Tractor-Boys.com

Over to you Kieran McKenna ….good piece by The Athletic here

https://theathletic.com/3019969/2021/12 ... n-mckenna/

What does it say in short? It’s behind a paywall.

i could'nt get in either . seems you need a subscription which i dont' have ...but didn't know that when i posted link ...when i looked it gave you a brief view of the article then a subscription wall popped up covering the article ... ...sorry !

Here’s a piece from it that was posted on TWTD.

The relationship between Ashton and Cook might have begun cordially enough as they worked together in a reconstruction of the squad, but The Athletic has been told it quickly deteriorated in the weeks that preceded Ipswich’s second managerial change of 2021.

They are understood to have clashed over the summer appointment of a performance team headed by Andy Rolls. Former West Ham United head of sports science Rolls had worked with Ashton at Bristol City but became a bone of contention with Cook, who was dissatisfied with the fitness levels of his squad.

Any truth to this adds strength to the idea that there was a fallout of some kind.

Whatever. New era and wanting to get behind this new lot.

Found this small synopsis which someone did


“The relationship between Ashton and Cook might have begun cordially enough as they worked together in a reconstruction of the squad, but The Athletic has been told it quickly deteriorated in the weeks that preceded Ipswich’s second managerial change of 2021.

They are understood to have clashed over the summer appointment of a performance team headed by Andy Rolls. Former West Ham United head of sports science Rolls had worked with Ashton at Bristol City but became a bone of contention with Cook, who was dissatisfied with the fitness levels of his squad”.

Oh bugger , I see you’ve found it too .., well done tang …, should really scan thread b4 I post lol


But as you say … the cause of the sudden sacking will probably never be fully known . But we are now in a new era . Maybe it was for the best anyway ?!

Where there is fallouts you have to act quickly, I applaud Ashton for doing that, if Cook was doing a good job you maybe work through it, sadly he did a crap job.

But didn't it say that Cook was unhappy with Rolls and the fitness levels of his squad. The implication is not that Cook was doing a bad job.......

I'm saying cook was doing a crap job, it stands out like a sore thumb.

Maybe Rolls was doing an even worse job and Cook was doing the right thing in firmly highlighting an issue affecting team results?

Devil's advocate over here! I'm not saying any of what I'm saying true, but come on, it's fine to support Ashton and point out that people are being too harsh, but he should not be immune to criticism.

If a company were performing poorly it falls on the CEO to shoulder at least some of the blame, many CEOs lose their job over other mistakes in the company unrelated to the work they've done.

He's CEO, he's stuck his head above the parapet, it's a job of great responsibility, he's there to shoulder some blame when the team doesn't perform.

People are perfectly reasonable on here, no idea what they're like on t'other forum, but they're not calling for Ashton's head over here (apart from when emotional after a loss!!). Its fair to raise questions and be wary, after the amount of times we've been shafted, I'd say it's perfectly healthy.

All I know is ALL my issues were with Cook and his match day f*ck ups, he was useless, nothing to do with Ashton at all.

True, but it’s what’s going on behind the scenes that we are not privy too but which affect the running of the team . There’s been a few things said about Ashton on this very point from various sources - smoke with fire ? I don’t know . But on s as other thread it was highlighted about a possible disagreement between Cook and Ashton over this Rolls appointment ( and whatever impact that might have had on the squad ). This is what I meant about Ashton potentially having history of meddling ….


We now have a very young manager…,, easier to control than an older established manager? Only time will tell . Because if this is a factor it will rear it’s head again at some point of that I have no doubt .

I just get bored of the conspiracy theories tbh

I know , but it’s not people on this forum that have made anything up Mike. Just that these rumours keep emerging and are topic of conversations, that’s all munchkin .

We’ll see what happens …., but definitely onwards and hopefully upwards now eh

Ashton could well be an arsehole and a meddling control freak, but he might just be what we want. I don’t really like the bloke as he comes out with too much corporate bullshit, but content for him to do his thing at the moment. Just think the old school Cook and this more modern structured approach probably didn’t sit well together. If that’s the case, they should have parted in the summer.

I don’t believe Cook just gave him a list of names to buy. There’s obvious Cook signings and ones that don’t fit. Think Ashton/O’Leary sourced some players, too. Doesn’t mean that Cook was completely against them. He was always thankful to the owners and Ashton when we brought in players to the point of being overly grateful. And I also think Ashton should meddle to some extent. I thought we were going for a more analytical approach where we going to do more thorough research in recruitment. But that doesn’t seem to have performed perfectly. One example being Harper where he started as a deep lying number 6 and then a couple of months later it was decided he was better suited as a number 10 (where we had about 6 other number 10’s).
One good thing that the squad doesn’t add up to a Cook squad is that it gives McKenna some leeway to pick players that suit him.

If McKenna is the type that Ashton wants then let’s play this out.

I did hear earlier in the season that the fitness team had some green zone system where they would pick who would be available for selection. Not saying it’s wrong or right, but could be a clash between old and new school. One thing though is our new assistant, Pert, is a fitness and conditioning coach so if there is any issues with Rolls’ team he might have something to say.

Good measured post Tang.

I’ve just been listening to a couple of videos on eadt page . One included a Man Utd supporter who knows his club and staff quite well. He made some valid points that McKenna is very much an unknown quantity, and is potentially a very big risk for Town because he has only ever been a “ manager” of U18’s. That he was “ promoted” from U18’s manager to the first team coach by Mourinio and that he took their training sessions. Now the calibre of player at Man Utd and egos involved, they didn’t take to an inexperienced young coach, and that’s where his “ school teacher” coach tag evolved from. But then you can expect that from egotistical big time Charlie’s I suspect.

However, McKenna is highly respected by all the last 3 Man Utd managers and even the current one wanted him to stay. So that’s something positive.

From Town’s perspective, is he just another cog in the developing infrastructure wheel at PR , that Ashton is putting in place? One that he controls, and that didn’t sit easily with a more experienced / senior manager, Paul Cook? I don’t know. It seems Cook wasn’t happy with the latest coach recruited by Ashton and that this may have been the source of conflict. Again I don’t know. Maybe the many hydra approach to coaching at Town is the reason we are seeing such variable displays?

McKenna’s got an excellent coaching CV, but has absolutely no senior managerial experience. So you could argue that he’s not that much different from a certain Kieron Dyer? Will the players respect this young coach? Who will really be pulling the strings at PR, McKenna or Ashton? Again I don’t know. Yes we want someone to take things by the scruff of the neck at this Club. It’s long overdue. But should Ashton’s remit and control extend beyond the day to day running of the club eg sound systems, stadium maintenance, negotiation of players contracts , to include which actual players come in and leave the club, how the players are managed on the training field, or picked. How far does Ashtons data analysis crib sheet actually influence proceedings at this Club? Again, I don’t know. Is he just using these various coaches that have come in and to execute his data analysis approach? I’m just asking the questions.

It’s very early days in the new era, so we have to give it time. But praying I’m not here this time next season asking the same questions, if we’ve bombed out yet again. Like everyone else on here I’m kinda growing weary, very weary of the seemingly endless Groundhog Day that’s just keeps going on and on at ITFC. Atm, I’m feel8mg excited at new appointment but also have this underlying feeling of unease.