McKenna- Stay or Go ?

[RRanger]

TBH Mike I’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t see his current contract out. That would keep him with us for three more seasons which would give him a huge uplift in experience.

KMc's career path has mostly been upward and yes, he did prove a little naive last season ,but I am positive that he will have learnt from that experience and not play quite so expansively ( some would say gung ho) and put a bit more emphasis on keeping the ball out of our net by concentrating on tightening the defence in preparation for ,hopefully, the season after the next one back in the Premiership. I don't expect us to walk away with the Championship but I do expect promotion at the end of next season . I'm very much looking forward to the coming transfer window and seeing the shape of our squad for the season ahead.

[hallamblue]

The fact the club have come out and said they're looking for players with more physicality suggests there has been some " learning", because it's been obvious for more than a couple of seasons that we are very lightweight as a squad in that attribute. I'm just surprised it's taken so long for the penny to drop.

[Steve and Jo]

The fact the club have come out and said they're looking for players with more physicality suggests there has been some " learning", because it's been obvious for more than a couple of seasons that we are very lightweight as a squad in that attribute. I'm just surprised it's taken so long for the penny to drop.

Not sure I would agree for that length of time Liz. Ipswich more than held there own for me in strength when in League one and the Championship, last season totally agree, were so many times when bundled off the ball, not strong enough. Could even say out numbered in the main part, midfield.
In league one when having likes of Luongo and Morsy dominate the midfield and Hirst up front I think we more than managed in the Championship, just not last season at all

[hallamblue]

That's alright Steve, no problem. I guess it's what yiu czn remember in games isn't it i cam recall Watford, Rotherham, Sheffield Weds, all being to physical for us

[Ohiotractorboy]

McKenna gets relegated out of the Premier League after starting the year with half roster still League 1 players after a meteoric double promotion rise…and some of you want him out because of it?

Jesus

[arana peligrosa]

Yes but there's something inherently wrong about a team winning over nine months, one home victory all season. Don't matter if it's Jock Stein or Frank Spencer in charge of a team, that's a highly lousy statistic for anyone, most of all in the spotlight of a top league, and McKenna as manager and team coach has, or had, to take his share of responsibility for what occurred.

Not only that you got a system played time and again that evidently doesn't (now) work for every league or situation and the manager just doesn't seem to want to revert to anything other. It's almost like trying to master a rubik's cube with all patterns the same color. Just for the record and once again for sake of reiteration I don't particularly want him removed - he's done too many good things for the most part - but after last season and getting to a certain stage, it's easy to view where (for some) the frustrations continue to arise or appear evident.

[Bluemike]

Nail on the head AP,

[shabba]

Can anyone give me any tangible reasons why Ipswich should have out performed any of the 17 clubs who didn’t get relegated?

Only then would I put any blame at KM.

[ITFC2024]

Can anyone give me any tangible reasons why Ipswich should have out performed any of the 17 clubs who didn’t get relegated?

Only then would I put any blame at KM.

Well KM deserves some of the blame, but PL survival was a monumental task for players and manager alike. However, AP’s comments about our home record in the PL are significant. KM is without a doubt the best available option right now, but if he’s unable to adapt his strategy when/if things aren’t going well questions should be asked. It has nothing to do with loyalty or support, it’s just the reality of the situation.

[shabba]

But against the teams relegated:

Leicester - absolutely robbed. Terrible refereeing decision totally changed the game.

Southampton - we were the better side but should have been more clinical - I accept that.

Every other team had better/more expensive squads. We did hold our own in a lot of the games to be fair.

[hallamblue]

Mckenna's repeatedly spoken of learn from x, y or z situations. We'll see won't we, whether HE has learnt anything and is WILLING to CHANGE this coming season....

[marko69]

Mckenna's repeatedly spoken of learn from x, y or z situations. We'll see won't we, whether HE has learnt anything and is WILLING to CHANGE this coming season....

Hey Hallam……. If he changes from his last Champ stint…… might get relegated!
You sure you want him to change?

[ITFC2024]

Mckenna's repeatedly spoken of learn from x, y or z situations. We'll see won't we, whether HE has learnt anything and is WILLING to CHANGE this coming season....

Hey Hallam……. If he changes from his last Champ stint…… might get relegated!
You sure you want him to change?

