He’s still a championship manager.
McKenna or Tuchel?
- Thread starter Bastian
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The same way Pep was a Barca B manager and Zidane was a Castilla manager.
Some would say he has proven that his level is higher than the Championship.
Some would say putting McKenna in the same bracket as Pep and Zidane a bit over the top, no?
Potter
I am not putting him in the same bracket at all. Just mentioning that him having managed in league 1 and the championship so far doesn't make him a championship manager. A few top managers going around these days have done it without going to through the grind and have proven themselves to be good enough. (In McKenna's case he actually has gone through the grind).
I get that the hype train is running for McKenna now but he was our lead coach with Ole and look how that turned out. McKenna’s style of play also won’t work for a top team in the modern game, as thrilling as it can be.
I'm curious what people think Mckenna's achievements with Ipswich are comparable with on the continent bearing in mind the strength of the championship, size of the club etc. Would it be the equivalent of taking a 2nd div spanish/italian club into the first div and then the following season into champs league places for example. I don't think there is a need to see how he fares in the prem as he has already been a first team coach recently at the biggest club in the prem. The only issue I could see is if some of the players who downed tools under Ole are still there e.g. if it was the likes of Rashford, Shaw etc then to really allow Mckenna to put his stamp on the team I'd think you'd have to get rid of those players.
Not saying McKenna is a poor manager, just the difference between managing championship to prem being massive.
Kompany won the Championship last year with more points and more convincingly, being talked about as the next City manager. Look where Burnley are now.
This
It's fair to say he's in the same bracket as them at the same point in their career, and I'll even put Ipswich higher than Barca B and Castilla.
They're clearly not saying that. McKenna's experience is much more impressive than those two if you only take their B team experience. The question for McKenna is what does the rest of his career hold? Will he ever even win a single major title, let alone multiples like they have done.
The only drawback in appointing McKenna now is his lack of experience in the PL.
Hang on don’t all foreign managers have that particular risk if they haven’t managed here before?
McKenna does have experience of coaching at a senior level at this club but there is a big difference in being part of the coaching staff and suddenly been the head coach. He has shown what he can do with a small squad on a tight budget.
Let’s see how next season goes with the new board in place.
I wouldn’t want to waste money and time by appointing another manager next season, I’m for keeping Hag and if things do not improve and hopefully McKenna works wonders at Ipswich then pull the trigger because if we don’t act quickly and are not in a position to act quickly due to a new manager in place with a new contract then McKenna will be off to another big club and we will miss out.
We do not need or want a Tuchel
It’s all irrelevant as I can’t imagine INEOS being desperate/daft enough to employ him.
A tiny part of me wouldn't mind a gamble on a manager like McKenna but I'm so tired of gambles that haven't paid off. Years of wasted time.
Would love to just have a proven world class manager with a top record. I don't think that's too much to ask for at a club as big as United.
Problem is anyone half decent is tied down elsewhere.
Would love to just have a proven world class manager with a top record. I don't think that's too much to ask for at a club as big as United.
Problem is anyone half decent is tied down elsewhere.
Tuchel then McKenna.
Some are really sure McKenna is the next big thing on managerial scene.
Didn’t workout great with Jose did it? Mind you I firmly believe had Woodward backed him and got rid of Pogba we just might have seen something special for a couple of seasons. We will never know.
He's a dark horse for sure.
I dont expect them too, but if they do appoint him then Ill assume that they have carefully selected him and have a vision for the club that he can assist with.
Tuchel
McKenna needs another year or two. Way too much of a gamble if it was between him and Tuchel. Now if it was him or Southgate I'd probably willing to take a chance
McKenna needs another year or two. Way too much of a gamble if it was between him and Tuchel. Now if it was him or Southgate I'd probably willing to take a chance
Any, I'll take any of them in the new structure model. The only thing about Tuchel is we'll probably have to sack him in a couple of years because he won't have the patience to see out a proper rebuild, or who knows? Maybe he's mellowed out after managing almost every big club in Europe and being sacked for fighting with the board over ambitions?
If McKenna gets appointed people will want him fired by October.
As previously posted…. this time last season people were bigging up Kompany as the next City manager, can‘t hear anyone saying that now.
Imagine the interview. "We are interested in signing you, but we'll probably have to sack you in a couple of years."Then he'd leap up from his chair , says in a sharp and pointed manner " How dare you insult The Great Thomas Tuchel ! " then he'll fly off with those big dumbo ears of his , never to be seen
Every manager is a gamble, no? Tuchel hasn't held a job for more than 2 years since leaving Meinz in 2014. Does his appointment, for example, not have risks?
Jose was proven world class and it didn't work out in the long term either.
Obviously not all appointments have the same risk factor, but it's not like there's any trully great managers who are available for us. And surely going for a young and exciting manager is not that much more risky than the alternative approach of going for proven experience, which has been failing consistently since LVGs appointment.
McKenna doesn't have the character for the Man Utd job. It's an absurd option.
I haven’t heard McKenna speak or have presence. Half of this managerial crap is presence, and we are crying out for that.
….and gone by Christmas, together with Utd’s hopes of top 4
Tuchel for 2 years just to get us back into Champions leauge and McKenna there on after.
Different leagues pose different challenges. There's no guarantees of success. Ten Hag was winning titles in Eredivisie and now he's on course to finish 8th, while shattering every negative record on the way, with Man Utd in the Prem. McKenna's success at lower levels doesn't guarantee him success in the Prem. But nor does Kompany's failure mean McKenna would fail too. They are different people, in different circumstances.
However, you have to some measure. A newly promoted side to the EPL will be involved in a relegation battle 9/10 times, statistically. Kompany could have done better, but let's be real. Keeping Burnley up, given their financial reach, would have been a small miracle. You're saying someone failed for not performing a small miracle. For not avoiding the fate of 90% of promoted clubs. By any other standard, Kompany had a very predictable/average season.
Meanwhile, we had the second largest net spend after Chelsea and we're about to finish 7th/8th in a historically bad season for us. With an atrocious performance in Europe, finishing bottom of an easy group with the worst Goals Conceded tally of any EPL club in history! That is a much bigger failure than Kompany's at Burnley, if it can be called that. And that happened to us while being managed by a 55yo proven manager with titles and deep CL runs under his belt.
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Money is still the great motivator but given where we are having a name as manager would help the player recruitment process. Of course Brailsford may already have sold the 'project' magnificently and we have a queue of players wanting to kick start Manchester United no matter who they're going to be managed/coached by.
I just don't see how McKenna could be the answer. He would get destroyed by the media the second the form hits a rough patch. He looks like a very good coach, but the credit isn't in the bank yet to get through the inevitable rough spells that the club will be going through the next couple of years.
He would be much better served going to a Brighton or Wolves next.
He would be much better served going to a Brighton or Wolves next.
I'm fine with it but some will say its a reason not to employ him. The reality is every manager should be sacked after 2-3 seasons if they're not delivering or causing issues.
I don't think McKenna is ready, but this applies to all United managers. The amount of stick TenHag gets compared to Poch for instance, and to a lesser extent Postecoglou, De Zerbi etc. is testimony to this.
So, just like every other manager who took the high profile job at Manchester United? Did Jose or Ten Hag get an easy ride from the press?
Exactly this...
If you haven't heard him speak, how can you say anything about his presence?
People underestimate as to how tough the PL is, which is multiplied when managing a club the size of United and all it’s expectations.
Managers arguably better qualified than McKenna such as Gerrard and Lampard have quickly been found out in the PREM.
And don't forget Roy Keane got Sunderland promoted, kept them up and is somehow regarded by many as an awful manager.