Howe must make sure the fairytale goes on
Maxim Demin, the club’s Russian owner, certainly looked as if he had enjoyed himself when the television cameras cut to him in the stand! Keeping a low profile through it all was the man who masterminded Bournemouth’s success. Eddie Howe is a contender to be named LMA Manager of the Year but it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me that he was able to appear so reserved. Eddie and I were part of an England Under 20 squad that went to the Toulon Tournament; he wasn’t a regular in the squad, so the experience of being away was all new to him and it’s fair to say he didn’t utter more than two words on the trip! He has changed now, when you consider the enormity of Bournemouth’s achievement. Eddie is clearly still level-headed, as when he was asked how it felt that his club had reached the top flight, he replied that he would ‘never be so arrogant to think this club was mine’. That is a quality he will need to keep next season. Bournemouth have been the Championship’s great entertainers this year, scoring 95 goals, but they have also conceded 45. We are going to enjoy watching them play but if they continue to be so open, there will be some heavy defeats too. It is becoming more difficult for promoted teams to stay up. Of three who came up last year, Burnley and QPR are on the brink, while Leicester are still in deep trouble, and the odds will be short on the same thing happening in 12 months. Somehow, Bournemouth have got to be more than just a romantic story. They don’t want to be the next Blackpool, the little club that came into the Premier League, had a go and scored a lot of goals but were relegated. The most important thing is not how they are seen. It is about staying up.