Kieran McKenna is rightfully winning numerous accolades for the outstanding work he is accomplishing at Ipswich. To be fair, he is considered one of the game’s most promising young managers.
In a little over two years, he has turned our team from a mediocre third-tier team into a formidable Premier League promotion candidate. They play fantastic aggressive football, which provides us with endless amusement and goals!
It makes sense that McKenna is associated with nearly every Premier League manager position that becomes available, according to the national media. He’s clearly in demand.
Of course, Ipswich Town has been here before. It is a proud tradition of ours to have managers. Those two football titans, Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson, loom huge in our history. What a history.
How many individuals have observed the striking similarities between our present manager and Sir Alf’s early management career? Numerous exist.
Before you think I’ve completely lost the plot, let me clarify that I won’t bet that McKenna’s Ipswich will move from the third division to win the Premier League—the contemporary equivalent of Ramsey’s incredible 1962 performance. Likewise, I don’t think McKenna will take over for Gareth Southgate as England’s manager and win the World Cup. All I’m trying to convey is how strikingly comparable Ramsey’s early managerial career was to Kieran McKenna’s. Not a thing more.
Let’s examine them. For both men, their first managerial position was at Ipswich. When they were appointed, they were both 35 years old, though Ramsey had changed his birthdate from 1920 to 1922 by then!
Both had close ties to the Spurs. Prior to an ongoing injury ending his playing career, McKenna was a talented midfielder for Tottenham youngsters, and Ramsey played his final six seasons at White Hart Lane.
Both McKenna and Ramsey took over third division teams that were clearly in the bottom half of the standings. Ipswich had just finished one season in the Second Division when they were demoted in 1955.
McKenna joined a team that had been fighting to get out of League One’s fast-paced style of football for four grueling seasons. In their second seasons, Ramsey and McKenna helped both teams advance. Ipswich under Ramsey’s leadership stayed in the Second Division for a few seasons until making history in 1962 by taking the League Championship on its first try.
With McKenna, the current squad is putting up a fierce fight to either win the Premier League automatically or through the play-offs.
The remarkable ability of both men to bring out the best in players—even those who lack immense natural talent—may be the most intriguing similarity between them.
Ramsey is renowned for having won the First Division championship with over half of a team comprised of players who had been struggling in the Third Division South just a few seasons prior.
Players like Ted Phillips, Jimmy Leadbetter, and John Elsworthy had their careers completely changed by Ramsey’s superb man-management and teaching abilities. He made World Cup winners out of journeymen like Jack Charlton and Nobby Stiles with England.
In a similar vein, many current Ipswich players’ careers have been completely transformed by McKenna’s coaching abilities. Consider Cameron Burgess and Wes Burns.
Before arriving to Ipswich, both players had virtually solely played in the lower divisions. They have since evolved into skilled Championship players with realistic hopes of one day playing Premier League football.
Comparable remarks can be made about Conor Chaplin. Despite his prior Championship experience, his goal-scoring ability over the past two seasons has been astounding. Enough to play in the Premier League? Maybe.
Several of the current Town players have flourished under McKenna, including Conor Chaplin. Pictured is Stephen Waller.
I could go on forever. Under McKenna, almost every player has improved. In the same way as Ramsey’s England and Ipswich players did.
Any similarities between Kieran McKenna and his legendary predecessor would undoubtedly be met with a polite shrug. However, there are a lot of parallels between his managing career’s early years.
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!