If ETH goes McKenna is my clear first choice. He’s obviously a very very good coach which is what we need. On top of that he’ll know what has been going wrong here and will surely have clear ideas about what we need to do to improve.
Kieran McKenna | Close to signing long term deal to stay at Ipswich
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I agree with the logic that him moving on from Ipswich could be a smart move, but it shouldn’t be to United. We will destroy his career before it’s properly started.
Much better he moves to a mid table club that won’t be in danger of relegation and without the pressure to have to finish in the European spots.
Oh wait that is us. Welcome Kieran!
Much better he moves to a mid table club that won’t be in danger of relegation and without the pressure to have to finish in the European spots.
Oh wait that is us. Welcome Kieran!
Here's the article. Aarons says initial contact has been made between United and McKenna's representatives. Brighton and Brentford also shown interest.
I can't see this happening, but I'd be all in.
Far rather give him a chance than see Ten Hag get another season
Far rather give him a chance than see Ten Hag get another season
I really think bringing him in will be way pre mature. Let him have a first proper season, look after he does and how he handles the pressure and then take a stance.
Ipswich will take us to the cleaners as he has a contract until 2027 but I would love it. His style of play and work with young players is exactly what we need.
Would he be our youngest manager ever?
Our second Irish manager.
Our second Irish manager.
This is the sort of statement that has held us back years and years, we keep giving the job to people the player won't respect.
We need a Boss not a boy.
That's the players problem.
But nobody wants to replace the players
I do. Sick of the sight of most of them.
Lovely stuff
Sell Rashford and you’ll find that’s half the problem gone. Fernandes, Martinez and Shaw will be the senior figures in the dressing room, and they won’t stroll around taking the piss whenever it suits them. They’re good role models.
You earn respect. Mourinho is widely respected, but was he respected here? He public slagged of Shaw, Martial and Pogba. Van Goal decimated our team and brought in crap, then played crap football. Post SAF Ole is probably the one that had the most respect.
In the end it's not the name that commands respect but what you do day in day out.
I'd sell anyone who doesn't work for the team, Rashford included, even though he's an academy player and has done great humanitarian work.
It sets a bad example when senior players aren't running and pressing.
Nobody? I'd say most of the fanbase wants at least half of this squad out.
I dont get this at all, the players are being cleared out, its been repeatedly reported, Bruno considering his future, Varane going, AWB linked away, only three players un touchable Mainoo, Garnacho and Hojlund, rest are up for sale.
In my very strong opinion and I would trust the information I am basing my opinion on explicitly he is 100% leaving Ipswitch what isnt so sure is where he is going, United would be incredible and id be very excited to see what he can do, our "big" managers have been useless, my thoughts based on the above is Brighton is more likely.
If he’s good enough for Brighton he’s good enough for us. We are a mid table club right now and the only way is up. I think his appointment would excite me more than anyone else we’ve been linked with. Of course it’s a risk, but is he really going to do any worse than his predecessors? I doubt it. Bring him in and concentrate on building a young, harmonious squad for him. And for gods sake let’s play some exciting football for a change.
Respect is earned, not given. And that is based on ability, not age.
If he gets the team playing well and the players start playing good football, which will help their own profile then you will quickly see the players respecting him.
Well this is fairly disastrous, if true!
I personally err on the side of the argument that Utd will decide it’s just too soon for him. He’s managed a single season in League One, and a single season in the Championship, with the momentum and confidence that came from being so good last year. They don’t know how he deals with adversity because, well, he’s never had to deal with it before. It’s very difficult to know if I’m looking at this with blue tinted specs or not. We probably pay him 500k to 1m per year. Would he turn down multiplying that salary by a factor of ten? I wouldn’t, and he doesn’t have the earned wealth that most young managers, coming from a career in football, do.
I personally err on the side of the argument that Utd will decide it’s just too soon for him. He’s managed a single season in League One, and a single season in the Championship, with the momentum and confidence that came from being so good last year. They don’t know how he deals with adversity because, well, he’s never had to deal with it before. It’s very difficult to know if I’m looking at this with blue tinted specs or not. We probably pay him 500k to 1m per year. Would he turn down multiplying that salary by a factor of ten? I wouldn’t, and he doesn’t have the earned wealth that most young managers, coming from a career in football, do.
As an Ipswich fan who’s watched him week in weekout, change of tactics, subs, injuries etc how do you think he’s handled that and do you think he could make Step up to a mid table team in the prem or a slightly higher mid table team like United
Brighton? They are sacking De Zerbi or is he going somewhere else?
It's not that we keep giving the job to people the players won't respect, it's that the club in the state it's been is not built upon any kind of foundation like respect. Players don't respect anyone because why would they, the club is rotten from top to bottom and there's been no structure put in place to insure that such things as disrespect won't be tolerated. You can disrespect who you want but your name being on the books balances out a sheet so you're staying, look at Mourinho, he wanted some players gone but they wouldn't get rid of them because of finances, now you've undermined the manager and weakened his position. Now we are putting in a proper football structure with well respected football people who can back the manager/coach up and any discontent will actually be dealt with, you'll start to see players fall in line with the culture change. It's just that it's going to take years to see this happen.
I hate saying this if he’s leaving, but he’s been absolutely integral to the club as a whole, not just the team. Great relationship with our chief exec and the players clearly love him. Very very little in the way of late subs; he usually swaps out two of of our four most attacking players on the hour mark, and it’s difficult to argue given the sheer amount of late goals we’ve scored. The only real perma-injured player we have is a certain A Tuanzebe, and he looks to have been successfully integrated back into the starting line up. Proper baby steps at first in the season, but he ended up playing 90 minutes regularly at the end. Also the local press love him; he makes the time to talk to them and I’ve never seen him lose his temper or appear anxious during a match. I felt he kept the pressure off our team in the run-in as much as anyone can.
