Tractor Boys Blogs

My Top Ten Town Managers

|
Image for My Top Ten Town Managers

We all have our favourites I guess but I don’t think anyone would dispute my top two – even if you might dispute the order!

10. Mick O’Brien: The Ipswich-Irish connection began even before we had turned professional and it was this man who guided Town to the Southern League title in 1937 before departing suddenly and leaving the club manager-less until the arrival of a Scotsman from Dumbarton.

9. Scott Duncan: We have to go all the way back to 1954 to recall what this man did when we won the Third Division South title that year.

This was quite an achievement as we had only been a professional club for 16 years when we claimed our first bit of silverware and it was fitting that it was our first manager who claimed it!

He was the manager of Ipswich Town for a remarkable 18 years from 1937 to 1955 and oversaw their transformation from an amateur to professional club way back in 1936.

8.Bill McGarry: Under McGarry the club regained its First Division status in the 1967-68 season, before leaving in November of 1968 to manage Wolves.

7.Jim Magilton: We may not have won anything under the likeable Northern Irishman but we played some great football and I think he was very unlucky to lose his job the way he did. He was at the helm from 2006 to 2009 and we all know what a huge influence he was as a player too.

6. Joe Royle: With little cash to spend he performed miracles and took us to the play-offs against all the odds. With the club in administration, he still managed to get us to the play-offs in 2004 and Town produced some great football in the process.

5.Bobby Ferguson: The first team coach took on the managers job when Robson took on England and it was a hard ask. That said, he managed the club for almost five years and although we went down from the top flight in 1986 he got us to the play-offs the following year where we lost out to Charlton Athletic.

4. John Lyall: the former West Ham man got us back into the top flight in 1992 as Second Division Champions and for that alone, he will always have a special place in our hearts.

3. George Burley: The former Scots defender managed the club for 8 long years from 1994 to 2002 and we always played attractive football.
Under his watch, we became the Division One play-off winners in 2001 and the next season ended up fifth in the Premier League!

2. Sir Alf Ramsey: The only Ipswich manager to have won the First Division Championship with the blues having already won the Second Division Championship the year before! After Ipswich it was England and we all know what happened there!

1. Sir Bobby Robson: Like Ramsey he went on to do England proud but it was with Ipswich that he made his name. Apart from the wonderful football we played and beating Manchester United 6-0 we went on to lift the FA Cup in 1978 and the Uefa Cup in 1981 and he almost won the league title too and it had not been for an injury to Kevin Beattie, perhaps would have done!

Frank Weston – Vital Ipswich

Share this article

A true blue through and through

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *