| New Manager and ChatGPT 14:19 - Jun 15 with 1746 views | Kesgrave_Exile |
Hi asked ChatGPT to summarise who would be in the running as the new manager based on Ipswich town are currently without a manager. Based on a criteria of experience, tactical awareness and a attractive style/system of play, along with strong management skills. Having a strong knowledge of the English language is also essential.
Here are the results:
Kjetil Knutsen
Strengths: High pressing, player development, strongest philosophical fit.
Risks: No English football experience.
Overall Assessment: 9.5/10
Martí Cifuentes
Strengths: Possession-based football, development focused.
Risks: Limited top-flight experience.
Overall Assessment: 9/10
Marco Rose
Strengths: Champions League pedigree, elite coach.
Risks: Cost and commitment concerns.
Overall Assessment: 8.8/10
Bo Svensson
Strengths: Strong culture builder, works with limited resources.
Risks: No English experience.
Overall Assessment: 8.5/10
Gary O'Neil
Strengths: Premier League proven, tactically flexible.
Risks: Supporter concerns over style.
Overall Assessment: 8.2/10
Steve Cooper
Strengths: Strong man-manager and survival experience.
Risks: Less attractive football.
Overall Assessment: 7.8/10
Most of these are names that have either been banded about my supporters and the press but I found Marti Cifuentes being a high option. Unfortunately his stint at Leicester would put pay to any Ipswich interest I would suggest. |  | | |  |
| New Manager and ChatGPT on 14:36 - Jun 15 with 1557 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
If you change 'Attractive style' to 'a tactical style to keep Ipswich in the Premier League' you get something very different.
1. Gary O’Neil, best overall fit
Why him
O’Neil makes the most sense because Ipswich’s immediate problem is not aesthetic. It is points, defensive stability, and game-management in a league where they will often have less possession and less depth than opponents.
He has already worked in two survival-type Premier League contexts. At Bournemouth, he helped steady a side in difficulty. At Wolves, he produced a 14th-place finish and an FA Cup quarter-final in his first season, which is exactly the sort of “make the group competitive quickly” profile Ipswich would need.
He is currently at Strasbourg, where reports say he has produced 13 wins in 27 matches and narrowly missed European qualification, so he also has evidence of being more than a low-block emergency coach.
Main risk
He is not a guarantee of long-term identity-building in the way McKenna was. But that is not the question now. Ipswich’s first requirement is staying up, then rebuilding the football model.
Verdict: Appoint. He is my first call.
2. Sean Dyche, safest pure survival option
If the board wanted the most pragmatic appointment available, Dyche is the obvious alternative. He understands Premier League attrition, set-pieces, defensive compactness, limited budgets, and the psychology of a relegation fight.
The drawback is fit. Ipswich under McKenna have had a coherent technical and cultural identity. Dyche would protect the short-term objective, but he might require a more dramatic tactical reset. His most recent Forest spell also ended quickly, with Forest 17th when he was dismissed.
Verdict: Strong survival candidate, but culturally blunt. I would keep him as the emergency option.
3. Steve Cooper, credible but less clean
Cooper has Premier League survival and promotion experience, most notably with Nottingham Forest, and he has the developmental temperament that might suit Ipswich. However, he is currently at Brøndby on a contract to 2028, so he is not as clean or immediate as O’Neil or Dyche.
He is also less obviously pragmatic than Dyche or O’Neil. He can organise a side, but his teams often need emotional momentum and a strong internal culture. That could work at Ipswich, but it is not the lowest-risk appointment.
Verdict: Good manager, but not my first move.
4. Rob Edwards, avoid for this specific brief
Edwards has strong qualities, and his Luton work deserves respect, but he has just been dismissed by Wolves after relegation, with Wolves finishing bottom on 20 points. That does not make him a bad coach, but it makes him a difficult appointment to sell when Ipswich’s primary criterion is Premier League survival.
Verdict: Too much reputational and tactical risk right now.
5. Brian Barry-Murphy or similar, too risky
Barry-Murphy-type candidates may appeal if Ipswich want another progressive, coaching-led appointment. But replacing McKenna with a “next project coach” would be high-risk in the Premier League. Ipswich do not need a philosophical audition. They need 38 games of discipline, recruitment alignment, and points accumulation.
Verdict: Interesting long-term, wrong timing.
My ranked shortlist
Gary O’Neil
Sean Dyche
Steve Cooper
Rob Edwards
Brian Barry-Murphy
Final recommendation
Ipswich should appoint Gary O’Neil and frame it clearly: this is not about replacing McKenna stylistically. It is about protecting the Premier League place McKenna helped restore.
The ideal brief would be:
“Keep the club up through tactical pragmatism, maintain the player-development culture, and avoid ripping up the recruitment model.”
O’Neil is the best balance between survival realism and not completely abandoning the modern coaching structure Ipswich have built. |  |
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| New Manager and ChatGPT on 14:45 - Jun 15 with 1479 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
Thats f**king useless.
Marco f**king Rose?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? [Post edited 15 Jun 14:45]
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| New Manager and ChatGPT on 15:08 - Jun 15 with 1318 views | ringwoodblue |
Let’s hope Mark Ashton doesn’t use AI to draw up a shortlist of new managers. |  |
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| New Manager and ChatGPT on 15:31 - Jun 15 with 1177 views | westJI24 |
I was similarly curious, but wanted to look at Ashton's track record of hiring managers with a coaching pedigree, ready to take the next step. You can't forget either that all of McKenna's staff are still at the club, so with the right appointment, there's not much transition, the rest of the staff continue business as usual just the man on the sideline changes. I got back
- Brian Barry Murphy
- Kim Hellberg
- Vitor Matos
- Narcis Pelach
- Liam Rosenior | | | |
| New Manager and ChatGPT on 16:24 - Jun 15 with 930 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| New Manager and ChatGPT on 15:31 - Jun 15 by westJI24 |
I was similarly curious, but wanted to look at Ashton's track record of hiring managers with a coaching pedigree, ready to take the next step. You can't forget either that all of McKenna's staff are still at the club, so with the right appointment, there's not much transition, the rest of the staff continue business as usual just the man on the sideline changes. I got back
- Brian Barry Murphy
- Kim Hellberg
- Vitor Matos
- Narcis Pelach
- Liam Rosenior |
Transition doesn't worry me.
We were terrible last time we were in the Prem.
A new approach would be welcomed. It would be great if that can be done with existing staff, but if the right candidate needs to bring his own guys in, so be it. | |
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| New Manager and ChatGPT on 00:40 - Jun 16 with 670 views | armchaircritic59 |
| New Manager and ChatGPT on 15:31 - Jun 15 by westJI24 |
I was similarly curious, but wanted to look at Ashton's track record of hiring managers with a coaching pedigree, ready to take the next step. You can't forget either that all of McKenna's staff are still at the club, so with the right appointment, there's not much transition, the rest of the staff continue business as usual just the man on the sideline changes. I got back
- Brian Barry Murphy
- Kim Hellberg
- Vitor Matos
- Narcis Pelach
- Liam Rosenior |
The two names I'm interested in are both on that list. The clue is, they are non of the last 3 mentioned! |  | | |
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