A MEDAL awarded to Ipswich Town legend Sir Alf Ramsey has failed to sell at a sports auction, it emerged today.

A MEDAL awarded to Ipswich Town legend Sir Alf Ramsey has failed to sell at a sports auction, it emerged today.

The medal, presented to Sir Alf just a few weeks after his 1996 England World Cup victory, was expected to fetch £600 to £800.

But it did not reach the reserve at the Bonhams auction, which was believed to be slightly less than the bottom end of the estimate.

Dan Davies, a sports consultant at Bonhams in Chester, said sales that day totalled around £250,000, including the £20,000 auction of a medal thrown to a fan by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

But Mr Davies could not explain why the Sir Alf medal had not been successful.

He said: “It was one of the few medals that seemed to drag its heels.

“You can put something on one auction and get nothing and then it can double its price at another one. It is unpredictable.”

The former Portman Road manager, who enjoyed huge success at Ipswich Town during his reign in the 1950s and 60s, took charge of a Football League representative team when was given the gold and silver medal.

The inter-league game against an Irish League XI in Plymouth on September 21, 1966, was Sir Alf's first match since his epic win against West Germany at Wembley.

In his eight years at Portman Road, Sir Alf transformed Ipswich by taking them from the Third Division South to the Division One title.

Sir Alf continued to live in Ipswich with his wife Lady Victoria until his death in 1999.

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