Did the pressure of Barcelona devour Pep?
If you’re good enough, you’re good enough.
Kieran McKenna | Close to signing long term deal to stay at Ipswich
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
If you’re good enough, you’re good enough.
I also wanted him to move to Brighton but taking a step back and thinking with broader mind, what exactly Brighton adds to his profile? Potter had very good stint with them but wasn't ready for Chelsea. RDZ had cracking season, followed by average season. Now teams are looking for managers but not many have them in their top priority list.
On the other hand, by relegating Burnley without being out of relegation zone for more than 3 days Kompany is landing Bayern job. Maybe the experience is overrated and the tactical and ability to manage, ideas on how to set up team is the way to go?
I think it'd be unwise for him to go to Chelsea or us. I don't think we are anywhere near having the foundations in place, people in charge have barely settled in. I think we'll be in a far better place next summer to build on for the 25/26 season. Chelsea aren't going to have much patience with him, a bad streak and they'll feck him off and bring in someone else, things have a tendency to change quickly.
I have no idea about the inner workings of Brighton and if that's going to be a decent fit for him, all he should be looking at is that he needs a club that suits his abilities and where they'll allow him to build on what he's good at. He's 38, there's no immediate rush to bridge the gap between the bottom and the top. A poor streak and everyone will have their knives out about his abilities as a manager. It's hardly the end of the world if he stays at Ipswich for the next season.
I think clubs can easily look past experience, given how the current crop of experienced managers are performing, and focus a bit more on their performance over the years and how they fit in. Look at Tuchel and Pochettino, both are obviously experienced and good managers, but neither of them are tempting for clubs hoping to compete for the big trophies
If we do get him, I think it’s a broader signal that we’re moving towards a rebuild and bigger salaries and egos need to be shown the door. That means Rashford, his brothers and all three of his image and PR agencies.
The only way we can give ourselves a reasonable chance of this working is having a very strong football board supporting him (something that we’re actually doing with Berrada, Ashworth and Wilcox) and the older marquee names on big money get shifted out so they don‘t undermine him (something that seems like it will happen although maybe not all this summer - hopefully all of them by summer 2025).
With him at the helm, I think it’ll be a certainty that the days of galactico signings will be over and we’ll be focusing on younger players. The people who we’ve hired at director level indicate that to me anyway but someone like McKenna would almost certainly not be in the market for those marquee names we used to go for in the Glazer/Woodward days.
I can see us getting McKenna and Chelsea getting Maresca.
With him at the helm, I think it’ll be a certainty that the days of galactico signings will be over and we’ll be focusing on younger players. The people who we’ve hired at director level indicate that to me anyway but someone like McKenna would almost certainly not be in the market for those marquee names we used to go for in the Glazer/Woodward days.
I can see us getting McKenna and Chelsea getting Maresca.
I’m down for it.
I also think with INEOS having his back the players will fall in line as he won’t be left to fend for himself like the Glazers seem to do.
Also those worried about the players who were here before who’s to say they still are? We don’t have a clue who said what.
I also think with INEOS having his back the players will fall in line as he won’t be left to fend for himself like the Glazers seem to do.
Also those worried about the players who were here before who’s to say they still are? We don’t have a clue who said what.
Pretty much what we said when we hired Ten Hag, wasn't it?
I mean, it should be fairly obvious that the club needs a new direction and rebuild, but at the moment it's a bit like throwing out phrases without anything substantial. We need to work harder, smarter, organic growth, we need to discover and nurture talented players, we need to start identifying and sign players before they reach the top. The problem isn't coming up with the standard talk, the problem is putting the right people in key positions and following through.
I am still Ten Hag in. So no, but I would not want him at my club in the first place.
He has won nothing. How can he install the mentality of winning a trophy if he himself never tasted it before. This will only backfire in few weeks when the result go south. We have actual winners who are not able to contain and deal with this pressure.
Because the Glazers allowed player power, likes of undermining Mourinho when he wanted to sell Martial, giving Rashford the world because he does decent PR.
With decent support from upstairs McKenna can reign in that stuff.
He can, if he has done it in another place. But Winning major trophies is not the same as getting a promotion. Instead of investing in a new unknown manager with a new unknown period of time, keep your current manager one more year until better options become available (Ancelotti in one year).
It's just such a gamble on someone with such a lack of top flight experience or any clout from a playing career.
Getting two promotions with Ipswich is great work but going from that to getting the best out the likes of Casemiro or Rashford is a very different job.
Getting two promotions with Ipswich is great work but going from that to getting the best out the likes of Casemiro or Rashford is a very different job.
Haven't you got that impression already? INEOS aren't renewing big contracts like Varane and Martial, and Casemiro and Sancho are actively being touted around Saudi. They even cancelled the end of season party to cut costs. This is what a rebuild looks like. However Rashford is going nowhere and regardless of who the manager is he will start most weeks due to his contract size.
McKenna could go on to do great things and what if Ancelotti doesn’t want to come here?
The likes of Pep walked straight into an elite side without needing to work across teams first and it worked alright and on the flip side I’d like to see Pep try get back to back promotions with a team such as Ipswich, he probably couldn’t.
