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{ John Henry and his wife Linda Pizzuti soak up the Anfield atmosphere
Liverpool's principal owner John Henry has hinted he may choose to redevelop Anfield rather than build a new stadium in Stanley Park.

After buying the club in October, Henry said he would weigh up both options.

But the fervent atmosphere at Liverpool's current home appears to have swayed his thinking.

"The Kop is unrivalled," said Henry. "The atmosphere, I was really surprised because we've heard so much about needing a new stadium."

Liverpool have long been planning to build a 60,000-seater stadium at Stanley Park, adjacent to the 45,000-capacity Anfield, but work has yet to begin because of problems with funding under previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Henry faced the same dilemma when he took over the Boston Red Sox in 2002, eventually opting to refurbish the baseball team's historic Fenway Park home.

Henry told Fox Soccer Channel: "We were surprised at how beautiful Anfield was both viewing it as an empty stadium and then with the first game.

"It would be hard to replicate that feeling anywhere else."

Henry was talking at the end of a busy week for Liverpool, in which striker Fernando Torres departed to Chelsea for £50m and was replaced at a combined cost of £57.7m by Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, who scored on his debut against Stoke on Wednesday.

Henry explained why he sanctioned the sale of the Torres for a British record fee.

"One of things that we talked about from the very beginning was how important it was that everyone was on the same page. No player is bigger than the club," Henry said.

"We expect players to want to be here. If they don't want to be part of Liverpool Football Club then we should do everything we can to facilitate them going elsewhere."

The victory over Stoke was Liverpool's third in succession, boosting caretaker manager Kenny Dalglish's hopes of getting the job on a full-time basis.

Henry admitted the Scot had made an impressive start to his second reign at the club.

"It's still early but in retrospect you could not have made a better choice," said Henry.

"I know he, for a long time now, has wanted to be in this position, so it's a great thing for the club, for Kenny and for us."

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Labels: Anfield, Henry, hints, Liverpool, Sport