Boss has put sleepy town on the map
Icouldn’t wait to get out of Bournemouth, even though I loved the place. It was a holiday town, a place that would send you to sleep rather than drive you forward. Maybe it was the sea air; everything always manana. then along came Eddie Howe. His team are anything but a team to send you to sleep. they are dynamic, full of hungry players, with a point to prove. I can tell you now that wide player Matt Ritchie is a contender for my ‘10 to watch’ for next season — he is dynamite.
And I can’t wait to see callum Wilson in the top flight. He was on the back page of my Daily Mail yesterday morning and you can expect to see him there more often. He is like Ian Wright, an exploding champagne bottle of a player; shake him up and watch him fizz.
Howe is the man who has got them buzzing. Gary lineker asked if we have found ‘the English Special one’, but Eddie is not the Special one. He is the different one.
Watch Eddie on the touchline and you will see he is the opposite to Mourinho. Eddie is peaceful during a game, relaxed, quiet and controlled. His extrovert assistant, Jason tindall, provides the instructions and the demands, with Eddie making his feelings known in a calm and gentle fashion.
obviously the Barclays Premier league will bring different demands for this young man, who is still only 37.
We got to know each other after my dad signed him for Portsmouth in 2002. He played only twice because of a knee injury that was similar to one that cost me my career. It eventually finished him, too, and while you don’t want to make friends through the same devastating injury, I am glad I got to know him.
Some people you meet you can see are destined to be successful. He was always one of them. My dad liked him instantly and had a soft spot for him. I always thought my dad would be the king of Bournemouth, for their FA cup giantkilling of holders Manchester united in 1984 and their promotion success when he took them into what is now the championship. But Eddie has blown away those achievements.
lots of clubs will be admiring his progress and while he didn’t enjoy his experience at Burnley when he left Bournemouth in 2011, that won’t stop others casting an eye in his direction.
And why not? He is impressive. He has a good eye for talent, makes big calls, plays young players, is forwardthinking, ambitious and looks the part — he is a chairman’s dream.
He will crave the opportunity to manage in the Premier league and will enjoy recruiting new talent. Bournemouth is a good place to bring up a family and he has also made it a good place to play. It is very different from the leaking stands and muddy pitch at dean court that I left behind.
My
childhood there was a big part of my life, cleaning luther Blissett’s boots, training with tony Pulis, Ian Bishop and Gerry Peyton and receiving my schooling in a football environment. But the away end had no roof and the old boys used to sit on wooden benches with cushions that they would throw at you when you were having a poor game.
leaving for liverpool at 17, I couldn’t get away fast enough. But now I can’t wait to get back there next season. I would never have thought all four of my clubs — Bournemouth, liverpool, Spurs and Southampton — would be in the same league.
Eddie Howe is the reason for that. I wonder if we are seeing an England manager in the making here.