Liverpool’s plans to fully open the revamped Anfield Road End stand to spectators hit an unexpected bump in the road with Buckingham Group’s announcement of an intention to field for administration.
Despite that setback, Billy Hogan reassured supporters that the plan was to, as far as possible, stick to schedule and the planned deadline of October in an update shared on the club’s official website.
“We are still aiming for October but what we’re working through now is to put a plan in place,” the Reds’ CEO said.
“As I said, [there is] an unbelievable amount of work going on in the background, literally since we were made aware of Buckingham’s intentions, to make sure that we have as little impact on that timeline as possible.
“So, again, I don’t want to set false expectations but we do have to have, obviously, a schedule that we need to work towards.”
In the meantime, Anfield’s capacity will be reduced to 50,000 ahead of Aston Villa’s visit to Merseyside.
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It remains to be seen whether the club can indeed negotiate this latest roadblock successfully in the middle of a league campaign.
None will be more frustrated and concerned about the future, however, of course, than those directly affected by this updated set of circumstances than those employed by Buckingham, not to mention those who work alongside the organisation.
Though many will no doubt have been looking forward to witnessing a new and improved Anfield in the 2023/24 campaign, it’s important we don’t lose sight of the fact that people’s livelihoods have been massively affected by this development in a time of great economic uncertainty for the country and those who live in it.
We hope that, as Hogan has mentioned, skills and expertise can be retained to ensure there’s as minimal an impact as possible on those who had been engaged in the work up to this point.
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