Eddie Howe - An Alternative View

B

Brents Goulet

New Signing
I actually can't believe I'm even typing these words.....!

We've had a bad 2019, and are currently in a bad place. Of that, nobody could disagree

We've spent a lot of money, so can't blame that

Not all of our signings have come off yet, that's true

And at times we've made tactical mistakes too, nobody would disagree

But the reaction of some fans in recent weeks has left me feeling embarrassed to be a Bournemouth fan at times

I've read that if we were any other club, we've have sacked Eddie Howe a long time ago....in which case I'm just glad we're not any other club

I've read that he has taken us as far as he can....on the basis we've gone from 91st in the EFL to to our fifth season in the Premier League, that may be true, but I'm intrigued to know who can take us further so we are regularly winning trophies!?

Worst of all are the fans who feel the need to publicly declare he's lost their support. A few months ago we were worrying he'd be off to Spurs, or Everton. Now some of us are calling time on him

I get criticism of the team and therefore of him. But anyone who feels we can do better hasn't thought this through. We can't. We won't. He is the best we've had, and the best we'll ever have

The togetherness and spirit which took us this far is starting to fall away, and if we drop out of the Premier League and lose the best manager we've ever had, we will have played a small pat in that too

So as a fan base we have a choice. Are we going to back one of our own and stand with him through this difficult phase? The man who enabled us to dream. The man who gave us experiences we will take to the grave. The man we raised money for to bring him back as a player. The man we begged to stay, and then prayed would return as manager. The man with a stronger connection to us, our club, our history and our future than any other manager will ever have. On whose watch we have played the finest football any of us have ever watched

Or will behave like every other fan or every other club?
 
This echoes my view and the view of many others, probably the silent majority.
I went to the game yesterday but my ticket was with home fans as I know a Hammers season ticket holder. I watched our fans from outside as it were and we tried our best to get behind the team but as the game wore on it understandably became more difficult. At the end about a third had already gone and the rest stayed and maybe half applauded the team wildly which made me proud to be a cherry.
We cant change things so we should in my opinion stick with the team and the Manager and try to enjoy what comes next. Sacking Eddie after what he has done for us would embarrass us as a Club. Let's be different and show some loyalty to an outstanding individual.
 
...in life...in work we all have often some tough times and need to meet these challenges...this is how we survive.

Eddie Howe and his team are going through such turbulence and it isn't life and death!...it is sport and this always provides ups and downs.

You learn more in times of pressure than at any time else and I am sure that Eddie will be taking a good look at himself and pulling apart his mantra to find just what is the way forward...

I would rather have someone who cares deeply for the club and it's welfare, ratehr than some mercenary bloke who has absolutely no affiliation...

If all this means that we are not able to stay up, in what is a fiercely competitive league...then so be it. I would still sleep better knowing that the right thing had been done and not some cold-hearted and money motivated reaction...

This club is unique...let's not destroy that or we have nothing!
 
Hillviewred said:
I concur Brent,he should stay,but i think he needs help.What is your view on bringing another coach in
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Possibly, but as the manager that HAS to be his call. Truth is we aren't privy to 90% of the things that happen behind the scenes that affect what we watch for a few hours a week. The ownership agenda, players agents, players personal lives and the affect their decisions have on their work etc. So we had to trust him and back him based on the fact he knows more about the reality of what's needed than us
 
Brents Goulet said:
Are we going to back one of our own...the man with a stronger connection to us, our club, our history and our future than any other manager will ever have.

Or will behave like every other fan or every other club?
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This is the key part for me. Like many on here, relegation for me wouldn't be the end of the world (I might even get to a home game every now and again when back in the UK...)

But what I would hate to lose is the local identity we have as a club. We currently have a youth team graduate managing us in the top league of English football, a long-term ex-player as his assistant and a boyhood fan and ex-player coaching England's next number one. I may be overly sentimental, I'd rather keep that identity and play in League 2 than become just another corporate PL club with players and managers with no connection to our town or history.
 
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We will go down at some time. Only 7 teams are established in this division.

The most (consecutive) any of the other 13 have spent is 8 seasons. Those are West Ham and Southampton. Both struggling.

After that it's Palace 7 and Leicester 6

The other 9 teams are led by us and Watford with 5 seasons. Almost half.

Sustainability is very challenging.
 
Hillviewred said:
I concur Brent,he should stay,but i think he needs help.What is your view on bringing another coach in
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I don't think Eddie, who has achieved so much for us, should go at at all. He's obviously an amazing coach to achieve what he has and he will go further, hopefully with The Cherries. But he's now in a tough spot in one of the world's biggest and most competative league's with a management team around him that haven't changed much since he started his journey in the lower divisions. Put simply, the coach may need coaching to bring him on another step, and he may need a different kind of support. There's nothing wrong with it. An alternative veiwpoint, a shoulder to cry on. An experienced figure who can give him some unbiased advice. Max Demin should know from his business career how helpful this can be to even the most talented leader. It's not a second manager, it's just a guide. It doesn't even need to be a full time post.
 
we were discussing eddies tenure when fleeing the scene yesterday. one of the downsides of his amazingly long reign is that unlike any other managers, he has had zero breaks (ie holidays) between jobs, where he can refresh, relax, recharge. footy management is an incredibly intense job, with no traditional "holidays" that most of us enjoy. I'm not really making any conclusions, other than it can't be healthy.
 
wellsworld said:
we were discussing eddies tenure when fleeing the scene yesterday. one of the downsides of his amazingly long reign is that unlike any other managers, he has had zero breaks (ie holidays) between jobs, where he can refresh, relax, recharge. footy management is an incredibly intense job, with no traditional "holidays" that most of us enjoy. I'm not really making any conclusions, other than it can't be healthy.
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Totally agree, I'm sure fatigue and exhaustion are a real problem. Pochettino at Spurs got them to a UCL Final and literally ran out of steam, after what was 5 years. Eddie is entering his 8th year since returning from Burnley. But the lot and support of a fan base can energise him; of course winning helps too!
 
