Kieran McKenna is deservedly receiving many plaudits for the magnificent job he is doing at Ipswich. He is rightly regarded as one of the most promising young managers in the game.
In little more than two years, he has transformed our team from a very average third division side into strong contenders for promotion to the Premier League.
They play wonderful attacking football which gives us brilliant entertainment and lots and lots of goals!
Understandably, McKenna is linked by the national media with just about every Premier League manager’s job which becomes vacant. He is definitely hot property.
Ipswich Town have been here before, of course. We have a proud tradition when it comes to managers. Looming large in our history are those two football giants, Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson. What a legacy.
I wonder how many people have noticed the extraordinary parallels between Sir Alf’s early managerial career and that of our current manager? There are many.
Now, before you think I’ve completely lost the plot, let me say I’m not going to predict that McKenna’s Ipswich are about to go from the third tier to become Premier League champions, the modern day equivalent of Ramsey’s extraordinary feat in 1962.
Equally, I’m not predicting that McKenna will succeed Gareth Southgate in the England job and win the World Cup in 2030. Although all of the above would be good...!
All I’m saying is that there are many striking similarities between Ramsey’s early managerial career and that of Kieran McKenna. Nothing more.
Let’s go through them. Ipswich was the first manager’s job for both men. They were both 35 when they were appointed - although Ramsey at that point had altered his birth date from 1920 to 1922!
Both had strong links with Spurs. Ramsey spent the final six seasons of his playing career at White Hart Lane, and McKenna was a promising Tottenham youth midfielder before an ongoing injury ended his days as a footballer.
Ramsey and McKenna both inherited third division teams who were at a definite low point. In 1955, Ipswich had just been relegated from the Second Division after a single season.
McKenna joined a club which had been struggling for four frustrating seasons to escape from the kick-and-rush football of League One.
In both cases, Ramsey and McKenna got the team promoted in their second season. Under Ramsey, Ipswich stabilised in the Second Division for a few seasons before sensationally winning the League Championship at the first attempt in 1962.
With McKenna, the current team are mounting a strong challenge to reach the promised land of the Premier League, either automatically or via the play-offs.
Perhaps the most interesting comparison between the two men is their extraordinary ability to get the very best from players, even those not blessed with huge amounts of god-given talent.
Famously, Ramsey won the First Division title with nearly half a team of players who, only a few seasons before, had been plying their trade without great success in the Third Division South.
Ramsey’s consummate coaching and man-management skills transformed the careers of players like John Elsworthy, Ted Phillips and Jimmy Leadbetter. With England, he turned journeymen like Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles into World Cup winners.
Similarly, McKenna’s coaching skills have transformed the careers of so many current Ipswich players. Take Wes Burns and Cameron Burgess.
Both players had spent their careers almost exclusively in the lower divisions prior to coming to Ipswich. Now, they have been transformed into accomplished Championship performers, who harbour realistic ambitions of playing Premier League football.
To an extent, similar applies to Conor Chaplin. Although he had played in the Championship previously, his goalscoring form in the last two seasons has been a revelation. Good enough for the Premier League? Possibly.
I could go on. Just about every player has improved under McKenna. Just as Ramsey’s players with Ipswich and England did.
I’m sure Kieran McKenna would modestly shrug off any comparisons with his great predecessor. But the early years of his managerial career bear so many similarities.
Who knows where McKenna’s career will take him? The sky is the limit at the moment. I wish him every success - hopefully at Ipswich!
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