Also, McKenna will have first hand experience of the problems here and what needs rectifying- him working with the support of INEOS and not just been thrown to the wolves by the Glazers could be a masterstroke.
of course it could all go tits up too.
It is but one of things we suffer from is finding a manager that is the right 'fit' for the club. McKenna has been here before and knows the pressures and expectations of a United manager. It's on him if he shrinks in the role, he has to back himself.
Honestly, the solution to that is selling Rashford and Casemiro.
That aside, respect is quickly earned if you prove yourself to be good at your job and have good personal skills.
One could argue his PR agencies have done more to erode the authority of past managers than anything else that has happened off the pitch. They always have a players tribune article on draft with personal pictures, ready to hit send whenever a manger so much as asks the man to track back on counter attacks.
What authority exactly has that eroded? Rashfords PR is tone deaf and self interested but it's never called out a manager. I understand that people feel a disconnect with him because of his PR and lack of application at times but he'll still be here for at least another season.
For heavens sake
you genuinely think his charity work is what got him new deals and not you know scoring plenty of goals and being key to us, albeit, in bursts? He's absolutely off the boil now, but its pathetic to pretend he's only here for off the field reasons.Agree with most of what you are saying and it all makes sense. Only problem is, things change very quickly in football. This season he is the hot name, one bad season and he might not get a chance at top club for few years.
Football is full of stories that suits all point of views. You have managers who grew from lower level to top gradually, managers who got break at mid level who made good use of that and then managers who got break at top clubs. Likewise we have examples for failures at different levels.
It's all down to individual quality and of course bit of luck with timing.
This! If he's special enough, he'll rise to the pressure. At this point, we have had experienced managers fail, and tacticians fail. As much as experience is a factor, I think there are way more intangibles and nuances we often don't see as fans. In all honesty, I think they just need to get rid of some rotten eggs that might undermine and give a fresh slate.
Yeah, there's plenty of ways to spin this.
It depends if it aligns with the recruitment strategy. Which then should involve getting rid of said Casemiro and Rashford among others.
These are pretty much no-brainers.
Talks about Rashford PR and then falls for Jose PR.
I didn't say only here for that but absolutely his PR works for him, in a club run by commercial interests and bankers his face creates revenue.For heavens sake
What Jose PR have I fallen for? Have I missed a part where Martial is suddenly great and not a waste of space as he has been for years.
That Jose wasn't backed or undermined because one player wasn't sold.
Didn't say he wasn't backed, though it is questionable after we made top four but that goes for all managers.
And he was undermined by Joel because he had a stiffy for Martial - 1 player or 10, it doesn't matter because it ends any authority.
The manager talked about counter press when losing the ball and a video clip goes around showing him ambling around vs Luton with absolutely no intention of closing anyone down and a week later we are greeted with a PR article suggesting not to question his commitment to the club. What is it, if not both self serving and at the same time creating a dissonance from the managers demands?
McKenna seems a bit like a flavor of the month manager. Probably talented, but still only has three years of management under his belt, and has never managed at top flight level. It says a lot about the current manager market that he is being seriously considered by several top clubs at the moment.
I hope we don't go for him over some sort of fear of missing out.
I hope we don't go for him over some sort of fear of missing out.
Jose practically packed Shaw’s bags for him and wanted him out too.
It's not undermining manager, it's not just one way communication where manager orders and club gets it done. He wanted to sell him but club didn't want to, he got everything his way, including sidelining Martial who saved his ass for Sanchez who stunk up the pitch week in week out.
Jose did awesome PR job, where it was like it was him Vs player + management when it was the players who were hated during his tenure saved him and his sons and brothers were the one who stunk up the pitch and got him sacked.
It feels like time has coloured this a bit.
When Mourinho was here, Martial and Rashford were both strong options with sky high potential.
It's not recent times where Martial has dropped off a cliff through both injury and seemingly appalling effort, or where Rashford has an absolute bottom end season after a worldy one.
Do you legitimately believe that Martial situation was the thing that decided the outcome of Jose tenure?
No, he ended his own tenure with poor on the pitch performances and typical Jose attitude.
The players were turning on Jose, Pogba included. The season after he finished 2nd with 81ish points, he got Fred and I think 1 or 2 others, which wasn't exactly going to close the gap on City. I think that frustrated him too.
Yup.
Either way it's not binary. The club not wanting to get rid of Martial was at the stage where Jose was heading fast towards a brick wall, it wasn't an isolated event where we somehow stripped Mourinho of all authority and put him a path towards failure. The vast majority of his signings were failing and he wanted to replace them with even more expensive signings that were available for feck all when he decided the best course of action was signing Bailly and Lindelof. We made Sanchez the best paid player in the league and allowed Mourinho to completely derail the season that Rashford and Martial were having competing for the left wing spot, whereas Sanchez turned out to be an utter disaster of a signing.
What is McKenna's type of football? Ten Hag had a clear way of playing at Ajax, and he never got to implement that here. McKenna's only way of success is if all the big players are gone and we play with highly motivated players. No other chance.
I'm totally for De Zerbi. His style of play is clear and with better players he should thrive.
I'm totally for De Zerbi. His style of play is clear and with better players he should thrive.