Stadium blow for Benitez

If Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez retained hope of being handed a fistful of dollars with which to tackle the January sales, news that the Reds’ stadium plans have been downgraded will surely have forced him to think again.

A fragile peace at Anfield appears to have been cemented following clear-the-air talks between the Spaniard and American co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks following Sunday’s morale-sapping defeat to Manchester United.