| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. 10:52 - Mar 16 with 4107 views | NeedhamChris |
Now that the season is just about done with (barring huge Man City deduction), rather looking forward to what will hopefully be another successful Championship campaign.
I still think it would have been better all round if McKenna had taken the Brighton job, he'd have left on the highest of highs and whilst some were upset at him for considering it - he'd have deserved it. However - he is also the best possible man for getting us back up so now the hope of staying in the Prem has gone, I'm hoping he stays.
However - if after that he leaves this summer - what will the point have been? I hope he repays the loyalty the club has shown him, and waits 12 more months for a bigger job. [Post edited 16 Mar 10:53]
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| No subject on 10:55 - Mar 16 with 3197 views | SaffronWaldenBlues |
I’m at ease with McKenna leaving in that sometimes a fresh perspective isn’t a bad thing, equally so long as we never end up in League One, he’s got a job for life here as far as I am concerned. I think if he gave us the bulk of his career he’d eventually turn us into something again. |  |
| An East Anglian Town overtaken by Londoners |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:04 - Mar 16 with 3134 views | VanDusen |
I'm struggling to see who will come in to take McKenna off our hands at present given the contract he's on. I can't imagine that the ones who could afford it - Spurs, Man U etc. - will be looking at him at this stage after a 'mixed' season, whilst the mid-range Premier Leaguers (Brighton, Palace, Fulham, Brentford, Bournemouth etc.) will no doubt have more cost-effective options lined up, even if they didn't already have decent appointments in place for the forseeable who will only move if offered a better job.
None of this is to denigrate his success as a manager the last three years or indeed the underappreciated achievement of managing to finish a club out of the top flight for 20 years and having suffered a decade of death by a thousand cuts above ANYONE in the Premier League this season (and we are surely going to be above Southampton come end of May even if we have given them nearly half their points total). I just think that the major danger period for him being poached is now gone. He also has first dibs on a plum opportunity in one of next season's best jobs in the country outside the Premier League.
But if he does find he's had enough we are in such better shape to attract a very decent replacement now. Personally I would try and entice Liam Rosenior back to the club with open arms if we do need to go hunting... | | | |
| No subject on 11:04 - Mar 16 with 3131 views | NeedhamChris |
| No subject on 10:55 - Mar 16 by SaffronWaldenBlues |
I’m at ease with McKenna leaving in that sometimes a fresh perspective isn’t a bad thing, equally so long as we never end up in League One, he’s got a job for life here as far as I am concerned. I think if he gave us the bulk of his career he’d eventually turn us into something again. |
Not sure I buy into the job for life viewpoint, if we're midtable or below in November/December I'd think it was time to pull the trigger.
Not that I think we will do anywhere near that badly. | |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:07 - Mar 16 with 3112 views | NeedhamChris |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:04 - Mar 16 by VanDusen |
I'm struggling to see who will come in to take McKenna off our hands at present given the contract he's on. I can't imagine that the ones who could afford it - Spurs, Man U etc. - will be looking at him at this stage after a 'mixed' season, whilst the mid-range Premier Leaguers (Brighton, Palace, Fulham, Brentford, Bournemouth etc.) will no doubt have more cost-effective options lined up, even if they didn't already have decent appointments in place for the forseeable who will only move if offered a better job.
None of this is to denigrate his success as a manager the last three years or indeed the underappreciated achievement of managing to finish a club out of the top flight for 20 years and having suffered a decade of death by a thousand cuts above ANYONE in the Premier League this season (and we are surely going to be above Southampton come end of May even if we have given them nearly half their points total). I just think that the major danger period for him being poached is now gone. He also has first dibs on a plum opportunity in one of next season's best jobs in the country outside the Premier League.
But if he does find he's had enough we are in such better shape to attract a very decent replacement now. Personally I would try and entice Liam Rosenior back to the club with open arms if we do need to go hunting... |
He's doing a decent job at Strasbourg, but he was vastly overrated after what was a pretty poor season at Hull. | |
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| No subject on 11:12 - Mar 16 with 3082 views | SaffronWaldenBlues |
| No subject on 11:04 - Mar 16 by NeedhamChris |
Not sure I buy into the job for life viewpoint, if we're midtable or below in November/December I'd think it was time to pull the trigger.
