Lets talk about... Eddie

Hi All,
Celtic fan coming in peace scouting for information.

In short, I'm asking for a fans' perspective scouting report on Eddie Howe.

As the man is being heavily linked with Celtic (disclaimer: unsure if this is true or false, and won't believe anything in the media until I see a manager with a Celtic scarf above their heads outside our stadium!) I was hoping to gather some information from those who know him best.

Regardless of how you view Scottish football, or your thoughts on whether a move north would be a good move (or bad) for Eddie as fans of Bournemouth you'll be able to tell me more than any beat writer in England about him. Without the bias the media naturally have.

I'm hoping for your perceptions of him as a tactician, scout (based on signings), how he interacts with media, deals with pressure, brought players on, used the youth academy etc.

How did he progress & regress as time went on in the managers chair, how often did he change his backroom staff, what sort of system does he want to run & how adaptable is he to change? What trends did you see in his signings, what concerned you most. What were your biggest frustrations with him as a manager/head coach & where did you see his limitations? What sort of team & infrastructure did he leave behind?

Even down to frustrations with body language on the side line. I really want all of your perceptions of Eddie I can find.

I'm not looking for a rosey view here. Whether its glowing praise or scathing criticism I'm hoping you will help.

Thanks in advance for any responses & good luck on the promotion charge. I'll be rooting for you!
 
“Brought players on”

Turned several lower league journeymen into Premier League players on the brink of England call-ups.
 
Hi All,
Celtic fan coming in peace scouting for information.

In short, I'm asking for a fans' perspective scouting report on Eddie Howe.

As the man is being heavily linked with Celtic (disclaimer: unsure if this is true or false, and won't believe anything in the media until I see a manager with a Celtic scarf above their heads outside our stadium!) I was hoping to gather some information from those who know him best.

Regardless of how you view Scottish football, or your thoughts on whether a move north would be a good move (or bad) for Eddie as fans of Bournemouth you'll be able to tell me more than any beat writer in England about him. Without the bias the media naturally have.

I'm hoping for your perceptions of him as a tactician, scout (based on signings), how he interacts with media, deals with pressure, brought players on, used the youth academy etc.

How did he progress & regress as time went on in the managers chair, how often did he change his backroom staff, what sort of system does he want to run & how adaptable is he to change? What trends did you see in his signings, what concerned you most. What were your biggest frustrations with him as a manager/head coach & where did you see his limitations? What sort of team & infrastructure did he leave behind?

Even down to frustrations with body language on the side line. I really want all of your perceptions of Eddie I can find.

I'm not looking for a rosey view here. Whether its glowing praise or scathing criticism I'm hoping you will help.

Thanks in advance for any responses & good luck on the promotion charge. I'll be rooting for you!

 
Scout (some selected transfers down the years)

Matt Ritchie - Purchased for about £400k sold for £12m
Callum Wilson - Purchased for about £2.5m sold for £20m
Joshua King - Purchased for £1m sold with just a few months left on his contract for “up to” £5m
Nathan Ake - Purchased for £20m sold for £40m
Aaron Ramsdale - Purchased for less than £1m sold for £18m+
 
Interaction with the media sublime he will have them eating out of his hand. A real gentleman but with a steely glint.
 
What sort of team & infrastructure did he leave behind?

He left behind a team of players full of potential, full of all the raw ingredients but lacking in leadership and direction. Back room staff - everything was built on his shoulders. No one club was more dependent on one man than ours.

Physical infrastructure, same as when he returned. He wanted a legacy, he wanted a new training complex. He got a field and some pretty drawings.
 
To sum him up twice in three words, depending on how you look at his character, he is ”his own man” and/or a “stubborn control freak”.

Basically, coming in at the bottom with no resources to speak of, he is self taught and used to making decisions largely by himself. This was very successful, which is down to his hard work, eagerness to learn, clear vision and commitment to playing open, attractive football. As we progressed up the leagues, it was something he was able to get the players to buy into and fantastic to watch. It proved harder to sustain after a period in the Premier League when, in my view, the cracks of operating like that began to show.

