TUESDAY will mark the 50th anniversary of the day Bill Shankly agreed to go to Anfield and transform Liverpool's footballing landscape.

And that's Liverpool the city. Not just Liverpool the club.

With Shankly creating a force of the future, Everton redoubled their efforts and the upshot was to establish the city as, in terms of league titles, the most decorated in English football history.

No other place comes close.

Twenty-seven championships have been celebrated on Merseyside, 20 in Manchester, 18 in London. As failure enveloped the community - the disintegration of the docks, steepling unemployment, social discontent, a dwindling population, political chaos - Anfield and Goodison Park remained hubs of achievement.

Twin towers of a city mauled by the ruthlessness of modernity, sanctuaries of satisfaction for a dissatisfied community.

Those edifices are crumbling, dusty artefacts of a bygone age.

Liverpool have not won the title in 19 years (soon to be 20), Everton in 22 (soon to be 23).

The citadels of Manchester and London now tower over a region that once had a stranglehold on success.

Everton and Liverpool meet again today and only the most ill-informed will look at it as a friendly derby.

The idea of blue scarf entwined with red is as dated as a Jimmy Tarbuck gag.

Maybe the frustration is borne out of a bitterness that this is no longer a fixture that defines English football.

This afternoon, it is no more than nibbles before dinner at the Emirates.

In a stadium that has changed little since Eusebio's Portugal captivated the world in 1966.

A stadium that will remain Everton's home for the forseeable future - a lead weight to drag them to the bed of the Mersey.

Make no mistake, the Government's decision to block the controversial, Tesco-funded scheme for a new Everton home in Kirkby is a crushing blow.

A lot of Evertonians did not want to go there. And I suspect David Moyes did not want to go there. Bill Kenwright did not want to go there.

But it was a means to compete. To make some inroads into the staggering financial advantage the Arsenals and Uniteds hold. It has gone, meaning the club will continue to have to swim against the tide.

Maybe someone will buy Everton - founder members of the league, 107 seasons and the most games in the top flight, the School of Science, a loyal fanbase.

Yours for £100million. Oh, and the other £200m for a new stadium.

In their search for premises that even pay lip-service to the 21st Century, Everton are back to square one. Liverpool will tell you they are further advanced with plans for relocation.

Next, they will be claiming Andriy Voronin is world class.

As sure as Rafa Benitez will carefully fold his spectacles when the final whistle sounds today, there will be no new ground while the current owners remain incumbent.

Of course, someone such as the Dubai International Capital organisation might come to the rescue. Yep, that would be the same Dubai that is $80billion in debt.

Complacent executives believe football has been immune to the effects of the global economic crisis.

Wrong. They are just taking a little longer to arrive.

There is, of course, a possible solution to the ills threatening the health of football in Liverpool.

I know the passionate objections to sharing a new stadium. And I know a certain Shankly - two teams on Merseyside... Liverpool and Liverpool Reserves - would have been the first to object.

But a lot of those objections are founded in nostalgia, in history.

And as Henry Ford, whose company was once an industrial pillar of the city, said: "History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present, and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the history that we make today."

History does have a part in the football clubs of Merseyside.

But it is the history of the team that counts. The spirit of the team.

History, nostalgia, tradition, rivalry aside, there are many practical arguments against ground-sharing.

But at least have a sensible and detailed discussion about it. If it means the city regains its place at football's very top table, it is worth considering.

Come together, suggested local boy John Lennon.

Despite the hysterical reaction, it might not be the worst idea.

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RENT-A-TERRY SULLIES ENGLAND

NOTW

JOHN TERRY, according to people claiming to represent him, is available for christenings, weddings, bar mitzvahs. At the right price.

If their sales pitch is to be believed, he might even wrap the England captain's armband around a Santa outfit and do a stint at your grotto. For the appropriate fee.

Businesses were sent an e-mail by a company allegedly connected to Terry suggesting they might want to enlist his help in getting their 'message across'.

It outlined how Terry could assist as he is...

A British sporting hero (So the Scots, Welsh and Irish love him. Right).

England's football captain (Nothing like taking an honour for granted).

World Cup 2018 ambassador (I'm sure this role was not meant to be a nice little earner... but, hey, in for a penny in for as many pounds as possible).

Football icon (Who says?).

Dad of the Year 2008 (In a prestigious Daddies Sauce survey and Peter Andre ran him close).

Voted as one of the world's most influencial (sic) people (Who says?).

It is all so grasping and grubby, it's almost comical. But there is nothing comical about hawking the England captain's armband around anyone with an advertising budget.

No one can be naive enough to think the role does not have its commercial spin-offs but business comes to you.

Thankfully, Terry - a fine leader under Fabio Capello - insists he knew nothing about this flier from a company named Riviera Entertainment. Presumably then, he will take action against them as it has sullied not only his name but the most prestigious role in English football.

Capello and the FA will believe Terry when he says it had nothing to do with him. But it is worth reminding him the exact nature of the captaincy.

It's a unique honour ... not a unique selling point.

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GUNNING DOWN DREAMS

THAT urbane veneer vanished when Arsene Wenger was asked about Theo Walcott's World Cup prospects - the Frenchman dropping F-bombs as he embarked on a 'You cannot be serious' rant.

Fair enough. Arsenal star Walcott does need to get his club act in order before he starts thinking about South Africa.

But to suggest people are fools for already ruminating over World Cup possibilities is insulting. Yes Gunners chief Wenger is a brilliant coach but this country, this league, this public has given him the platform to flourish.

And if he is surprised we are already excited about England's prospects in South Africa rather than being obsessed with the fortunes of his cosmopolitan collection at the Emirates, then maybe he is not as perceptive as we all think.

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HART NOT BROKEN

I AM glad Paul Hart didn't take the sop of a backroom job at Portsmouth - the club that's masquerading as a professional football organisation.

He has been humiliated enough.

Hart came across as an honest man for whom the players clearly had a great deal of affection and respect.

And he was a flicker of integrity in the discredited gloom of Fratton Park.

Losing your job as a Premier League manager must hurt. But Hart is better off out of there.

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