Steve C said:
I don't think Eddie, who has achieved so much for us, should go at at all. He's obviously an amazing coach to achieve what he has and he will go further, hopefully with The Cherries. But he's now in a tough spot in one of the world's biggest and most competative league's with a management team around him that haven't changed much since he started his journey in the lower divisions. Put simply, the coach may need coaching to bring him on another step, and he may need a different kind of support. There's nothing wrong with it. An alternative veiwpoint, a shoulder to cry on. An experienced figure who can give him some unbiased advice. Max Demin should know from his business career how helpful this can be to even the most talented leader. It's not a second manager, it's just a guide. It doesn't even need to be a full time post.
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I'm sure he has plenty of wise heads he can turn to for advice, and has never been afraid to ask for it to his credit
 
We can back him until the cows come home but the ultimate decision is down to Max.

Sounding off is all part of the healing process, the problem is that with social media it becomes all consuming. You can read 100 posts on twatter or here over a few weeks calling for his head and then gradually it becomes the norm. Why ?..well thats what happens in PL football, sacking underperforming managers is normal. I'd argue however that this club isn't normal, for the very reasons the OP has listed.
 
Brents Goulet said:
He is the best we've had, and the best we'll ever have
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Glad you're paying attention to what I said on another thread: "We’re in a terrible run, he is making mistakes, but he’s the best we’ve ever had and will ever have":grinning:

Glib comment aside, fully agree with everything you've written. Some people on here are shockingly underappreciative of what EH has done for this club and are prepared to allow him no slack whatsoever.

Historically, we are not a genuine PL club, we are a mid-table L1 club in the middle of a sensational, once-in-a-lifetime period of overachievement. Whilst I felt that we could establish ourselves as one of the "8th-17th" group over the long term, especially whilst we continue to invest in players rather than infrastructure, ultimately we will get relegated at some point.

When and if we do, there's only one manager I want to trust to bring us back up again......and it ain't Redknapp or Pulis!
 
Hillviewred said:
I concur Brent,he should stay,but i think he needs help.What is your view on bringing another coach in
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I agree he needs help but is he to stubborn to accept help, the back room staff are all old friends he has played with, it needs a fresh look at that and reboot the team. But it would be nice if we could get to playing the style of football ball that got us here, I know we conceded goals but we beat teams
 
adam0102 said:
Glad you're paying attention to what I said on another thread: "We’re in a terrible run, he is making mistakes, but he’s the best we’ve ever had and will ever have":grinning:

Glib comment aside, fully agree with everything you've written. Some people on here are shockingly underappreciative of what EH has done for this club and are prepared to allow him no slack whatsoever.

Historically, we are not a genuine PL club, we are a mid-table L1 club in the middle of a sensational, once-in-a-lifetime period of overachievement. Whilst I felt that we could establish ourselves as one of the "8th-17th" group over the long term, especially whilst we continue to invest in players rather than infrastructure, ultimately we will get relegated at some point.

When and if we do, there's only one manager I want to trust to bring us back up again......and it ain't Redknapp or Pulis!
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Imitation is the highest form of flattery Adam!
 
...funny all the things that have got us to where we are, we supported and euligised about...the tight backroom team with AFCB in their DNA...Eddie's insistence on playing football in the right manner....his developing of talent like Ramsdale, Daniels,Cook,Francis,Fraser,Smith and Wilson...

and now with what is an horrendous injury list of truly key players like Ake, Smith, Brooks, and now King and Stacey........

The mindset of Fraser....the alarming drop in form of Callum (these may be connected even?)

The failure of Jordon Ibe, Brad Smith, Emmerson Hyndman, Connor Mahoney, Jermaine Defoe and now Dominic Solanke haunt him probably...

The players look obviously tired due to our thin squad, especially after a gruelling holiday fixture list....

the slow repatriation of Lewis Cook and now Junior Stanislas are yet to bear fruit...

If you factor all of this in...no small wonder that we are struggling to compete!

We don't have a huge pot of money to throw at salvation this January...so we must cope...

I will not blame Eddie Howe if we go down...merely that we are a small club punching above our weight and may be susceptible to a killer blow, and a knockdown to The Championship....but my god we have had our dreams met a thousand times over!
 
I believe that it is very significant if the fans continue to show their respect and support for the manager despite bad results on the pitch. We have seen at other clubs that some players just stop playing when they realise that the fans have turned against the manager and we surely don't want that to happen here. We need to show our players that our affection and support for Eddie will not waver even if we don't always agree with him, and the players need to understand that if they aren't playing for him they are also not playing for us.
 
I can forgive the fans having a go, the JCL and "Premier" fan will shout about him having to go, but my concern is the players, they see and work with him everyday, not the brightess bunch maybe, but they must know what he and Jason are going through, but I am afraid some insipid figures who look like they would rather be anywhere else ( after they have picked up their wages ! ) than playing football in a Bournemouth shirt.
I am afraid we don't have any leaders out on the pitch, and we seem to be like Huddesfield last season, beaten before we every kick off.
 
corfe_red said:
I can forgive the fans having a go, the JCL and "Premier" fan will shout about him having to go, but my concern is the players, they see and work with him everyday, not the brightess bunch maybe, but they must know what he and Jason are going through, but I am afraid some insipid figures who look like they would rather be anywhere else ( after they have picked up their wages ! ) than playing football in a Bournemouth shirt.
I am afraid we don't have any leaders out on the pitch, and we seem to be like Huddesfield last season, beaten before we every kick off.
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...best not to make Billing captain then ! :)
 
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