Not that I think we will do anywhere near that badly. |
We’ve also got no divine right to be in the top flight, certainly in my lifetime, I’m nearly 40 and seen us play in the Premier League just 6 seasons, and have seen us almost as many in League One. I don’t expect promotion next season, I expect us to be competitive and finish at least in the top 7, but it’s equally going to be a challenge to turn a team that’s been losing week in and out into winners again in just a few months.
One of Burnley and Sheffield United still may not go up from last season’s relegated, and Luton are definitely not coming back up.
It’s going to be harder than people think. | |
| An East Anglian Town overtaken by Londoners |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:29 - Mar 16 with 2997 views | Wacko |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:04 - Mar 16 by VanDusen |
I'm struggling to see who will come in to take McKenna off our hands at present given the contract he's on. I can't imagine that the ones who could afford it - Spurs, Man U etc. - will be looking at him at this stage after a 'mixed' season, whilst the mid-range Premier Leaguers (Brighton, Palace, Fulham, Brentford, Bournemouth etc.) will no doubt have more cost-effective options lined up, even if they didn't already have decent appointments in place for the forseeable who will only move if offered a better job.
None of this is to denigrate his success as a manager the last three years or indeed the underappreciated achievement of managing to finish a club out of the top flight for 20 years and having suffered a decade of death by a thousand cuts above ANYONE in the Premier League this season (and we are surely going to be above Southampton come end of May even if we have given them nearly half their points total). I just think that the major danger period for him being poached is now gone. He also has first dibs on a plum opportunity in one of next season's best jobs in the country outside the Premier League.
But if he does find he's had enough we are in such better shape to attract a very decent replacement now. Personally I would try and entice Liam Rosenior back to the club with open arms if we do need to go hunting... |
Like Kompany, he can (and should, speaking objectively) go to a club in Europe | |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:30 - Mar 16 with 2992 views | ITFCSG |
McK probably took one look at Brighton’s dressing room which resembled a mini UN General Assembly and said no
With hindsight I would not have minded if McK went to Brighton in the summer and we got Hürzeler in return
We’d probably cast our recruitment much wider (Germany, at least) rather than just buying overpriced English U21 players | | | |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:40 - Mar 16 with 2947 views | RegencyBlue |
I think he will still be here next season but he’s going to be under intense pressure to get us back at the first attempt and if it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen around Christmas time I suspect he could be in trouble.
Generally, American business is pretty cutthroat when it comes to perceived failure. Relegation this season was always on the cards given our rapid rise so I guess this was factored into our owners calculations. Given the money they have spent though anything less than immediately returning to the PL will concern them. |  | | |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:48 - Mar 16 with 2882 views | TRUE_BLUE123 |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:30 - Mar 16 by ITFCSG |
McK probably took one look at Brighton’s dressing room which resembled a mini UN General Assembly and said no
With hindsight I would not have minded if McK went to Brighton in the summer and we got Hürzeler in return
We’d probably cast our recruitment much wider (Germany, at least) rather than just buying overpriced English U21 players |
We probably would have still been relegated with Huerzler. Equally Brighton would still be challenging top 6 with McKenna. No doubt in my mind. The difference in situations is monumental.
