Kieran McKenna | Close to signing long term deal to stay at Ipswich

roseguy64

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I honestly can’t believe any here are considering this a good thing! He was here with Ole and it didn’t work then - Ole was a man that very much believed in his collective coaches - Mike, Kieran and Michael Carrick. If Kieran McKenna was some kind of tactical genius then Ole would have used that to his and the teams benefit.
Then, to be the biggest issue, the man has absolutely zero management experience at the top level. It’s one thing to do well in the first division and championship (and he did very well) but entirely another to manage the egos and pressures of a top level team.

We may as well go and get Phil Parkinson at Wrexham, he also managed back to back promotions!
Ipswich don't play like Man Utd did under Ole is what's been said. So clearly Ole as the boss dictated how we played, not the assistants.
 

tomaldinho1

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He's still the same player he was at Leicester and here during Ole's two full seasons. Also an availability freak. I really believe he would be one of the first names on the team sheet for most elite level managers, be that McKenna, Tuchel, etc. Pep wanted him for a reason as well back in 2019. Very similar profile and strengths to Dias and de Ligt for xample, both of whom are considered to be world class CBs. I think there's a few good years left in Maguire and he could be back in contention under a new manager.
He's not a bad player by any means but not sure why he'd suddenly flip the script in the way you're suggesting, by all accounts we're looking to sign someone as first choice in front of him. Dias is much much more aggressive than him which is Maguire's big weakness when you think of his profile, De Ligt I don't think is that similar apart from that they are both tall and not that fast.
 

Raven

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A lot of what SJR has said about how he wants to run United is by identifying talent early and not paying over the odds for players at their peak.

I assume if we're going with McKenna then it's the same philosophy, just applied to the manager as well. Let his stock grow further at United rather than having to spend more for the 'finished' article.
This is a good point.
 

Rojofiam

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Right, you can’t name any. So the Ole-McKenna comparison you made to bitch about other fans’ criticisms of Ole was a poor one to make. Just compare the results of their managerial experiences and which clubs are keen on signing who.
It's pretty obvious that Ole isn't really keen on any managerial job and if there's no motivation, why would he take it? He doesn't need to prove himself for casuals who think he's incompetent. If he feels like there's a position for him that he truly wants, then I'm certain he'll be back in management.

My bitching was about how both Carrick and McKenna succeeded with a very similar approach to Ole's United after leaving the club, but the general consensus is going to be way different for them than it was for Ole.
 

Pickle85

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Id go with Poch or De Zerbi.

McKenna needs time he's not ready
If the powers that be deem him ready I'm happy to go along with that as I would wager they have a better sense than either you or I.
 

Rojofiam

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He's not a bad player by any means but not sure why he'd suddenly flip the script in the way you're suggesting, by all accounts we're looking to sign someone as first choice in front of him. Dias is much much more aggressive than him which is Maguire's big weakness when you think of his profile, De Ligt I don't think is that similar apart from that they are both tall and not that fast.
Let this be my bold prediction then, in case we appoint McKenna. :)
 

SAF is the GOAT

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I'm not "jealous" of any coach who will coach us next season, especially since the expectations will be sky-high. There is a huge difference between coaching a weaker team without pressure in lower leagues and coaching a club from the Premier League, especially Manchester United. He felt some of this pressure when he was coaching, imagine what will happen when he is in front as a manager? It's a completely different pressure. I don't think he's ready to coach us right now, it's too early.

After we played badly all season and we probably won't make it to Europe (we'll find out in the coming days), I don't see who will have patience with us, especially the fans. I remember when Eric arrived there was a promise (at least from what I saw online) that he would be given time to build a project, but in the end, he would be thrown out after two years. What do you think will happen to an insufficiently experienced coach, who has already coached us, and let's not forget - we didn't look good under him either. We will be here again 2 years from now, maybe even before that.
 

littlepeasoup

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Yeah we saw all these types of videos when ETH was on the verge of being appointed
Not just for ETH, we see them for basically every signing as well. Sancho, Anthony, Mount and Onana come to mind. In fairness to Dave, he doesn't really talk much about how McKenna would operate at United, but more about how he's been successful doing what he's doing at Ipswich. The video title is properly click-bait though.
 

Stobzilla

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Ipswich don't play like Man Utd did under Ole is what's been said. So clearly Ole as the boss dictated how we played, not the assistants.
McKenna, Carrick and Eric Ramsey (remember him and how useless he was supposed to be? 2nd place in the Western Conference with Minnesota United in the MLS, 2 games in hand as well) are all seeing success having now been separated from Ole, the pattern is clear.
 

luke511

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Id go with Poch or De Zerbi.

McKenna needs time he's not ready
Pochettino is a massive yawn, sacked from Tottenham and Chelsea already. De Zerbi isn’t a bad option but haven’t been that impressed with his set ups and substitutions this season, a lot of unnecessary tinkering. By your logic you wouldn’t have wanted De Zerbi either coming straight from Shakhtar, but 2 seasons in the PL, the last being average, and he’s deemed ready? It’s not as essential as you think, and if it doesn’t end up working out, we move on, that’s the nature of it.
 

lifted

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Pochettino is a massive yawn, sacked from Tottenham and Chelsea already. De Zerbi isn’t a bad option but haven’t been that impressed with his set ups and substitutions this season, a lot of unnecessary tinkering. By your logic you wouldn’t have wanted De Zerbi either coming straight from Shakhtar, but 2 seasons in the PL, the last being average, and he’s deemed ready? It’s not as essential as you think, and if it doesn’t end up working out, we move on, that’s the nature of it.
Technically he wasn't sacked by Chelsea. He didn't like the direction the club was taking and they weren't for budging. Pretty amicable really.
 