I know you’re being snarky, Marko. Relegation from the Championship is something I haven’t even considered. We’re in a much better place than Luton. However, how will the fan base feel if we don’t achieve promotion again? For that matter, how will the American ownership feel about that? I think the tea leaves will say if we don’t bounce back, changes will be made. I’m not completely confident we will bounce back because I believe the Championship is a very tough league. But when you think about the money that has already been invested, you have to think promotion is the goal and dare I say, the expectation?

[marko69]

Did you mean sarcy? Always striving to be more of this on a daily basis.

Snarky? No. No snarkiness allowed. Isn’t that a Dr Seuss thing?

I don’t think Ipswich Town will “bounce” back but I do think the Play-Offs are where things will be decided for the club. Not exactly “bouncing” back.

Maybe controversially…… i also do not think Ipswich NEED to bounce back. A year or two in the Champ shouldn’t be a huge issue, and if it is then it’s proof that the arse has completely fell out of the sport.
Sort of has anyway, but.

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

Can anyone give me any tangible reasons why Ipswich should have out performed any of the 17 clubs who didn’t get relegated?

Only then would I put any blame at KM.

Well let's see. Oh yeah, you've lauded him many times for achieving back to back promotions. That's fair enough if you feel that he played a big part in those promotions. But then, logically, you cannot turn around and say that he shares no responsibility for our relegation.

So are you really saying that when we do well it's down to KM, but when we do poorly it has nothing to do with him? Doesn't make a lot of sense to me, in fact it makes no sense at all.

[shabba]

No that’s not what I’m saying.

I’m saying I don’t think any manager would have done any better, anyone who kept us up would have accomplished a huge achievement and I don’t think it’s right to criticise KM for not staying up and saying he should go like some have.

In my view you can’t hold him responsible for our relegation when 17 other teams are away ahead of us on a number of levels

[hallamblue]

I think when it became clear his approach and choices wasn’t working,had he have tried something different , and we were still relegated, no one could really have a case to argue. But he wouldn’t change his approach or some of his decisions to play players the way he did. Eg.

1) MURIC . Why wasn’t he dropped much, much , much sooner. He was either not good enough or simply struggling to bed in. But his individual mistakes cost us so many points in the first part of the season.

2) OMARI , constantly played in the # 10 role , where everyone , bar McKenna it seemed, could see he was by far more potent/ effective out wide right. He didn’t play him there until Burns’ injury forcing his hand.


3) DELAP, hit the PL like a whirlwind in the FIRST HALF of the season, taking defences by surprise by his powerful running, and blistering shot. BUT from Christmas onwards his game was sussed. He was far less effective, and his limited attacking attributes and a first touch meant we had little up front for other forwards to feed off. So why didn’t McKenna change things? Delap spent most of the second half of the season being out though, and out fought, ending up in him him losing his cool, and trying to butch it up with PL defenders, collecting more yellow cards than goals.

Meanwhile on the bench were the following, by then, fit players, Broadhead, Hirst, Szmodics. ALL have significant experience! All sat in the bench , and most criminal of all , Hirst used as a bit part, sub on 80mins +. What an insult to the player!

4) UTILISATION OF EXPERIENCED OTHER FORWARDS., ( Hirst, Broadhead, Chaplin, Szmodics) McKenna in my view was negligent, almost, in his refusal to play these more experienced players together or even at all. Instead constantly relying on the younger a lightweights in Phillogene, and Clarke, there were several games, where the team couldn’t even muster a cross into the opposition box, and was often commented on by MOTD commentators ( one of the rare occasions when they even bothered to mention Town).

We secured ONE win at PR all season, and were not even capable of beating Saints and Leicester in any games. McKenna persisted with one up front, and an unexperienced forward line, when the games were running out and no points in the bag in crucial “ must win” games, he STILL persisted in “his way”. For me this was a major reason why we failed to stay up. We had in the earlier part of the season been so close to securing points, but dipped out, yet like madness itself, he continued in only one way, and never at point TRIED, playing these more experienced players together in a forward line. Those players got us promoted, and have more experience than the youngsters he brought to the club at what I’d consider high fees.


So, we shall see if he has learned anything from this , but more importantly, if he is willing to adapt his approach and use of players in certain combinations. I’m not convinced atm that he will.

[Bluemike]

Pretty much as Hallam states fir me.

Throwing games away like Brentford away, absolutely ridiculous tactics when we couldn't adjust for a mere 5 minutes to protect a 2 goal lead to half time.

