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Liverpool and Everton 'must' share new ground, council says | Football | The Observer Liverpool and Everton must share a new stadium if they are to thrive in future, the leader of Liverpool City Council has said. If they do not, the city will not be included within England's 2018 World Cup bid because "Anfield and Goodison Park do not fit Fifa's *criteria". Warren Bradley, also head of the city's 2018 bid committee, has brought the groundshare debate to the fore again after Liverpool's accounts showed the club lost £42.6m last year. Bradley, who says he has "seen the books of both clubs", told The Observer: "We've got to do something if we are serious about being a bidding city for the World Cup. I don't want to see everything migrate down the M62 to Manchester where there are two fabulous stadiums," he said, refering to Old Trafford and *Eastlands. "There is a need for a 60,000 fit-for-purpose, 21st-century stadium in *Liverpool. It would cost around £300m. Sure, we still have the tribalistic *supporters in the city who would say, 'I won't sit in it after a Liverpudlian or Evertonian has.' But that's not the *argument, is it? I don't see any reason why it can't work – it does so across the southern hemisphere, and in Germany, Italy and America." The prospective stadium would be situated between the two clubs on Stanley Park, where Liverpool have said they would like to build their own new ground. Both clubs are dismissive of *Bradley's claims, but Bradley is confident he has support across Liverpool. "What I've said is absolutely right and is now being amplified in the city in *business, at the clubs privately, and with the supporters. When you speak privately to different people at the clubs – at director level – they tell you what they think, but will never publicly go on record. "There is a groundswell of support now that it is the only way forward for both football clubs." Bradley's views are backed by the Northwest Regional Development Agency, a major stakeholder in the city's bid, which said: "The Agency was *supportive of the idea of a groundshare between Liverpool and Everton due to the economic sense this made. However, we accept that any decision has always been a matter for the two clubs." Bradley accepts that they must be on board, but believes that there is now no other choice. "We recognise the Fifa *criteria that both clubs must have 40,000-plus seats available to the paying public that doesn't include VIPs. I don't believe either club is in a position to satisfy that criteria, so therefore something needs to be done quickly." Goodison Park is *definitely too small, while Anfield's capacity of 45,000-plus may also fall short of *requirements. The struggle of Liverpool owners Bill Hicks and George Gillet to refinance their £350m debt facility by the end of next month would seem to threaten the club's plans to build its own stadium on Stanley Park. Liverpool declined to comment, but it is understood they maintain it is business as usual. Everton, meanwhile, will find out by the autumn if their proposed *controversial move outside the city to a new stadium at Kirkby – in partnership with Tesco – will be agreed by the *government. Bradley is sceptical. "The longer it goes on the less likelihood it can be delivered financially by the club. I firmly believe Everton is taking the wrong step by moving out of the city," he said. "This is raw economics. I've had a *season ticket at Everton for 30 years, so this is not about which way the wind is *blowing. "I firmly believe the economic *viability of both clubs, not only in the present climate, but, in the future, has got to be the ability to invest on the field, not in hard infrastructure. *Having looked at the books of both clubs, at the moment about 70% of the bottom line goes to hard infrastructure. If they shared a stadium they could cut that down to about 30 to 35 per cent and the rest could go on footballers." While Liverpool would not comment on the record, Everton spokesman Ian Ross was explicit in voicing the club's anger at Bradley. "Yes, the Everton directors have one view and that view is that we should push ahead with the destination project. For Warren Bradley to suggest that the directors have one view and that is [to have] a shared stadium is the usual utter nonsense. "We have spent nearly three years working on destination Kirkby and are giving absolutely no consideration to any other scheme. Perhaps *councillor Bradley should have fought somewhat harder to keep Everton inside the *Liverpool city boundary if he is that intent on a joint stadium. "We would have welcomed more help from our city council – that never *happened, which is why we pursued Kirkby. For councillor *Bradley to now claim there is a weight of *opinion to *suggest we should now have a joint *stadium would appear to be *opportunism of the first order." Bradley said he will chair a meeting over the coming fortnight of the stakeholders involved in the city's bid to be part of England 2018. It will include the directors of Liverpool and Everton and the idea of a joint stadium is bound to be discussed ahead of the first visit to the city by the 2018 committee next month. By then Liverpool's financial situation may also be clearer. If RBS, one of the two main creditors, does not wish to refinance its part of the debt the bank could countenance actually running the club itself. As the credit crisis has made the government and taxpayer a sizeable owner of RBS this would be *unprecedented in English football and would have major implications for the Premier League as a global brand. The Premier League was unavailable for comment