[Albion] Who do you want to become our new manager?

[Commander]

I keep reading the title of this thread as "do you want to be our new manager?"

I'm UNDECIDED to be honest...

I was wondering the other day whether we actually NEED a manager.

We’ve been trend-setters with our fancy model, why don’t we try something really radical?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I was wondering the other day whether we actually NEED a manager.

We’ve been trend-setters with our fancy model, why don’t we try something really radical?

Just let the Starlizard Algorithm pick the team and tactics?

With some AI generated Max Headroom talking head, to do the usual banal press conferences?

I'm IN.

 

[Mike Small]

Without any rational reason I have taken a dislike to McKenna and in true irrational football fan fashion, I hope he gets relegated this season…..unless of course he turns out to be Bloom’s latest rabbit out of the hat

I am still holding out for Gallardo until it doesn’t happen

Understand that. He could be managing a team of Verbruggen, JPVH, Dunk, Pervis, Baleba, Gilmour, Mitoma, March, JP, Welbeck, Enciso, Hinschelwood yet he's going to be picking from a squad containing some League 1 players. I think he's missed a trick there. When the big clubs and fans watch him lose most weeks next year, they won't be wanting him as their next manager no matter how good finishing 17th would be.

I do like the fact that he pipped Leeds to the automatics though.

 

[dippy2449]

But you clearly don't think we keep someone in the cupboard ready to go at all times do you? You are aware that what he means is that we have a list of who we might want at any time and there is NEVER a guarantee for any club - worldwide - that they will get their number one choice. Eg Bayern Munich getting their 8th choice. I despair at the simplicity with which some people think the world operates.

There may be a market for "inflate-o-manager"

 

[Coldwaltham Seagull]

Understand that. He could be managing a team of Verbruggen, JPVH, Dunk, Pervis, Baleba, Gilmour, Mitoma, March, JP, Welbeck, Enciso, Hinschelwood yet he's going to be picking from a squad containing some League 1 players. I think he's missed a trick there. When the big clubs and fans watch him lose most weeks next year, they won't be wanting him as their next manager no matter how good finishing 17th would be.

I do like the fact that he pipped Leeds to the automatics though.

I think Kompany to Bayern may have played into the thinking, even just a little bit. He'll know now that regardless of results or league finish if he can stick to a style of play and continue to implement a culture the big clubs will still come knocking

 

[Mike Small]

I think Kompany to Bayern may have played into the thinking, even just a little bit. He'll know now that regardless of results or league finish if he can stick to a style of play and continue to implement a culture the big clubs will still come knocking

I thought that but Vincent Kompany has far more gravitas than Kieran McKenna. He captained Belgium and Man City in their pomp. He's known around Europe. KM is none of these things. It could be argued that he's closer to Nigel Adkins (back to back promotions) than Kompany!

 

[sparkie]

Might as well ask "Pardew or Allardyce".

I fully realise this is the silly season but . . .

Indeed. It now seems a little random.

For context though, my post was originally on a "Potter or Cooper" thread before the thread merge.

 

[MJsGhost]

THIS!

There are far too many variables involved to guarantee you will get your 1st or even 2nd or 3rd choice.

We have a list of potential candidates who might fit and we would be interested in and then when the time comes we work our way through that. RDZ being out of work last time was incredibly fortunate, that will hardly ever happen.

IF Mckenna has been at the top of our list for the past few months, even if we knew we were going to be replacing RDZ, there is no way we could have known that by the end of May, Ipswich would be promoted and that Chelsea and probably Man Utd would also be looking for a new manager.

Exactly.

Some clubs are caught on the hop and only start to think about who could replace the manager (or whomever) when they hand in their notice.

We have an updated and evolving list of people to approach at all times, so we can move onto the sounding out and interviewing stage straight away.

Although I do like the idea of keeping a backup manager in a cupboard. Maybe with a glass door and a little hammer next to it...

 

[Beanstalk]

If everyone in the EPL makes at least £100 million in prize money per season and Ipswich think that he's key to their chances of staying up, paying him £5m or so a year seems reasonable. However, it presumably cuts into their player budget and they'll have immediate business to do. Not only have they made the step up, but they have 14 players who are returning to parent clubs or are out of contract at the end of June and another six who are in their final year: https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/ipswich-town/kader/verein/677/saison_id/2023/plus/1. They need to do a lot of business very quickly and, although the first move seems a sound one, it may have an impact on the expectations of others.

If McKenna doesn't turn out to be the asset they believe him to be and the US owners get the standard EPL wobble and replace him with an old relegation dodger, then his deal could be a future millstone that continues to cost them for some years after relegation. Presumably, they valued his importance to them higher than we did to us. A newly promoted team would perhaps have less confidence in their ability to attract alternatives of similar standing than a team that has so recently played in Europe might.

All of this.

More so, it completely changes the financial idea of the club. £19.8m in League One (all staff - latest accounts). Word is that McKenna will be earning above £5m per season. Even if their current wage bill doubled, one man taking an eighth of it is slightly mad. At the same time, Brentford spent £68m in their first Premier League season from £41m in the Championship. Ipswich have a remarkable amount of money to spend to catch up with the rest of the league.

