Chelsea have made contact, apparently. We are not a Premier League club officially just yet, but I thought getting permission from the club first would have to be honoured?
I didn't say you did, it was a rhetorical question. I made the mistake of going through social media and seeing all the posts
As much as we all might hate to admit it, at present Brighton is a step up. They are an established premier league club whereas we have just arrived. He does seem to be settled in the area and with a young family, might not want to uproot them but then again, money may talk. Afthe the euphoria of promotion, if this were to happen this summer, would certainly be a gut punch
Absolutely no chance. McKenna has invested himself in the project and his family in the area. He is not going to want to take any sideways step. The huge threat comes from the likes of Chelsea and Spurs, easily commutable from Suffolk and a ladder rung up for his career. I don’t think he will want to go to Man United in the state the club is in off the pitch. Balanced with that though, he will know that those contracts will be very short lived and he has got the time and space at Ipswich to get on with his work. I hate to say it, but it might just come down to money, not that his family is short of a bob or two. If you were a rookie manager offered the kind of money that will set your family up for life and the possibility that it might go your way on the pitch and launch your career into the stratosphere, that’s a powerful incentive.
McKenna is going to be linked to any and all available top jobs over the next few weeks. He’s one of the most in-demand managers in the game, and it’s not surprise to see. At this stage, I’ll be worried when/if news comes out that he’s in talks with another club. Manchester United and Chelsea are obviously going to be tempting jobs for an ambitious manager. Brighton don’t have the same historic stature that we have - but they’re an established Premier League side, have an ambitious ownership model, and are a good few years ahead of us in terms of development. McKenna will fancy his chances of taking them to the next level. I wouldn’t rule out the temptation. I think McKenna’s settled here. We’re in the Premier League, he has a lot of authority here, we’re on the ascendancy, and he has more goodwill and stability here than he will moving to another club. It is on the club to make it a no brainer and stop the speculation. Offer him a new contract and give him an assurance we will spend money on players this summer. Nip it all in the bud. With McKenna, I think we’ve got a chance of staying up - although it’s going to be a slog of a season. Without him, we will almost certainly struggle.
As Hampy suggests, I too would be very surprised, amazed, gobsmacked if he left Ipswich at this stage of his career. Everything about the Club ticks all the boxes. Investment, ownership, revival, passion, belief, commitment, fanbase, community, meteroric rise, adoring fans, super new pitch, loyalty & total commitment from all the players, lack of egos etc. Perhaps in 2-3 years time, after securing comfortable mid table finishes, he may have his head turned.
I didn’t realise that talkSPORT now has a betting offering. With pretty much the only exception the Guardian, the headline writers stand to profit from anyone unfortunate enough to part with their cash on these.
To borrow a phrase from KMc himself I’m not going to waste any emotional energy on all this speculation which is beyond our control.I sincerely hope he stays but if it’s not to be we have to trust Ashton etc to have a succession plan and build for the future.
6.05 am, bl**dy cat has just stood on my head. Take a quick look at twitter, First thing I see is post from ITFC analytics saying, can,t blame him for going to Brighton, absolutely awful news. Apparently his way of coping Surely someone at the club can put out a statement saying KM is going nowhere!
Blame the cat, Redruth! Dont believe all you read on social media, all click bait stuff. As BigAl, I and others say, it's not wise to spend our time worrying about this delicate situation. As we have said, I cant think of one reason why he would abandon such a fantastic set up at Ipswich. Not even the filthy lucre would tempt him! And yes, the Club needs to send out a signal now.
At the end of the day if he does decide that the grass is greener at Brighton or indeed any other football club then I for one will wish him all the very best and will be eternally grateful for everything he has done for our wonderful football club. At the same time no one individua is bigger than the football club and I have every confidence that Ashton will already have a contingency plan in place. This speculation isn't helpful and all I hope now is that it is put to bed one way or the other as quickly as possible. The King is dead....Long live the King!
Agreed. He achieved back-to-back promotions and got us in the Premier League - against all odds - for the first time in 22 years. He doesn’t owe us anything. Moving to Brighton would sour things for a sizeable part of the fanbase, but this is what the wealth divide at Premier League level has done. It’s distorted the sport. I’ve seen a lot of whingeing on TWTD that Brighton would be a sideways move. We are a bigger club in terms of history, but they’re an established Premier League side, they have better players, they have more money, they have better facilities, and McKenna is close friends with the Chief Executive over there. It’s going to be an appealing choice for an ambitious manager looking for the next step in their career. Take the Ipswich hat off - he’s far more likely to get success and build his reputation there than staying here. I think our hope is that we’ve got momentum and we’ve got ambitious plans. Yes, it’s going to be a tough challenge to survive next season - promoted clubs, particularly those that haven’t had the Premier League jackpot for a while, tend to scrap near the bottom for the first few years (if they manage to stay up). I think our main argument to McKenna is “why leave now?” This is your team, a club you’re building in your image - and you don’t want to test them at a Premier League level? I like to think he’d give us at least one year in the top flight.
More gossip for you: Seagulls consider Rosenior. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c0xxw59zv3yo
Rosenior’s a good manager, but is he really Premier League ready? He hasn’t achieved anything. Brighton have also been linked with the Nice manager. I just don’t think we’re used to an Ipswich manager linked to another job. The last one to have been “poached” was Sir Bobby back in the 80s - and that was for the England job!