I still think it’s possibly too soon for him, but Utd need someone who buys into a project. What you need is more than just tweaking it’s some fairy major changes. Ipswich were like that when he took over. Ageing squad in league one, a lot of whom were signed under previous managers who played a more ‘rugged’ style of football. The fact that he managed to get those players out and the right ones in, whilst still winning most weeks, is what has impressed me the most. And the fact that although the clear majority of our current players were signed when we were in League One, he made a point of saying he believed they could step up, and virtually to a man, they did.
Yeah, my views on why it would be premature is a little different though. I think, in order for us to bring in a young, exciting coach - but fairly inexperienced who haven't won much/iif anything, we'd need a squad clear-out first.
Bring in mostly young, talented and hungry players who wants to win - promote a few other talented youth players to build the squad and clear out the big names/older guys on high wages (keep a few around who suits the style though, to provide experience), or we'll end up with another culture clash where in the end, the manager gets thrown under the bus because he "expects too much (running)" or wants to change the way they play etc. I guess like Arteta, we could always do this over a 2 year period with McKenna in charge.
In the end, I'm almost at that point where I'd take anyone (almost!), over giving EtH another season. That's how bad things are.
Thanks for taking the time to write that out. He does sound seriously impressive, even if the step maybe too big for him I’d be all in for it. If not I hope he does well for you next year
No problem. Yeah I’ll definitely be wanting Utd to do well if he joins you. I’d obviously love him to stay and keep us up, but I’ll understand if he gets a too good to refuse offer.
Tbh, I think McKenna, who I rate as a very interesting coach, would stand a much better chance at aunited if Ten Hag does get another season. He needs more experience to take on such a disruptive situation we have right now, it would be better for him as 38 yo specialist coach if the setup with DoF/TechDir//HoR/CEO/Ineos was established before he came, and he will have a better ground to come to if the players have had a more normal season behind them.
I think he has verry little chance of succeeding coming at this point, starting from zero with distraught and frustrated players, some at his own age with ten times his experience, many shot on confidence in themselves or in each other. It could become really, really ugly, and for all the people at this point writing they would give him time, or it can’t be worse than this, there will be thousands typing S H A M B L E S and ITOLDYOUSO angrily into their keyboards if we are 10th placed in octobre under McKenna, some of them national media sports journalists. He might stand for that, but this group of players won’t.
This group of players knows and remembers that they have performed well under Ten Hag under normal circumstances, they know this season is an anomaly, they will be able to learn from both these two seasons and deliver something more akin to Ten Hag’s best level, which has been proven several times to be at least very good. That’s if the dressing room haven’t totally caved in on him.
If it has, this is not the situation for McKenna to come into, IMO. Then it would be better with some unexciting but experienced placeholder to put us within reach of CL for a season or two, hopefully one operating by similar principles as Ten Hag has and Ineos et al wants.
This is really not the best summer to be needing a new manager, looking at the options and their situations.
I would be OK with McKenna but not enthusiastic, I think his biggest advantage over the other candidates is that he knows the club already.
What's he's done at Ipswich is amazing but it's a different level, United are in another galaxy. He'll have some idea of what it's like but he's never been the main man at the highest level.
What's he's done at Ipswich is amazing but it's a different level, United are in another galaxy. He'll have some idea of what it's like but he's never been the main man at the highest level.
United are in another galaxy to virtually all clubs in the world, the fact coaches don't have experience at our level should not be a determining factor, it should only ever be seen as a bonus.
What is exactly his style of play? Hopefully, it's something modern attacking football type?
You'd need to be ready for the step up then, Rio said Moyes wasn't ready for the size of the pre-season tour
"Big club this"
I don't think Ancelotti for example would say that
Was Arteta premature at Arsenal? He hadnt even managed before.
I’d rather McKenna than Tuchel.
I’d rather McKenna than Tuchel.
No, but Ancelotti isn't available and there are very few, if any, head coaches who have succeeded at the top end of that stratosphere that would come to us.
Klopp - obviously not
Pep - obviously not
Mourinho - tried that
Ancelotti - under contract
I can't think of any others, so after that, experience with the club is about the best you are going to get, McKenna has seen the scope of our touring schedule and fan base up close so that won't be a surprise to him in the way it was with David Moyes.
You would absolutely all Graham Potter him out of a job, and any big job ever again, within 6 months.
It's different being the main man though, a lot of the scrutiny would've been at Ole and the players in his time here. He knows to expect it but actually being able to manage it is another thing.
Outside of knowing the club well, could you argue that he's much more qualified than say Graham Potter? Potter has done very well in lower leagues and even at Brighton but was not quite ready to step up to the big time.
Bear in mind also that McKenna is not a club legend like Ole, he probably won't come in with that instant respect or admiration.
A good coach but is he ready to step up 3 or 4 levels already?
The caf was absolutely fuming through Ole’s reign that we didn’t play good enough football, there was no patterns of play etc. So we now want to make one of the main coaches of that time our manager?
I do understand he’s a had an amazing couple of years, but being a United manager takes so much more. I’m not even slating the guy because I felt like he was very harshly treated here and is clearly a fantastic coach, but I’d be astounded if we went for him.
I do understand he’s a had an amazing couple of years, but being a United manager takes so much more. I’m not even slating the guy because I felt like he was very harshly treated here and is clearly a fantastic coach, but I’d be astounded if we went for him.
And a whole new one like who's going to score goals? We've seen season what happens when we don't create or score enough. It's alright getting rid of people but we still need players to play and score.