They didn’t score, but Liverpool will leave Scotland with a one goal advantage thanks to a 78th minute own goal from Hearts defender Andy Webster.

I found the game to be surprisingly enjoyable, though for all the wrong reasons. It was a very back and forth affair with both sides making more mistakes than actually creating chances. When it was all said and done though, all I could think about was one thing.

“I’m absolutely right.”

Arrogant, I know. A couple weeks ago I wrote about how I wish Liverpool would go out and spend more during the transfer window. Well this match showed just how much Liverpool need to spend if they want to remain a serious threat for the English Premier League title and a berth in the Champions League every year. Right now it seems like Fenway Sports Group and Brendan Rodgers have a long term plan in place to rebuild the squad from the ground up with Rodgers handpicking each player for his “tiki taka” system.

I don’t think Liverpool can afford to wait that long though. Rodgers sent out a reserve team against Hearts (minus Daniel Agger and Pepe Reina) and they struggled mightily against the Scottish side. Hearts certainly played well enough to have earned a draw, but we saw the reinforcements, so to speak, for Liverpool and they did not impress. I asked myself: how many of these starters would I feel comfortable inserting into the regular Starting XI at a moment’s notice? All I could come up with was Raheem Sterling and he didn’t have that great of a match. No other player impressed me enough for consideration.

This is where money and transfers comes into play. Many will say that Manchester City bought the EPL title last season. Strange when you consider they needed a last gasp goal on the final day of the season to do so. Sure, City have splashed lots of cash on plenty of quality players. That’s exactly what you’re supposed to do. Because if you’re a top flight club in England, you need all the help you can get. It’s already difficult trying to navigate league play from August until May. It’s even more difficult when you have two cup competitions and European competition thrown on top of that. You almost need two Starting XIs in order to be successful. City had that last season and Arsenal have attempted to do so going back to last summer. You don’t spend a ton of money on one player (i.e. Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, etc) but rather you go out and spend on many different players. Last season Arsenal pulled in the likes of Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta. This season they’ve gone out and gotten Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud, and Santi Cazorla. Chelsea have gone out and bought Romelu Lukaku, Daniel Sturridge, Eden Hazard, Oscar, Gary Cahill, and now (reportedly) Victor Moses; all within the past 18 months.

Now I realize the problem here: Liverpool went out and did just that last season by buying up Andy Carroll, Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, and Sebastian Coates. They spent a fortune on a handful of players. But those players were not being properly rated. Why? Because for whatever reason, British players are constantly being overvalued in today’s transfer market. So far Joe Allen and Fabio Borini, Brendan Rodgers’ two purchases who have played so far, have looked like decent pickups. Time will tell if Oussama Assaidi was a smart choice to bring in. But it can’t stop here. Liverpool HAVE to do whatever it takes to bring in Clint Dempsey AND Nuri Sahin. Veterans (Jamie Carragher) and promising youngsters (Jonjo Shelvey and Jay Spearing) have to be sold in order to be flipped into a quality center back and striker who are talented enough to start on any given Saturday, regardless of the system being used. The new system relies so much on precision and timing that you literally cannot afford to have mediocre players playing within it, regardless of their pass completion percentage. It works for Barcelona (and Spain) BECAUSE they have the best players in the world…and then some very good players coming off the bench as well.

Depth is the most important thing right now for Liverpool if they want to return to the Top 4 every year. If Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea have taught us anything, it’s that you need to reach deep inside your wallet to obtain that depth. Two of those clubs weren’t always great. They became great when they found owners willing spend money to make money.

It’s time Liverpool does the same before Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson become the only options available to start at a moment’s notice.

“Walk on with hope in your heart and you’ll never walk alone!”