Also Huerzler wouldn’t be any guarantee of recruiting in Europe is our scouting team don’t have the necessary data to do it. |  |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 12:57 - Mar 16 with 2771 views | VanDusen |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:07 - Mar 16 by NeedhamChris |
He's doing a decent job at Strasbourg, but he was vastly overrated after what was a pretty poor season at Hull. |
I think he did a pretty good job at Hull in probably THE most competitive Championship season ever . He even managed to get them just outside the playoffs WITH Philogene in the squad too... ;o) | | | |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:03 - Mar 16 with 2754 views | VanDusen |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:29 - Mar 16 by Wacko |
Like Kompany, he can (and should, speaking objectively) go to a club in Europe |
Maybe - but again who is going to pay the money even moreso outside this country. The only reason Kompany made such an unlikely upwards leap is his reputation as one of the greatest world defenders of the past couple of decades, and his proximity to the manager who has been credited with being the architect of a total revolution in playing style now adopted even as far down as Leagues One and Two, as well as probably the most unimpeachable record in the world game before this season. McKenna despite being a very promising manager who I believe will go on to the highest level - has not knocked it out the park to that degree and won't command the sort of wages we've put him on, even if the buyout clause wasn't offputting enough.
And that's before of course, you consider he's a young man with a family and kids with schooling etc. to consider where disruption and upheaval is not as easy anyway if it's not forced... | | | |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:04 - Mar 16 with 2751 views | SaffronWaldenBlues |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:40 - Mar 16 by RegencyBlue |
I think he will still be here next season but he’s going to be under intense pressure to get us back at the first attempt and if it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen around Christmas time I suspect he could be in trouble.
Generally, American business is pretty cutthroat when it comes to perceived failure. Relegation this season was always on the cards given our rapid rise so I guess this was factored into our owners calculations. Given the money they have spent though anything less than immediately returning to the PL will concern them. |
He’s under no such pressure from me, I also don’t see without changes to the Premier League how we will be any better off next time in the top flight with 17 solidified Premier League clubs who at that point will have had a minimum 7 years Premier League income and development over us. It’s going to take the likes of a West Ham or Wolves to have a truly horrific season to allow just one team to stay up.
We would have to spend at least twice as much money next time because we simply don’t have 14 players on the books who are at least good enough to play in the bottom 5 of that league. | |
| An East Anglian Town overtaken by Londoners |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:12 - Mar 16 with 2692 views | gsoly |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:48 - Mar 16 by TRUE_BLUE123 |
We probably would have still been relegated with Huerzler. Equally Brighton would still be challenging top 6 with McKenna. No doubt in my mind. The difference in situations is monumental.
Also Huerzler wouldn’t be any guarantee of recruiting in Europe is our scouting team don’t have the necessary data to do it. |
Find comments like this quite odd. A 31-year-old who'd never managed in England before and you think we'd "probably" have been relegated under him? We would have sunk without a trace.
McKenna's worked wonders to make this squad competitive, and hungry for each game. The difference between us and Saints/Leicester is huge. |  | | |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:15 - Mar 16 with 2667 views | NeedhamChris |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:12 - Mar 16 by gsoly |
Find comments like this quite odd. A 31-year-old who'd never managed in England before and you think we'd "probably" have been relegated under him? We would have sunk without a trace.
McKenna's worked wonders to make this squad competitive, and hungry for each game. The difference between us and Saints/Leicester is huge. |
What would sinking without a trace look like?
And the difference between us and Leicester is three goals. | |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:17 - Mar 16 with 2652 views | itfc1108 |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 11:48 - Mar 16 by TRUE_BLUE123 |
We probably would have still been relegated with Huerzler. Equally Brighton would still be challenging top 6 with McKenna. No doubt in my mind. The difference in situations is monumental.
Also Huerzler wouldn’t be any guarantee of recruiting in Europe is our scouting team don’t have the necessary data to do it. |
I know fm25 was cancelled, but we could have used 24. | | | |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:18 - Mar 16 with 2638 views | gsoly |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:15 - Mar 16 by NeedhamChris |
What would sinking without a trace look like?
