So, what happened?

Looking at the man for the games post lock down,he was gone.
I have witnessed this firsthand in organisations. The hardwork Of Howe will only cover up so much for so long, and ultimately adds to the problemHe has probably gone because he was mentally burnt out, the evidence points to that.Also, the prospect of no time off and straight into the same again with similar players did not appeal.

Sometimes the fire inside to succeed goes out and that’s that .
Eddie looked down and fed up for a while before lockdown- some of the players had stopped performing and seemed not to be listening to him JT and the coaches ....he probably realised during lockdown how much he missed family life and that he was doing too much at the club .
We came back from lockdown looking like a Sunday side - no organisation or leadership and abject in performance.
By then I think he’d had enough and a lot of the squad had - even when we beat Leicester that camera shot to Ake, Franno etc sat in the stands told a story , not one smile , no enthusiasm....
 
Could be that both parties had just recognised things had gotten stale, Max wanted a change of style/philosophy and Eddie wouldn’t budge. It’s worth noting that Max has never needed to get involved before, because all we’d known up to this point was success, now for the first time he perhaps tried to take more of a hands on role to steer the club back to where he wants it, and Eddie didn’t like this. Purely speculation but the fact that we are conducting (outgoing) transfer deals as we speak would at least suggest that someone else at the club has taken on this responsibility. Perhaps Max wants a club that isn’t solely controlled by one individual from top to bottom. If Tindall is appointed would not be at all surprised to see a structural revamp, with someone else responsible for transfers. All speculation.
 
Could be that both parties had just recognised things had gotten stale, Max wanted a change of style/philosophy and Eddie wouldn’t budge. It’s worth noting that Max has never needed to get involved before, because all we’d known up to this point was success, now for the first time he perhaps tried to take more of a hands on role to steer the club back to where he wants it, and Eddie didn’t like this. Purely speculation but the fact that we are conducting (outgoing) transfer deals as we speak would at least suggest that someone else at the club has taken on this responsibility. Perhaps Max wants a club that isn’t solely controlled by one individual from top to bottom. If Tindall is appointed would not be at all surprised to see a structural revamp, with someone else responsible for transfers. All speculation.
According to some you are not allowed to speculate on here. Please deal only with known facts!
;)
 
I agree with you on John Terry and don’t think he comes across intelligently enough or has the right morals and values to be an effective boss.

My issue with our JT is that he also doesn’t come across intelligently enough when interviewed and I’ve heard some players views on him. He’s a really decent number two and foil for Eddie. The only thing in his favour is keeping him gives continuity of all the staff in a very short summer recess. To my mind that’s not enough reason to not try and find another Eddie.
Yep I have to agree on all counts

Purches, Cooper and Molesley all look to be progressing well though.

I think building from within is our best chance of success
 
Not sure how much I can contribute as nobody really knows what happened, but after looking again over the "open letter" from Eddie there are a few things that I think are probably relevant:
  1. The "open letter" appeared on the official club website. Therefore its content had to be reviewed and approved by the club.
  2. The way the letter is worded is very careful, cautious, and probably wasn't written by Eddie, at least not in full.
  3. I don't think Eddie had been planning on leaving - the letter says that it is after a challenging few days, with talks between him and the club, that "we have collectively come to the decision" that he will be leaving.
  4. The word "collectively" comes up a LOT. Someone is trying very hard, maybe too hard, to emphasize that this was not a unilaterally-imposed decision. This makes me suspicious.
Who knows what really happened. After looking that letter over again, I wouldn't be surprised if the reality was closer to Eddie getting the sack, with the several-days negotiations being over how it would happen, and the ultimate decision being that there would be an "amicable" parting, and the club supplying the heartfelt letter to supporters that we all saw. If so, there's almost certainly a confidentiality clause Eddie had to sign, so he'll never be telling us anything, but the benefit for him is that he doesn't have a sacking on his CV.

I'm not saying this happened, or even that I think this happened, but I do think it's more likely than many other scenarios given the way that letter is written.
 
I also heard that Eddie being asked to take a pay cut went down like a cup of cold sick. I assume most managers would struggle to retain the same wage post relegation from their board.
If that was the case it would obviously suggest an offer to continue was on the table .... but it wasn’t palatable.

The sad departure like most things in life was probably multifactorial and I think probably a combination of mental fatigue / stress, disharmony with “star players”, Wee man debacle, family commitment, salary / contract.
In retrospect if Wee man had gone in January and Callum hadn’t been offered such a wealthy contract (disruptive to the dressing room especially when not firing) I suspect AFCB and Eddie would have survived.

Let’s face it we were dire before lockdown. We had the chance to regroup, reflect, get the entire squad fit again (bar Charlie D), and go again with let’s face it three of the better fixtures you can expect in the top flight to ignite our survival.
So we had two chances to get this season right and Eddie couldn’t do it.
The blame although he says sits entirely on his shoulders, is not that easy to apportion.
I think the players who did not perform for him / club should also take a massive share.
For all Eddies footballing genius I think he will retrospectively be disappointed with his handling of the big egos in the dressing room and the recruitment.
I also wonder whether there were clashes of ego. Eddies has been talked of as being fairly sizeable and clashes with other egos did apparently cause great discord .... Mings and Defoe spring to mind.
 
Hearing of a rift between Demin and Mostyn. Also that Demin wanted Eddie out.

Is it true? Don't know.
Where is it from? Family member of a long term AFC Bournemouth employee.
 
I'm proud that even in all the so-called adversity of the last few weeks, both the club and the fans have acted differently to the norm - the club with its positive vibes, thank-you's, videos etc about EH. the fans not blaming EH in a "nasty" way for relegation & subsequent leaving. its nice to see so much respect around - some may say it smacks of small-club-itus..... but I like it.

:utc: :love1:
 
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I'm proud that even in all the so-called adversity of the last few weeks, both the club and the fans have acted differently to the norm - the club with its positive vibes, thank-you's, videos etc about EH. the fans not blaming EH in a "nasty" way for relegation & subsequent leaving. its nice to see so much respect around - some may say it smacks of small-club-itus..... but I like it.

:utc: :love1:
Totally agree.
 

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