Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HOWE DID IT COME TO THIS?
Eddie’s Bournemouth dream is in danger of turning into a nightmare...and ex-charlton boss Curbishley warns Cherries the worst may be yet to come
THE great adventure could be about to come to a sad end.
As they were beaten for the third time since the Premier League’s return, Bournemouth’s wretched 4-1 defeat at home to Newcastle on Wednesday brought the threat of relegation closer.
They are second from bottom and their six remaining matches include a visit to Manchester United tomorrow and fixtures against Tottenham, Leicester and Manchester City. It is a daunting run at the best of times – but now one being taken on the back of 16 defeats in their last 21 games. In two spells, manager Eddie Howe has lifted the club up from League Two and the verge of bankruptcy to the
Premier League. He has been in charge for a total of 11 years. During that time he has been linked with the England post, and the top jobs at Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham.
But on Wednesday night Howe (above) was asked if he had had any assurances about his future from the Bournemouth board.
One man who knows all about staying a long time at a club, then seeing it all crumble is former Charlton manager Alan Curbishley.
He was at The Valley for 15 years, 11 in sole command, taking them up into the Premier League and then establishing them there.
He left when he thought he could do no more – only to watch as the Addicks plunged into League One on his departure.
He fears the same thing could now happen to the Cherries. Curbishley said: “Bournemouth is probably the smallest club that has been in the Premier League, apart from Wimbledon. Their stadium holds less than 12,000.
“That is the worry. It is so, so hard to keep a small club at that level for a long time. The job just gets harder.
“The other fact is that Eddie has spent an awful lot of money and some of the signings have not worked out, like Jordon Ibe and Dominic Solanke.”
Ibe cost £15million from Liverpool and was released last week after not appearing since September. Solanke cost £19m but has failed to score a league goal in his 18 months at the club.
“That’s why the criticism starts,” said Curbishley. “People expect more.
“You become established at a club, you have success and people expect it to get better. Eddie has done fantastically well. This may be a blip. If he finishes outside the bottom three he can carry on. But he has a real job on his hands.
“Eddie is going through stuff he’s not really gone through before. He is a victim of his own success.”