It is the longest drawn out saga to surround Anfield since David Moores decided in the late 1990s a new stadium was exactly what Liverpool needed. But at last it looks like the wait could soon be over.
Not for the stadium - that plan has been filed neatly in the "distant future" cabinet of Anfield's offices. We are talking, of course, about Alberto Aquilani, and his long-running battle to return to full fitness.
Sunday's Merseyside derby came and went without the Italian having to get his boots dirty, and meant that the Reds' £17 million summer signing from Roma would have to wait until at least December to make his first, and very much belated, start for the club.
His manager, Rafa Benitez has been fielding numerous questions about the expensive Italian in the past week or so. Reporters, and supporters, are growing impatient to see whether the man signed just hours after Xabi Alonso headed through the departure lounge at John Lennon Airport is capable of filling the metaphorical void left by the Spaniard.
And all the noises coming out of Melwood are positive. Why wouldn't they be?
Aquilani may have only had 23 minutes of senior action in a red shirt, but he showed enough glimpses of talent to suggest that his style is one that Liverpool fans will enjoy. His clean and rangy passing game, his intelligence in receiving the ball, and his ability to manouevre shooting positions from outside the box were all in evidence, even in the briefest of cameos.
Of course, this being Liverpool and Benitez, rumour-mongers have started to have their say. Some scurrlious claims suggested that Benitez was shielding his big-money signing from the rigours of first-team action after some less-than-impressive displays in training. For Benitez, the truth could not be further removed.
Aquilani's issue is fitness. Or, to be more precise, match-fitness. It is one thing for a player to overcome an injury - especially one which required surgery, as Aquilani's did - but quite another to get themselves up to full playing speed. Especially if they have missed out on the hugely-important pre-season.
"He [Aquilani] has been out for longer than we expected and, because he has been injured during the summer, he has not been able to train properly," Benitez told the Liverpool Echo.
"Now it is much better and it is a case of improving his match fitness. We want to play him and we thought we might have been able to do that with the reserves at Wigan.
"That was called off, but we had some games at Melwood and he played 45 minutes against our reserves last week. We are trying to improve him as quickly as we can."
It is clear logic from the manager, who was promised upon signing the Italian that his injury would be clear by mid-September.
Liverpool's awful recent run has exacerbated the Aquilani situation, as fans looked for any chink of light at the end of the tunnel.
But throwing a semi-fit newboy into such a disastrous run of form could easily have backfired on Benitez, and his decision to hold back with Aquilani ("we have signed him for five years, not five weeks" - he said last month) makes perfect sense.
Aquilani will be in contention for a first start of his Liverpool career as the Reds travel to Blackburn on Saturday, but even if he does not begin the game at Ewood Park, Liverpool fans should not worry.
He is pretty much certain to make his full Anfield bow next Wednesday in what will be little more than a pride-restoring clash with Fiorentina in the Champions League, and with things getting pretty hectic in the Premier League over the next month, the Italian is bound to play a bigger and bigger role, as Liverpool look to re-build a season that has looked in danger of falling apart.
Not for the stadium - that plan has been filed neatly in the "distant future" cabinet of Anfield's offices. We are talking, of course, about Alberto Aquilani, and his long-running battle to return to full fitness.
Sunday's Merseyside derby came and went without the Italian having to get his boots dirty, and meant that the Reds' £17 million summer signing from Roma would have to wait until at least December to make his first, and very much belated, start for the club.
His manager, Rafa Benitez has been fielding numerous questions about the expensive Italian in the past week or so. Reporters, and supporters, are growing impatient to see whether the man signed just hours after Xabi Alonso headed through the departure lounge at John Lennon Airport is capable of filling the metaphorical void left by the Spaniard.
And all the noises coming out of Melwood are positive. Why wouldn't they be?
Aquilani may have only had 23 minutes of senior action in a red shirt, but he showed enough glimpses of talent to suggest that his style is one that Liverpool fans will enjoy. His clean and rangy passing game, his intelligence in receiving the ball, and his ability to manouevre shooting positions from outside the box were all in evidence, even in the briefest of cameos.
Of course, this being Liverpool and Benitez, rumour-mongers have started to have their say. Some scurrlious claims suggested that Benitez was shielding his big-money signing from the rigours of first-team action after some less-than-impressive displays in training. For Benitez, the truth could not be further removed.
Aquilani's issue is fitness. Or, to be more precise, match-fitness. It is one thing for a player to overcome an injury - especially one which required surgery, as Aquilani's did - but quite another to get themselves up to full playing speed. Especially if they have missed out on the hugely-important pre-season.
"He [Aquilani] has been out for longer than we expected and, because he has been injured during the summer, he has not been able to train properly," Benitez told the Liverpool Echo.
"Now it is much better and it is a case of improving his match fitness. We want to play him and we thought we might have been able to do that with the reserves at Wigan.
"That was called off, but we had some games at Melwood and he played 45 minutes against our reserves last week. We are trying to improve him as quickly as we can."
It is clear logic from the manager, who was promised upon signing the Italian that his injury would be clear by mid-September.
Liverpool's awful recent run has exacerbated the Aquilani situation, as fans looked for any chink of light at the end of the tunnel.
But throwing a semi-fit newboy into such a disastrous run of form could easily have backfired on Benitez, and his decision to hold back with Aquilani ("we have signed him for five years, not five weeks" - he said last month) makes perfect sense.
Aquilani will be in contention for a first start of his Liverpool career as the Reds travel to Blackburn on Saturday, but even if he does not begin the game at Ewood Park, Liverpool fans should not worry.
He is pretty much certain to make his full Anfield bow next Wednesday in what will be little more than a pride-restoring clash with Fiorentina in the Champions League, and with things getting pretty hectic in the Premier League over the next month, the Italian is bound to play a bigger and bigger role, as Liverpool look to re-build a season that has looked in danger of falling apart.
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