Liverpool's ownership may be resolved, but the pitch problems remain after a 2-0 defeat to Everton on Sunday, dpa reported.
Liverpool remain in the relegation zone after a sluggish display that saw them well-beaten by an Everton that, after their traditional slow start to the season, seems to be finding its form.
Tim Cahill put Everton ahead after 34 minutes and Mikel Arteta added a second, while Liverpool failed to find any kind of fluency.
Forward Fernando Torres looks an increasingly frustrated presence, but his form is difficult to assess when he is left to forage for scraps and is deprived of support.
Liverpool's new owner John W Henry took his place in the directors' box, and seemed a little bemused by the fervour of a Merseyside derby.
He saw his side begin slowly, as they have so often this season, and Everton had much the better of it early on.
It was frenetic and messy, and the first effort on target didn't arrive until the 20th minute when Fernando Torres has a header tipped over by Tim Howard.
That was against the run of play, though.
Yakubu muscled his way through and hit a low angled shot that Pepe Reina saved low to his right after 27 minutes nearly gave Everton the lead.
The first goal arrived seven minutes later. Seamus Coleman, the young Everton right-back, burst down the right and pulled the ball back into the centre, where Cahill lashed a first-time finish into the roof of the net - his fifth goal in Merseyside derbies.
Arteta added the second five minutes into the second half. Given space at the edge of the box as Liverpool cleared a corner, he crashed a ferocious shot past an unsighted Reina.
Everton seemed content to sit back in the game's final quarter, but although Liverpool had control of the ball, they rarely threatened to do much with it.
Joe Cole after a rare dart drove over, but he was as quiet as anybody in a poor Liverpool performance.
Torres drew a save from Howard after a clever feint with four minutes to go, but Everton were comfortable and deserving winners.