The troubled regime of Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr at Liverpool suffered another severe blow last night when it emerged that they are preparing to postpone construction of the club's new stadium because of difficulties raising the funds in an unforgiving financial market.
Hicks and Gillett had hoped that the building of a 60,000-capacity stadium on the site at Stanley Park, barely a quarter of a mile from the club's Anfield home, would start within weeks, dispelling some of the concerns about their ability to drive Liverpool forward. But their apparent failure to do so casts further doubt about their credibility as owners, increasing the pressure on them to sell to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.
The American tycoons will play down the significance of this latest setback, saying that the market conditions are not favourable for such large-scale borrowing, but, 18 months after they bought the club, pledging that building would start "within weeks", it is another embarrassment that they could do without. According to one source, they were recently told by the Royal Bank of Scotland that they could borrow the money required for the £350million project on the condition that they could put up £200million in guarantees, but they have been unable to do so.
The Hicks-Gillett regime has appeared doomed since it emerged that they had invited Dubai International Capital (DIC), the private-equity investment arm of the Dubai Government, to buy a minority stake last October. Hicks blocked DIC's bid to buy the club for £400million earlier this year, but the Dubai interest remains, albeit now presented as a consortium headed by Sheikh Mohammed, rather than under the DIC banner. The Dubai consortium still expects Hicks and Gillett, whose relationship remains tense, to sell within months, aware that their most recent refinancing package is up for renewal in January, albeit with the option of a six-month extension.
On the pitch, Liverpool's results so far this season have been positive enough - two wins out of two in the Barclays Premier League and progression to the Champions League group stage - but their performances have not. Rafael Benítez, the manager, has expressed overall disappointment and he may be particularly concerned at teething problems with the new strike partnership of Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane.
Another worry is the continuing lack of quality in wide areas, which should be resolved by the arrival of Albert Riera from Espanyol. However, that £8.5million deal had still to be finalised last night, meaning that Liverpool are likely to travel to Aston Villa without him on Sunday.
Dirk Kuyt, who secured their Champions League place on Wednesday night by scoring the only goal of the qualifying tie against Standard Liège late in extra time at Anfield, admitted that Liverpool have flattered to deceive. "We have had a lot of luck," the forward said. "We have to improve and it has to happen quickly."
Liverpool paid a combined £40million for Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane, who arrived from Tottenham Hotspur this summer. So far, neither have matched their form of last season.