know your thoughts on the design.
Importantly for Liverpool fans, it will have an 18,000-capacity, single-tier Kop designed specifically to make the atmosphere more intimidating for opposing teams. It's a good idea, but you can never replicate an atmosphere of a previous stadium, so this stadium will have to forge it's own unique atmosphere, and that can take time. The designs have just been submitted, so if all goes well, the building work will start as soon as possible.
Leighton Baines has turned down a move to Sunderland, but might not stay at Wigan. There is rumoured interest from Everton, although they have not yet met the asking price for the defender. I'm not sure if Moyes will be willing to meet the price for Baines, which may mean another season at Wigan, but this might play in his interests as next summer he will have only 1 year left on his contract, which means his asking price will drop, and if he has had another good season then more clubs will be willing to buy him. Everton do need depth to their defence, but will they fork out the cash?
Saudi Arabia and Iraq are through to the Asian Cup final after shock semi-final victories. Iraq beat South Korea on penalties, and Saudi Arabia won 3-2 against Japan. It's great to see Iraq through to the final, and Saudi Arabia looked very good in their victory over favourites Japan, with Malek Maaz scoring a lovely solo goal to win the watch. The fact that I predicted a South Korea vs Japan final shows just how good my feelings are, but Saudi Arabia have to be clear favourites to win the tournament. However, Iraq have done fantastically to get this far and I wouldn't be suprised if they pulled another upset out the bag. Hopefully, Iraq will not let nerves effect their game, and if they don't concede an early goal, it might just turn out to be a very watchable final.
It was horrifying to see the bombs that went off in Baghdad after the semi-final win amongst the celebrating crowds. Around 50 fans were killed in a reminder that there are slightly bigger things then football at the moment. Still, I would love to see an win for Iraq, since sport has the ability to pull people together. The final is on Sunday if you want to watch it.
Well, that's about all for today, starting to see fantasy football games popping up so I'm getting quite excited, though I'm going to wait a week as there are going to be a few more signings coming in. I'll let you know my fantasy team when it's picked, but would love to hear any players you think are going to be decent point scorers for this season. I'll be back tomorrow.
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I just want to leave a few comments about Liverpool’s new stadium.
Firstly, I always feel that stadiums are phenomenal pieces of architecture, the number of people a single structure can hold is awe inspiring; seeing the Nou Camp and also the San Siro for the first time is something I still remember.
In terms of the appearance of the new stadium; it certainly isn’t the most elegant. Very square sides and the rounded, curving ends are very different. It almost looks like lots of mismatching parts thrown together. I’ve got to be honest; it doesn’t do it for me.
It’ll be interesting to see how successful the atmosphere of Anfield is recreated at the new stadium, by all accounts it is currently something to behold – I’m glad that they are specifically including a ‘Kop’. We’ve seen that with Arsenal moving to the Emirates they lost the extra edge that, arguably, was a result of playing at Highbury, with the close proximity of the pitch. Similar effects were seen when Southampton moved away from the Dell a few years back.
Perhaps of greatest importance, I’m glad to see that Rafa Benitez feels one of the highlights of the ground is, and I quote; “There are a lot of windows”. Super.
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