We've heard a lot about the level of control McKenna has at Ipswich, maybe his remarkable spike in income is also a sign that Ipswich aren't going to do a Luton and are going to go for broke to survive this season. In that sense, the gamble is all round - relegation will cost them so they're going to try and spend their way on to an even playing field to give them the best shot of avoiding it.

If that is the case, there is some irony in us seemingly having one clear option to replace De Zerbi, and him deciding that he'd rather stay in the type of system that RDZ was angling for than adhere to ours. We look naïve at best.

 

[Hiheidi]

IF Mckenna has been at the top of our list for the past few months, even if we knew we were going to be replacing RDZ, there is no way we could have known that by the end of May, Ipswich would be promoted and that Chelsea and probably Man Utd would also be looking for a new manager.

He was nearly tempted to Palace in February, so you'd have assumed the club realised then that we might not be the only ones in the running.

 

[Coldwaltham Seagull]

I thought that but Vincent Kompany has far more gravitas than Kieran McKenna. He captained Belgium and Man City in their pomp. He's European. KM is none of these things. It could be argued that he's closer to Nigel Adkins (back to back promotions) than Kompany!

Fair point that

 

[Beanstalk]

Me too, got a funny feeling about it happening.

You are way more optimistic than me. Gallardo has always been my number one choice (if only for the fact he has the biggest bollocks on a statue to ever exist) but I just feel that instead of Gallardo, or Amorim, or Sérgio Conceição, we have decided we want a less explosive character, someone who'll be happy to be part of the structure, and absolutely not the head of it.

It's a shame really.

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

He was nearly tempted to Palace in February, so you'd have assumed the club realised then that we might not be the only ones in the running.

Exactly, we would have know other clubs would be interested but not who and when. That is why we have a list of potential candidates to work through as we might not get him or whoever was top of our list.

 

[Coldwaltham Seagull]

Thought Neestrup sounded interesting and very 'Brighton' so I enquired with Coral as to the odds available (he wasn't listed)

They now have him as 6/1 behind only Potter and Rydstrom. Shows how tiny and changeable the market is and highlights how little anyone really knows

 

[MJsGhost]

All of this.

More so, it completely changes the financial idea of the club. £19.8m in League One (all staff - latest accounts). Word is that McKenna will be earning above £5m per season. Even if their current wage bill doubled, one man taking an eighth of it is slightly mad. At the same time, Brentford spent £68m in their first Premier League season from £41m in the Championship. Ipswich have a remarkable amount of money to spend to catch up with the rest of the league.

We've heard a lot about the level of control McKenna has at Ipswich, maybe his remarkable spike in income is also a sign that Ipswich aren't going to do a Luton and are going to go for broke to survive this season. In that sense, the gamble is all round - relegation will cost them so they're going to try and spend their way on to an even playing field to give them the best shot of avoiding it.

You could be right, but I don't think it's a guarantee that they will have a massive splurge on players.

Maybe, having seen what McKenna did (on a relatively low budget) in the Championship, they feel he can do the same in the PL. I.e. spunk £5m p.a. on a manager who they think can get a tune out of a squad of (relatively) cheap recruits, rather than have to hire another manager AND spunk A LOT more trying to assemble a squad that looks strong enough (on paper) to survive.

 

[HCxUK]

Just came across another name on Rydstrom thread which seems quite an interesting typical left field Bloom/Barber appointment...Jacob Neestrup FC Copenhagen. Sorry if been mentioned b4 but thought it was more us than others mentioned.

I may have missed the Neestrup chat but think he's a really good shout.

The Danish league is a higher standard than the Swedish league and it looks as though his style of play would translate to the PL & our squad much better than Rydström's 'relationism' or whatever it's called..

He won the double with FCK in his first season, looks like they tailed off a bit this season but only finished a few points off top. He has a better CL record than De Zerbi with arguably a weaker team too....

 

[Whitechapel]

Saw this on Twitter earlier...
View attachment 183222

Has anyone found where he’s said that there’s teams interested in him? Had a little gander and can’t see anything.

I have however asked Bet365 to price him up so I can put a tenner on him. I look forward to him being the favourite by the end of the week.

 

[Silverhatch]

I may have missed the Neestrup chat but think he's a really good shout.

The Danish league is a higher standard than the Swedish league and it looks as though his style of play would translate to the PL & our squad much better than Rydström's 'relationism' or whatever it's called..

He won the double with FCK in his first season, looks like they tailed off a bit this season but only finished a few points off top. He has a better CL record than De Zerbi with arguably a weaker team too....

Neestrup has to be on the list and pretty near the top of it

 

[US Seagull]

Just let the Starlizard Algorithm pick the team and tactics?

With some AI generated Max Headroom talking head, to do the usual banal press conferences?

I'm IN.

Train it on all Roberto's press conferences. Call it ChatRDZ?

Would an AI require a UEFA Pro License?

 

[holybanjo]

At this rate we’ll be lucky if we get Crofty in as caretaker