Your point Shabba about competitive in several games sums it up, games we should have won we didn't have the nous to win many of them, no plan B at all

And don't get me started on Muric, I'm not KM but I bloody knew what was coming and so it proved.

Boring and predictable substitutions game after game.

I know Hallam feels strongly about the Delap/Hirst thing and to a degree I agree in that we never saw them on the sodding pitch together, it wasn't Delaps fault, he was found out to a point but had little help.

[Dubai Blue]

Interesting discussion here for sure. This is McKenna's first management gig. His career so far shows a strong upwards development trajectory and he clearly took to management like a duck to water. Now he's stepped up one level again to the top table and has the opportunity to learn lessons and. continue to develop. His career so far shows that he has the intelligence and perception to do this. I believe that he will have learned from this last season and will just continue to improve. I'm really happy that he'll be doing it with us because so far every new challenge he's mastered, I fully expect this one to be the same.

What interests me more is the changes in the backroom staff. I really hope we manage to recruit well in those areas where we have current vacancies. McKenna is the manager but its a good team that will get success, both on the field and off it IMO.

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

No that’s not what I’m saying.

I’m saying I don’t think any manager would have done any better, anyone who kept us up would have accomplished a huge achievement and I don’t think it’s right to criticise KM for not staying up and saying he should go like some have.

In my view you can’t hold him responsible for our relegation when 17 other teams are away ahead of us on a number of levels

I have never criticised him for getting relegated - my criticism is around his inflexibility, playing square pegs in round holes, playing a system and expecting the players to be able to adapt rather than play a system that suits the players at his disposal, and his total incapability to try something different when his plan was clearly not working. He had 38 opportunities to try something different, but instead went blindly ahead making the same mistakes at the end of the season indicating that he had learned nothing over the season.

I think your theory about there being 17 other teams way ahead on a few levels is based purely on the fact that for the last 2 seasons the promoted teams have gone straight back down. Personally I think that is pure coincidence, and when at least one of the promoted teams stays up next season it will blow that theory out of the water.

[Dubai Blue]

I think your theory about there being 17 other teams way ahead on a few levels is based purely on the fact that for the last 2 seasons the promoted teams have gone straight back down. Personally I think that is pure coincidence, and when at least one of the promoted teams stays up next season it will blow that theory out of the water.

Which one of these do you think will stay up then? And which of the 17 will take their place?

[shabba]

Strongly feel none of the teams who went up will stay up.

Also KM did change it, we went to five at the back and were very solid yet had zero output going forward.

As I’ve said before I think we need to play 433 but we haven’t built a squad for that, maybe next time we are in the prem that might happen but let’s see.

Agree KM will have learnt and agree he could have done some things better, my point was more around the whole ‘km out’ thing - which is firmly against.

The ownership and MA obviously have okayed a huge part in our success so im not also saying it’s all down to KM.

[mugen1]

Interesting discussion here for sure. This is McKenna's first management gig. His career so far shows a strong upwards development trajectory and he clearly took to management like a duck to water. Now he's stepped up one level again to the top table and has the opportunity to learn lessons and. continue to develop. His career so far shows that he has the intelligence and perception to do this. I believe that he will have learned from this last season and will just continue to improve.

Why, when he didn't over the whole of last season?

[Ohiotractorboy]

No that’s not what I’m saying.

I’m saying I don’t think any manager would have done any better, anyone who kept us up would have accomplished a huge achievement and I don’t think it’s right to criticise KM for not staying up and saying he should go like some have.

In my view you can’t hold him responsible for our relegation when 17 other teams are away ahead of us on a number of levels

This is my point also. The double promotion did put us behind the 8 ball a bit talent and money wise. And why would he drastically change his system after such success? I just don't get this argument.

[Bluemike]

Because what works in lower leagues clearly doesn't in the Prem, you have to be able to adapt, he didn't.

[Blue Wilf]

This is all interesting to read but is just a re-iteration of what we saw during the season. KM's tactics at Prem level were found wanting and I disagree with Shabba that no-one else could have kept us up. Different tactics in the games mentioned (brentford, fulham, Bournemouth etc) would have given us enough to stay up. Oh and he may have gone 5 at the back occasionally but that was only one thing that needed changing - there were several others (up front, players out of position, attack when consolidation was needed etc etc).

He is good and I hope he remains good but at Prem level, he was unquestionably found wanting in my opinion.

[Bluemike]

I don't even think it's an opinion, for me it's fact.