Another Ipswich and ‘no contest’ – What League One managers think about Birmingham City
From Steve Evans to Phil Parkinson and Matt Bloomfield, here is what League One managers have said about Birmingham city
Birmingham City are steamrolling their way through League One without a second thought.
Blues have made a flying start to the season with five wins from their first six games and hold the only unbeaten record in the third tier. They are only second on goal difference and have a game-in-hand on league leaders Wrexham, who they dismantled at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park this time last week.
Chris Davies’ team were favourites for the title before the season started and they are living up to their billing as things stand. They have been aided by a quite extraordinary summer transfer window, which saw the club recruit 17 new players and spend in excess of £20 million.
After Blues cruised past Rotherham United on Saturday, Millers manager Steve Evans labelled them ‘the best League One side I’ve ever seen’. Evans isn’t the first manager to praise Blues this season, and he isn’t the first to reference their summer spending, as he did consistently in the pre-match build-up.
READ: Blues notebook – Paik transfer stance, Stansfield chant, Sanderson blow
READ: Knighthead strike new deal to counter major St Andrew’s stadium issue
With that in mind, we have dug out the quotes from each manager on Blues. In addition to their six League One games, Blues also met fellow third tier side Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup in mid-August. Here is everything League One bosses have said about Blues…
Ruben Selles (Reading)
Selles is the only manager who hasn’t paid Blues much lip service. The Spaniard’s Reading side impressed at St Andrew’s on the opening day and he chose to focus on them before and after the match.
Speaking beforehand, Selles said: “Everyone invests the money they have or want in the club as long as they can be sustainable. Not many clubs can support that level of finance.
“Sometimes you need money to create good teams, sometimes you have a good academy and you can create a good team. There are lots of different ways to do it. But it’s played by 11 players and about which team is better not how much money you spend.”
Nathan Jones (Charlton)
When Blues beat Charlton 1-0 at The Valley in August, Jones spent his post-match press conference talking up the budget available to his opposite number. He then added: “These are expected to walk the league. Not win the league, walk it. And the margins were very small between the two teams. We’re in a decent place.”