Dan_F

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I’d be absolutely amazed if we gave him the job. Trusting one of the biggest jobs in sport to someone who’s been a manager for two years, has no reputation to fall back on and has never managed top players before.

He’d have to be a generational manager to crack this.
 

NK86

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I wouldn’t call us tiki-taka at all, I’d say we play a lot of decisive attacks down the wings, but it’s rarely long ball. Our keeper, Hladky, is being picked over a (probably) superior shot stopper Walton because of how good he is on the ball.

I’d call it clever football basically, creating quick over loads and getting a scoring opportunity before the oppo teams realise what’s happening.
I don’t think we need tiki taka, as long as we are capable of being comfortable in possession and out of it.

Pool never played pure possession ball under Klopp but were lethal in the way they overwhelmed the opponents with their scary attack in their prime. If McKenna can have us play close to that, I will be over the moon.

In fact, we were never pure possession under prime SAF either. Think as long as we can be comfortable in possession and lethal in attack and speed of attacks, we will be fine.

Back on point, do you think he has improved your players at an individual level and is your team more than the sum of individual parts? If so, he maybe worth a shot (a long shot mind it).
 

Utd heap

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I’d be absolutely amazed if we gave him the job. Trusting one of the biggest jobs in sport to someone who’s been a manager for two years, has no reputation to fall back on and has never managed top players before.

He’d have to be a generational manager to crack this.
Yep
 

Adamsk7

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I’d be absolutely amazed if we gave him the job. Trusting one of the biggest jobs in sport to someone who’s been a manager for two years, has no reputation to fall back on and has never managed top players before.

He’d have to be a generational manager to crack this.
Thank you. It’s lunacy
 

city-puma

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Of our current players, I think he will have coached Dalot, Maguire, Bruno, AWB, Lindelof, McTominay, Rashford, Shaw, Martial (and Greenwood). I expect the latter two to leave this summer and maybe AWB, but the rest will probably remain.
The real issue this season is that ETH could not find the right formula to produce a coherent unit. I would expect McKenna can create a unit with those players so that the team plays greater than 11.
 

Lash

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I’d be absolutely amazed if we gave him the job. Trusting one of the biggest jobs in sport to someone who’s been a manager for two years, has no reputation to fall back on and has never managed top players before.

He’d have to be a generational manager to crack this.
Also, I can't imagine we'd completely change our plans based on Chelsea and Brighton trying to appoint him. I honestly think Tuchel has been wrapped up post his exit in the CL and will actually give INEOS massive kudos if they were that decisive.
 

Andycoleno9

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I refuse to believe that between dozen available managers we would be that stupid and go for him. Even Murtough wouldn't be that stupid.
 
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USREDEVIL

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If ETH is sacked i think i want McKenna. At least he has a connection with the club, up and coming, and there's some soul to it. Appointing Tuchel makes sense but is soulless, he's a cup manager and we're not even in the Europe next year.
 

Tarrou

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McKenna, Carrick and Eric Ramsey (remember him and how useless he was supposed to be? 2nd place in the Western Conference with Minnesota United in the MLS, 2 games in hand as well) are all seeing success having now been separated from Ole, the pattern is clear.
also, considering Ole is considered completely inept as a manager on here our league finishes weren't that bad at all (we'd be pretty happy for back to back top four finishes from here)

it's entirely possible we'd have done a lot worse without McKenna, but it's impossible to know

the idea that he isn't a good tactician because of how we played under Ole is reaching to say the least, especially considering how he has performed since he left
 

city-puma

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McKenna, Carrick and Eric Ramsey (remember him and how useless he was supposed to be? 2nd place in the Western Conference with Minnesota United in the MLS, 2 games in hand as well) are all seeing success having now been separated from Ole, the pattern is clear.
We have very talented coach team then. The Glazers made the biggest mistake to sack Ole and abandoned the project. It’s crystal clear now. New project under ETH now comes to the end. The good thing is that the Glazers won’t be able to derail the club by their series of ridiculous bad decisions.
 

TheGame

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A lot of what SJR has said about how he wants to run United is by identifying talent early and not paying over the odds for players at their peak.

I assume if we're going with McKenna then it's the same philosophy, just applied to the manager as well. Let his stock grow further at United rather than having to spend more for the 'finished' article.
Yep could be. Good post.
 

Irwin99

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His work in getting two successive promotions is absolutely fantastic. I guess what i'm slightly concerned with is the jump between that and being United manager, and eventually getting a team together that can challenge for the league and champions league. I think a lot of managers could get top 4 with this United squad, playing to it's strengths, and it wouldn't surprise me if we got top 4 next season, but it's what comes after that that is always the big problem. The team tries to evolve and it fails miserably.

Also, hearing conflicting information about his style with Ipswich. He's worked under Jose and Ole...he's is his own man obviously, but if we play anything like those two then I can't say i'm super excited. Other people say he plays a much better football which is a relief.
 

AndyMUFC

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I stiOne thing I do
Of our current players, I think he will have coached Dalot, Maguire, Bruno, AWB, Lindelof, McTominay, Rashford, Shaw, Martial (and Greenwood). I expect the latter two to leave this summer and maybe AWB, but the rest will probably remain.
Yeah he knows all of those players plus the likes of Varane, Sancho and Van De Beek who are likely leaving too.

As much as it feels too soon, that is a definite positive in all of this . There shouldn't need to be any assessing of the squad as he already knows most of the players that should be out of chances.