Cherries ripe for a change

EDDIE HOWE and Steve Bruce are managers heading in opposite directions.

But the one who is looking up appears to be a dead man walking, while the one looking down continues to be immune from the sack.

Howe is part of Bournemouth’s DNA. He spent much of his playing career with them and became the youngest manager in the Football League when appointed in 2008.

He rescued them from relegation to non-league football in his first season before embarking on a romantic ride to the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history, albeit one briefly interrupted by Howe’s doomed defection to Burnley.

Since Arsene Wenger’s exit from Arsenal in 2018, Howe is the longest-serving manager in the top flight. While he might have built up huge credit in the bank, he is now blowing it faster than Viv Nicholson, who vowed to “spend, spend, spend” when her husband Keith won the equivalent of £3.3m on the Pools in 1961.

When Jeff Mostyn was appointed chairman in 2013, Howe made it clear he was right behind the decision and his new boss made no secret of his appreciation of the backing. The pair have remained tight as a drum ever since.

But in the wake of this week’s humiliating 4-1 home defeat by Newcastle, even someone as loyal as Mostyn must now realise that a managerial change is looming quicker than relegation.

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MAKING A TOUGH CALL: Manager Eddie Howe could be about to get some bad news from chairman Jeff Mostyn (left)

A team is a reflection of its manager – and the Cherries have turned sour under Howe. Two league wins from the last 15 games and 16 defeats from the last 21 have left them second from bottom of the table.

Worse still, the players appear to have downed tools, which is a damning reflection of Howe’s motivational skills, not to mention his recruitment policy.

Towards the end of the mauling from the Magpies, Howe’s flops even found themselves the victims of some showboating.

The assumption is that the south coast is a comfortable place to live, but it feels like there is an unwritten rule around Bournemouth: that no one is allowed question Howe.

But if people can flock to the beaches, then the time has come for Howe’s disciples to start demanding that he proves he’s as good a boss as they think he is and saves the Cherries from the drop.

It’s also okay for Cherries fans to consider the unthinkable – that life without Howe might have to happen if the club is to thrive again – whatever division this might be in.

Top-level football is about being ruthless. Sometimes difficult decisions have to be made but the question is, can Mostyn put his emotions to one side to make the right one? to criticise or