LIVERPOOL might have spent more than £100million in the last 12 months – but Martin Petrov believes the Reds still lack a quality that money cannot buy.
Kenny Dalglish certainly has not been shy to invest since taking over the Anfield reins once again at the start of 2011, a week after Wanderers’ last trip to the red half of Stanley Park.
Joe Cole’s 90th-minute winner snatched a deserved point away from Owen Coyle’s men on that occasion, but since then, the likes of Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Luis Suarez have been added to the squad that looked so desperately short on confidence under Roy Hodgson.
Despite the net spend, however, Bulgaria international Petrov reckons there are still weaknesses to be exploited, provided Wanderers can show the same heart they did in defeat against Manchester City at the Reebok last weekend.
“Liverpool have spent money but on the pitch it’s 11 versus 11,” he said. “We know they are a good team with good players but I think they have had some problems.
“We saw in pre-season that they lost and conceded so many goals. So if we play like we did in the last game against City and don’t make mistakes – because that is why we lost, and that can happen.
“We know that City, Liverpool and United have big players but, if you play like a team on the pitch, it doesn’t matter how much money they have spent. If you are ready for a fight, you can win a game.”
Petrov has himself made an impressive start to the campaign, scoring in midweek against Macclesfeld Town and grabbing a handful of assists.
Back in the summer, the 32-year-old expressed his determination to make potentially the last year of his contract count at the Reebok. And the signs look promising, as the former City star heads into a daunting run of fixtures in arguably the best run of form since he arrived from Eastlands last summer.
“I’m pleased and happy that I am in this form but the most important thing is that the team win, and we play well,” he said.
“If you play well, every man is happy. We lost 3-2 against City but we scored twice and played good football, so if we continue in this way we can win against the bigger teams.”
A big positive taken from the midweek Carling Cup victory was a scoring debut for Turkish striker Tuncay, who arrives on a season-long loan from another one of Petrov’s clubs, Wolfsburg.
With Coyle looking to further strengthen his forward line, the winger agrees his manager should soon have an exciting mix of styles to choose from.
“Tuncay is a great player and a big name, so I hope he, Ivan Klasnic, the skipper (Kevin Davies) score plenty of goals,” he said. “With the right players, good crosses become goals.”
