Sutton United boss Steve Morrison name-checks Man City, targets Birmingham City – Soccer World League

Sutton United manager Steve Morrison delivered a thinly veiled jab at Birmingham City after Sunday afternoon’s FA Cup first-round tie, claiming his latest opponents had outbid Manchester City in the summer transfer window.

The Blues managed to escape a great home tie at Gander Green Lane with a narrow 1-0 win through Willum Willumsson, who scored his fifth goal of the season to book his side’s visit to Blackpool in the second round.

Although the visitors asserted their dominance throughout, they were unable to extend their advantage and failed to fully convince on the afternoon. National League side Sutton refused to let them make light work of their trip to the capital and had a few moments to get back into the game, along with seeing a controversial penalty disallowed at the end of the first half.

Steve Morrison’s transfer claim includes Birmingham City and Man City

After the narrow defeat to the League One rivals, Morrison took time to praise his side’s efforts in difficult circumstances.

The former Cardiff City boss also took a bit of a risky shot at the Blues, saying it was a credit to him that he stayed in the game as long as they did against opponents who, in his words, “outshone Manchester City” in the summer transfer window window.

Birmingham’s summer spending has been the subject of widespread speculation and conflicting media reports. Initial reports suggested that their total summer spending had topped the £30m mark, which, if true, would indeed usurp the Citizens’ transfer spending. The eight-time Premier League champions have enjoyed a relatively quiet transfer window and their only transfer fee arrival came in the form of Brazilian winger Savinho, who headed to City Football Group sister side Troy in a £30.8m deal.

However, a report from BirminghamLive claims that despite the Blues achieving an unprecedented biggest transfer win by League One standards, they are yet to match the £30m-plus bids made elsewhere.

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Speaking after the game, Morrison said: “It was always going to be a tough question. We were still in the game right at the end and almost made it at that point. It was a tense match.

“It’s a credit to the players that we’ve just played Birmingham, who beat Manchester City in the transfer window and spent £20m in their league, so to still be in the game at the end is a credit to our players .

“I’m really, really, really proud of the performance, they executed the game plan, we knew we couldn’t go toe-to-toe with them, we’re upset to lose but they throw threes and fours past people every week.

“Was it a penalty? I don’t know, but in midfield you can guarantee it’s a foul. These guys have that one chance, I think our goalie had one save in the game, not to say their goalie had any saves, but there was a definite difference in the teams.”

Birmingham have come under fire for their lavish spending. However, love it or hate it, it pays dividends for them.

They are currently top of Ligue 1 by three points after twelve games and have already managed to build a squad that probably won’t look out of place in the Championship, although their ambitions are clearly higher and plans for the final promised land are in move.

The Blues are aiming to return to the Premier League as soon as possible, with Tom Wagner setting himself a three-year target after buying the club last summer. That goal was dealt a significant blow when they were relegated from the second tier last term, but there is a growing school of thought that they are capable of securing back-to-back promotions back into the big season.

That’s all Wagner and co. will be concerned even if it will cost a pretty penny.