He has had hits and misses in the transfer market, but that is normal. As far as the media is concerned, he is a skilled operator to the point of blandness.
 
Scout (some selected transfers down the years)

Matt Ritchie - Purchased for about £400k sold for £12m
Callum Wilson - Purchased for about £2.5m sold for £20m
Joshua King - Purchased for £1m sold with just a few months left on his contract for “up to” £5m
Nathan Ake - Purchased for £20m sold for £40m
Aaron Ramsdale - Purchased for less than £1m sold for £18m+

Very 'selected' :ROFLMAO:
 
You might also want to ask Burnley fans the same questions. Here, due to the circumstances he was given the luxury of time to enact a style of play and develop players despite his lack of experience. At Burnley his time was shorter and expectations were far higher. The opinion there appears to be split in that some believe he laid down the foundations for Dyche and others believe that Dyche's relative success showed Eddie was out of his depth.

I'm guessing Burnley is a better comparison than his hometown club where the situation and pressures were different. Part of me thinks he will have learned a great deal from the Burnley experience, part of me still feels he is too stubborn to change things when needed, as evidenced by the last couple of seasons in the PL.

I don't want to sound negative, obviously he is a club legend and what he achieved here is beyond what any of us could have ever dreamed of but in terms of taking that to a club like Celtic, the jury is still out for me.
 
You can look at Eddie's managerial career at AFCB in 3 phases :

1. Backs To The Wall, 2009. With no experience and no money, Eddie managed to turn an impossible situation around and save AFCB from almost certain relegation out of the Football League, and probable extinction. Showed fantastic resilience and courage in the face of terrible odds.

2. Rise To The Premier League. 2012-15 Eddie returned to a struggling AFCB in October 2012, and overnight turned them into a promotion-winning team. The effect on the players of his arrival was simply incredible. They changed from a shapeless collection of individuals into a formidable team, and then went on to win promotion to the PL with largely the same squad of lower league journeymen. He made average players believe in themselves and achieve greatness.

3. Premier League Success 2015 - 2018 Eddie showed no fear in taking on, and regularly beating, the best the PL could offer, with pretty much the same bunch of players he inherited in 2012. Again despite a savage injury list in our first season, he displayed an incredible resilience in the face of adversity. The man was a hero and an inspiration to all around him.

It all began to unravel after this, but that's a separate story.
 
If you were to nit-pick Eddie's 'flaws' (feels a silly word to use) it would be:

Lack of a plan B - Eddie sets his stall out and sticks to it. Substitutions will be like for like, the system and style will always remain the same whether you're playing Ross County or Real Madrid. That style will likely be very easy on the eye mind you! It's just that some games won't suit it.

The players who don't benefit from Howe's coaching will be players with an existing ego and are set in their way of playing. Veteran players don't tend to do as well under Eddie, unless they already happen to slot nicely into Eddie’s system.

Honestly though, you will be so lucky to have Eddie should it all complete as expected. The man is a gentleman and a miracle worker. I like all Bournemouth fans could write essays of praise for the man and it still wouldn't cover all his attributes.

I gather that Celtic have a lot of aging players already on the way out, and a need to replenish with young talent? That is just the perfect scenario for Howe.

If you can give him a little time to establish the group of younger players he deems workable, give that 6-12 months of coaching, they will look twice the players they were to start with (and will probably be 4 times as valuable).
 
Lack of a plan B - Eddie sets his stall out and sticks to it. Substitutions will be like for like, the system and style will always remain the same whether you're playing Ross County or Real Madrid.

I think it’s a real shame that history has been re-written in this way.

Howe played numerous systems and styles during his time with us. Everything from flat 4-4-2, to 5 at the back, 5 in midfield and everything in between.

He played short passing and no crossing, to hit the channels and fire in the crosses.

As per the link above, his systems were often so flexible that they changed numerous times during the game. We had inverted wingers, they’d swap sides etc.

If things started going to pot, he often had his default that he would return to. How’s that not having multiple plans?
 

;