Nathan Jones, head coach of Charlton Athletic, has not held back in his response to Birmingham City manager Chris Davies.
Since Charlton halted Birmingham’s League One winning streak with a close 1-0 victory at The Valley on October 5, there has been some tension between Jones and Davies.
Davies, understandably unhappy after the match since his men performed so poorly, highlighted Charlton’s strategy of preventing teams from succeeding. The Blues’ manager also reacted to the focus on his team’s spending, claiming that the Addicks, too, spent heavily.
“Charlton was man-to-man pressuring us. Their job was to halt us rather than play too much with the ball. Charlton spent a fortune. “They’ve spent a lot of money on their roster, and they’re a good team,” Davies told The Valley.
“I have no doubt that numerous teams in this league are well-equipped to succeed. We are one of those teams; it is not Birmingham or the rest. “It is League One.”
Jones responded late to those statements, defending Charlton and his techniques. “We play a certain way no matter who we play with. We are committed to certain principles. “How we set up is how we believe we can hurt the opposition,” Jones told the South London Press & Mercury.
“Contrary to popular belief, we do not set up solely to prevent individuals from playing. We must first be excellent in possession and then outperform them. Regardless of how others perceive it, you must stop Birmingham from playing, and we are ourselves in every game.
When asked about Davies’ criticism of expenditure, Jones responded: “There aren’t many Championship clubs who have spent as much as they have. I’m not sure what he defines as fortunes. We’ve spent more than most League One teams, but I wouldn’t call it fortunes.
“We’ve been quite thrifty in the transfer market. I dislike commenting on others. Birmingham spent a money, but if they can do so, I see no problem with it. I don’t want to argue about it.
“We know how much we’ve spent, and we can’t spend fortunes because the club has financial fair play rules. So, we can only spend what we have. Did we spend money on players? Absolutely. Is it a fortune in comparison to many other sides? “It’s healthy,” Jones added.
