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Bolton Wanderers winger Martin Petrov: There is no trust at Manchester City
Bulgarian hits out at former club...
| Bet: | Returns: | Bolton £19.50 | Draw £34.00 | Wigan £37.50 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Bolton £21.00 | Draw £32.50 | Wigan £36.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Bolton £20.50 | Draw £34.00 | Wigan £36.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Bolton £21.00 | Draw £33.00 | Wigan £36.00 |
|
| Bet: | Returns: | Bolton £21.50 | Draw £33.50 | Wigan £37.00 |
|
2 Sep 2010 11:44:00
By Zack Wilson
Bolton Wanderers forward Martin Petrov has blasted his former club Manchester City, insisting that there is little in the way of togetherness or spirit at Eastlands.
The 31-year-old left City in the summer, joining Bolton on a free transfer, after spending two seasons as an increasingly marginal figure despite some fine performances.
"At the moment at City people are becoming more bad than good," Petrov said, according to The Sun.
"The human relationships are lost and the trust is lost too. In this situation the players are going to play like millionaires in games and are not a team on the pitch."
Petrov is also insistent that he does not miss City at all and is relieved to be away from a place where there is seemingly such negativity.
"One hundred per cent no, I don't miss City. If I accepted their one-year offer now I would be on loan somewhere else," he added.
"At City nothing is clear. The team are looking for identity."
"Everyone knows that they want to make a big club with the money," he added in The Guardian.
"They have brought in so many players and spent so much but I don't think, in this world, that everything necessarily comes with money."
Concerning matters at hand during the international break, the former City wide man conceded that his national side, Bulgaria, have a difficult against England in the European Championship qualifier on Friday - particularly due to the absence of Dimitar Berbatov.
However, he reckons that the Three Lions have a plethora of individual talent that does not add up to a well rounded team, which Petrov insists will work in favour of his country.
"For us that is very hard because he is the top scorer in the team," he said. "He rang me to say he was going to retire but I didn't ask him for an explanation because it's personal and I'm not family. Everyone wants Berba back in the team but I don't think it will happen now."
He added: "There's pressure for us, too, because we want to qualify [for Euro 2012] but there is more for England.
"Everyone knows that England have big names and very good players but I don't think they have a team. I don't know why. If you take out each player and analyse them individually, they are very good players. They have a big manager, too, but they just don't do it. It is a difficult time for England now and maybe that will be good for us."
Switching back to club football, the former Atletico Madrid player insisted that ignorance is not bliss, claiming that manager Roberto Mancini kept mum about his future the whole time preceding his contract running out with the Eastlands club.
"I went to see Mancini in January to ask about my future because my contract was up in June," Petrov said. "He said it wasn't the right time and 'let's talk in two weeks' but after that there was nothing. Nobody spoke to me about my future again. Nobody looked me in the eyes and said: 'Martin, thank you for your time, you are a very professional player.'
"It surprised me. I am not an 18-year-old, I am a 31-year-old who has played in different countries and for my national team, so I think that I have a reasonably good name and deserved to hear something."
The City outcast also underwent surgery to correct a knee problem, and spoke of his unhappiness during recovery and training.
"After that I didn't play another game and just worked alone," he continued. "That was a very difficult time for me. I am 31, old in football terms, and when you have an operation, your contract is finished and the league is over, it's not good. The first question other clubs asked me was always: 'Are you ok now?'"
The ex-City man may have left the riches at City to ply his trade at the Reebok, but he maintains that he is happy with the way things are at Bolton.
He said: "Everybody knows we don't have big names from the Champions League but it's a close-knit club and Owen Coyle is like a father to the players, always talking to everyone, checking everything is ok."
The 31-year-old left City in the summer, joining Bolton on a free transfer, after spending two seasons as an increasingly marginal figure despite some fine performances.
"At the moment at City people are becoming more bad than good," Petrov said, according to The Sun.
"The human relationships are lost and the trust is lost too. In this situation the players are going to play like millionaires in games and are not a team on the pitch."
Petrov is also insistent that he does not miss City at all and is relieved to be away from a place where there is seemingly such negativity.
"One hundred per cent no, I don't miss City. If I accepted their one-year offer now I would be on loan somewhere else," he added.
"At City nothing is clear. The team are looking for identity."
"Everyone knows that they want to make a big club with the money," he added in The Guardian.
"They have brought in so many players and spent so much but I don't think, in this world, that everything necessarily comes with money."
Concerning matters at hand during the international break, the former City wide man conceded that his national side, Bulgaria, have a difficult against England in the European Championship qualifier on Friday - particularly due to the absence of Dimitar Berbatov.
However, he reckons that the Three Lions have a plethora of individual talent that does not add up to a well rounded team, which Petrov insists will work in favour of his country.
"For us that is very hard because he is the top scorer in the team," he said. "He rang me to say he was going to retire but I didn't ask him for an explanation because it's personal and I'm not family. Everyone wants Berba back in the team but I don't think it will happen now."
He added: "There's pressure for us, too, because we want to qualify [for Euro 2012] but there is more for England.
"Everyone knows that England have big names and very good players but I don't think they have a team. I don't know why. If you take out each player and analyse them individually, they are very good players. They have a big manager, too, but they just don't do it. It is a difficult time for England now and maybe that will be good for us."
Switching back to club football, the former Atletico Madrid player insisted that ignorance is not bliss, claiming that manager Roberto Mancini kept mum about his future the whole time preceding his contract running out with the Eastlands club.
"I went to see Mancini in January to ask about my future because my contract was up in June," Petrov said. "He said it wasn't the right time and 'let's talk in two weeks' but after that there was nothing. Nobody spoke to me about my future again. Nobody looked me in the eyes and said: 'Martin, thank you for your time, you are a very professional player.'
"It surprised me. I am not an 18-year-old, I am a 31-year-old who has played in different countries and for my national team, so I think that I have a reasonably good name and deserved to hear something."
The City outcast also underwent surgery to correct a knee problem, and spoke of his unhappiness during recovery and training.
"After that I didn't play another game and just worked alone," he continued. "That was a very difficult time for me. I am 31, old in football terms, and when you have an operation, your contract is finished and the league is over, it's not good. The first question other clubs asked me was always: 'Are you ok now?'"
The ex-City man may have left the riches at City to ply his trade at the Reebok, but he maintains that he is happy with the way things are at Bolton.
He said: "Everybody knows we don't have big names from the Champions League but it's a close-knit club and Owen Coyle is like a father to the players, always talking to everyone, checking everything is ok."
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