And the difference between us and Leicester is three goals. |
If you honestly think we've sunk without a trace this season then you're never going to have your viewpoint changed. We've been competitive in 75% of games, picked up three wins that will live long in the memory of every Town fan, moulded England's next number nine, found our club captain for the next five years, had the joy of seeing talent like Cajuste in a Town shirt. Football is not binary in our current situation. Survival, good; relegation, very, very bad. I'll look back on this season fondly in the main. | | | |
| No subject on 13:23 - Mar 16 with 2596 views | VanDusen |
| No subject on 11:12 - Mar 16 by SaffronWaldenBlues |
We’ve also got no divine right to be in the top flight, certainly in my lifetime, I’m nearly 40 and seen us play in the Premier League just 6 seasons, and have seen us almost as many in League One. I don’t expect promotion next season, I expect us to be competitive and finish at least in the top 7, but it’s equally going to be a challenge to turn a team that’s been losing week in and out into winners again in just a few months.
One of Burnley and Sheffield United still may not go up from last season’s relegated, and Luton are definitely not coming back up.
It’s going to be harder than people think. |
I'm not so sure. It's pretty clear that the gap in the Championship has also widened significantly in the last five years with parachute payments. You have to go back to 2020 to find the last time the Top 2 didn't contain a relegated team (and relegated Fulham still got through the playoffs). Then as we've seen, more recently the three coming down are almost definitely in the playoffs as a bare minimum.
I count Luton as a bit of an aberration given their size of fanbase and the fact they have ground issues. They also invested in what Mick Mills was suggesting yesterday we didn't do to stay up - which was get in experienced players like Ross Barkley and Andros Townsend as a springboard to stay up. Unfortunately if that strategy doesn't work they get snapped up on reputation and you're left with your best players gone upon relegation. We instead have bought some of the most promising young players at the top end of Championship level who have yet to grow into their potential - Delap aside, who will surely provide the much needed profit income to balance our FFP.
So no - promotion's not guaranteed by any means, and it is right to be cautious (who else remembers Burleys 100 points, 100 goals target in 2002?!!) . But given the recruitment we've made this season I'd put some very high odds on us being right up there next year - look at the way we brushed a bang in form Coventry aside last month with a line up that looked pretty close to what I'd expect to be out in an Ipswich Championship team next year. | | | |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:23 - Mar 16 with 2590 views | TRUE_BLUE123 |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:12 - Mar 16 by gsoly |
Find comments like this quite odd. A 31-year-old who'd never managed in England before and you think we'd "probably" have been relegated under him? We would have sunk without a trace.
McKenna's worked wonders to make this squad competitive, and hungry for each game. The difference between us and Saints/Leicester is huge. |
You are literally preaching to the converted ? | |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:32 - Mar 16 with 2510 views | gsoly |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:23 - Mar 16 by TRUE_BLUE123 |
You are literally preaching to the converted ? |
Yes, apologies, mis-read your post. Albeit I think it's a dead cert we'd have gone down with Hürzeler - and he likely wouldn't have made it through the season anyway. | | | |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:40 - Mar 16 with 2476 views | Bobbychase |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:04 - Mar 16 by SaffronWaldenBlues |
He’s under no such pressure from me, I also don’t see without changes to the Premier League how we will be any better off next time in the top flight with 17 solidified Premier League clubs who at that point will have had a minimum 7 years Premier League income and development over us. It’s going to take the likes of a West Ham or Wolves to have a truly horrific season to allow just one team to stay up.
We would have to spend at least twice as much money next time because we simply don’t have 14 players on the books who are at least good enough to play in the bottom 5 of that league. |
Agreed. People were expecting another miracle season maybe but just because it hasn't happened, the idea the best coach we've had since Burley would be in trouble at any point next season even if we start slow is beyond me I'm afraid. He still has a huge amount of credit in the bank and I've never known an Ipswich manager to improve players like he has.
Current trends suggest Championship to Premier League is now an impossible jump. We've done League One to Premier League at breakneck speed and are now encountering the same reality that others have before us. |  |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 14:33 - Mar 16 with 2367 views | positivity |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:40 - Mar 16 by Bobbychase |
Agreed. People were expecting another miracle season maybe but just because it hasn't happened, the idea the best coach we've had since Burley would be in trouble at any point next season even if we start slow is beyond me I'm afraid. He still has a huge amount of credit in the bank and I've never known an Ipswich manager to improve players like he has.
