Lets talk about... Eddie

Purely looking at what I consider the downside of Eddie Howe, I haven't got time to write all of the upsides. He was, as said above, stubborn and tended to get stuck in his ways of playing. Towards the end of his stay with us he seemed tired and to have run out of ideas as to how to get improvements in performances. However I will always think he was our best ever Manager due to the fact he brought us from near extinction to 5 seasons in the EPL. He's a hard act to follow and might be the man to get Celtic back to the top of the Scottish tree next season.
 
I wish Celtic all the best if Eddie does go there! An absolute legend in my opinion despite our relegation. He took our club from absolutely nowhere (losing to Blyth and Accrington particular low points) to fighting with the elite. Having met him he is an absolute gentleman too and he’s always fascinating to listen to in press conferences. He did occasionally lack a plan b but he could well be the messiah you’re looking for to fight the Gers for superiority. I for one would look out for the Celtic results if indeed he did take over.
 
I always thought Eddie's strongest suit was his ability to "spot a player".

Players like Lyle Taylor, Harry Cornick, Dannys Ings is a more obvious one, all bought in to develop into League One players for us but who now excel at levels far higher than we were developing them for.

His biggest tactical weakness, strangely, was defending. Considering he was a CB it never improved, even when he changed the tactics to focus on it. I think that was the beginning of an 18 month spiral resulting in his ultimate "downfall", as well as some potential uncharacteristic unrest behind the scenes coming from players (which of course he never alluded to, being the stoic gent he is).

The positives are almost too numerous to mention but the last 18 months to 2 years were just tremendously disapppointing given the players we had, the injuries we had, Eddie's seeming reliance on his "favourites" who were no longer cutting it and him seeming unable to see the glaringly obvious solutions that all us forum experts had identified months prior. The team lost its identity and instead of being devastating in attack but weak at that back, we just became a bit weak everywhere. So less goals but still just as crap at the back.

An appointment at Celtic will make or break him. Succeed and he'll be at somewhere like Arsenal in a few seasons' time but I feel any failure might really set him back.
 
When he became manager (not caretaker) ,twice,the next games were against the ,then runaway leaders of L2 and L1 Wycombe and Tranmere IIRC.They were torn to shreds.
His teams came out and got REALLY stuck into the opposition. Our players were everywhere .and was described as "hunting in packs".That commitment then brought about what many think was the best football we had ever seen and was the foundation of our rise up the league.
 
Eddie Howe = Poor man's John Yems ( according to some Crawley managers ) : )


Above legend status, probably one step above God to many of us. Worked miracles at this club, achieved by his relentless work ethic. Always found enough time to talk with fans, even if it was just pleasantries when he had important "manager" business to attend to : )

Oh and the football was way above anything we expected but don't expect much of a cup run in any of your domestic cups : ) can't see you getting relegated under him though : )
 
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+


With the emphasis on the word 'selected'

tbh his scouting was no more than average


There's along list of misses; especially once we reached the EPL
 
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.
Absolutely spot on with all of this :clap:
 
I hope Rangers and Celtic go bust ! Boring f√ckers!

Onward Paaaaartikiick Thiiiisstttle ! Yo! Mooootheeeerweeell ! Yo!
Duuuuunfeeeermlliiiino! Yahhooha !

Oh Christ I hope Eddie dont go there...fook me...this Forum will be unbearable...Celtic this..Celtic that....from every friggin Boring Tw@t south of Sauchiehall Street .everybody talkin ' bout haggis, maggis, draggis, traggis....Uncle Freddie, Aunty Belle ..who are Bournemouth gonna sell..Ted McJuma and Phil Billinger - break the bloody Scottish Bank....Sandbanks on the Clyde !
Taaaeee F√ck Jummy!

.all we are saying Ed..is give Palace a chance ..because if you go Jockside....I'll flood this Forum with so much Nonsense...just to divert the attention back Chineside !

The day he tags up with Celtic would see the most embarrassing Creaming of Jeans ever known on the Forum....if we wanna get away from Tinpot...just concentrate on what happens at DC instead...please!

WE are BOSCOMBE !
 
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Why? He hasn't said a word throughout this.

Just look at what it's like on here if a player or manager hints that they didn't have an AFCB duvet cover when they were little. Wherever he goes he'll have a short honeymoon period and people are less likely to forgive a poor start if they think he'sessed them around from the start. Steve Bruce at Sheffield Wednesday springs to mind.
 

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