THE surprise Whitehall decision to turn down Everton and Tesco’s plan for a new stadium and retail development in Kirkby sparked speculation that Merseyside’s big two clubs could yet build a shared stadium.

Most observers expected the scheme would win planning approval, pushed through by politicians anxious to see redevelopment of Kirkby. Surely that was a worthy cause?

However, Everton and Tesco were outflanked by the West Lancashire lobby, who argued the Kirkby project’s sizeable retail element would jeopardise the viability of plans for Skelmersdale.

I expected the Everton scheme to fall down at a later stage, when the club was asked to show it had the money. Everton needed to raise £80m to pay its share of the scheme’s costs. Where was that to come from?

But Everton aren’t alone. Liverpool are also strapped for cash. Club owner George Gillett had to refinance the bank debt used to pay for his stake in the club with the proceeds from the sale of his Montreal ice hockey club. The Anfield side’s plans for a new venue at Stanley Park are well and truly credit crunched, a fact that might make a joint stadium the only option left.

Indeed, I used to be an advocate of this idea. It would have made good sense to share the huge construction costs that come with building a first-class, Premier League-standard ground. Both clubs could invest the money saved into their squads, allowing them to compete for more trophies than would otherwise be the case.

Indeed, the Northwest Development Agency has promoted the same idea because they didn’t want to dish out two rounds of public sector money to pay for the allied public realm work that would arise, should two separate stadia be built.

But you will have noticed that I have used the past tense. It “was” a good idea. Sadly, though, its time has passed.

Remember, both Everton and Liverpool have been talking about a new ground for the best part of a decade.

Steel costs have since risen and bankers have become tight-fisted. As the events in Dubai this week have demonstrated, it is doubtful that even Middle Eastern money will come to the rescue any more.

Had the two clubs put their objections to a shared stadium aside a decade ago, then they may today be playing in front of big gates and earning the sort of matchday revenues Arsenal and Manchester United receive.

But the cost of building even a joint stadium is now so great that the two clubs could no longer make it happen.

It would take an ingredient that is currently missing from the mix for that to change. What might that be?

Perhaps Peel Holdings, which has hugely ambitious plans for Liverpool’s north docks, might be able to do a deal. But, even at the mighty Peel, money is tight, so that won’t be happening for many years yet.

IT’S GOOD to see that, in these straitened times, Liverpool One is still managing to pull in new tenants.

This week sees the opening of David M Robinson’s jewellery shop and the iconic Habitat. The latter is a particularly big coup that could draw in a lot of shoppers in its own right.

In contrast, the Metquarter is beginning to struggle to keep up with the competition, as demonstrated by the loss of Flannels.