Current trends suggest Championship to Premier League is now an impossible jump. We've done League One to Premier League at breakneck speed and are now encountering the same reality that others have before us. |
agreed.
however, can't agree with the suggestion from the previous poster that they can't see us improving next time if we get back up.
one year of prem money has improved us, one year of prem experience (for the players and the management team), will have improved us and a further year of prem money (plus a year of parachute payments) will narrow the gap again.
whether it's enough to do in one more cycle remains to be seen, but sure the gap will close. | |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 15:16 - Mar 16 with 2274 views | FrimleyBlue |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:40 - Mar 16 by Bobbychase |
Agreed. People were expecting another miracle season maybe but just because it hasn't happened, the idea the best coach we've had since Burley would be in trouble at any point next season even if we start slow is beyond me I'm afraid. He still has a huge amount of credit in the bank and I've never known an Ipswich manager to improve players like he has.
Current trends suggest Championship to Premier League is now an impossible jump. We've done League One to Premier League at breakneck speed and are now encountering the same reality that others have before us. |
Come on Bobby. Absolutely this season was a free hit. But after spending our whole prem TV money on a squad for next season. 30 mill on new training ground and then being only 1 of maybe 3 parachute clubs. The owners will 100% expect autos as any club would.
Holding KM accountable during next season doesn't mean what's happened in the past hasn't happened. But IF it doesn't look we are where we need to be, absolutely the owners would need to look at it. |  |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 15:22 - Mar 16 with 2253 views | Denny32 |
I'm not too bothered if he leaves or let go . We need fresh ideas and someone who can see its blatant obvious we need bigger powerful players and foreign as well .its all very well to say mckenna will get us back to premiership, but if he is going to be using the same formula again..it will be only another torturous year in premier league..I don't think mckenna will learn from his mistakes ..a stubborn streak in him. And don't want to be ..reminding off ..I told you so !!.. | | | |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 15:25 - Mar 16 with 2232 views | TheBoyBlue |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 13:04 - Mar 16 by SaffronWaldenBlues |
He’s under no such pressure from me, I also don’t see without changes to the Premier League how we will be any better off next time in the top flight with 17 solidified Premier League clubs who at that point will have had a minimum 7 years Premier League income and development over us. It’s going to take the likes of a West Ham or Wolves to have a truly horrific season to allow just one team to stay up.
We would have to spend at least twice as much money next time because we simply don’t have 14 players on the books who are at least good enough to play in the bottom 5 of that league. |
Not sure why you think we will need to buy so many players next IF we go straight back up. IF we do go straight back, the likes of Jack Clarke, Philogene, Hutchinson, Greaves, etc should be a year wiser and now having had Premier League experience. All being well Palmer will be in goal and barring injuries (which have far helped this season) means we have a confident goalkeeper throughout eliminating some of the mistakes that have cost us some points this season. Ogbene will hopefully be back from injury. I'm guessing we'd have a new younger, more energetic midfield by that point too. All having got used to playing with each other and if we've gone up presumably full of confidence.
That said, I agree with you about how difficult it would be for us or indeed any promoted team to bridge what even by this summer will be an even bigger gap. Like you say, who is going to end up being bad enough to drop down to 'our' level? | |
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| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 15:30 - Mar 16 with 2193 views | TRUE_BLUE123 |
| This season is done - hopefully McKenna sticks around for the next one. on 15:22 - Mar 16 by Denny32 |
I'm not too bothered if he leaves or let go . We need fresh ideas and someone who can see its blatant obvious we need bigger powerful players and foreign as well .its all very well to say mckenna will get us back to premiership, but if he is going to be using the same formula again..it will be only another torturous year in premier league..I don't think mckenna will learn from his mistakes ..a stubborn streak in him. And don't want to be ..reminding off ..I told you so !!.. |
You dont think McKenna is learning as well?
He is 38 years old, this is his 3rd full season as a manager and you have written him off as a premier league manager already, because we are going to get relegated after back to back promotions to the premier league.
Shame on you. | |
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