Newcastle United news (Eddie Howe related)

is he taller than Pantsdown? if so then he won't be going there, as apparently he will not be taking on anyone taller than himself!![rumour has it]

Can't see him going to City, maybe Palace if Woy doesn't get a good start next season

Did an absolutely incredible job at Bournemouth but I thought he has looked a broken man since about Christmas.  Clearly whatever he was doing was not working anymore and he seemed jaded.  There has been suggestions that he's turned down offers from bigger clubs such as Everton.  Hard to see him not re-emerging.  I wouldn't be writing off that England manager prediction just yet.  Big moment for Bournemouth now.  They have lots of advantages to think they could stabilise in the Championship quite quickly but that's a huge hole to replace and a critical managerial appointment.  The wheels could come off if they get it wrong.

Change Bournemouth for Rovers and Everton for Leeds and that's pretty much what happened here!

Your first sentence is correct. A couple of staff I know speak nothing but praise for him but they praise him for those qualities, being brutally honest, completely unemotional when it comes to team selection and very demanding in how players train, how staff prepare and work and what he expects of people. He is a nice man but he is brutally professional when it comes to training and match preparation. I’ve seen him change players before 30 minutes are up if the player wasn’t doing what was expected. But also players who’ve left are usually very complimentary about him and say as a coach he’s amongst the best they’ve worked with.
An example of this: in his first 2/3 seasons in the PL Eddie was very loyal (perhaps too loyal) to the players who’s grown up with him. But it really was incredible how at times he would have 8/9 players who’d been in the Championship with him and I can remember matches when there were 6/7 players in the PL who’d been in League 2: Smith, Francis, Cook, Surman, Pugh, Daniels, Arter. They were all Howe’s players and he showed them great loyalty. But they would run over glass for him and he returned that loyalty because they did exactly what he wanted and played exactly how Eddie wanted. To have that number in the PL who were in the League 1 was remarkable but they never looked out of place, they deserved their places. A tough manager which belied his boyish persona.
UTG!

The point about being loyal to past players has always been really noticeable to me. That was happening from about 2015 to early 2018 and I took notice because on a League 1 scale that was exactly the same  thing that was happening at Rovers at the same time. I think it was early 2017 just before MT upped sticks, we played Swindon and Northampton in successive home games and of the starting 11, 9 were players who’d been Conference regulars. Two divisions difference but they still played both opponents off the park, 1-0 and 5-1 (or was it 4-1). Albeit leagues apart their were several similarities in how EH and DC approached things, loyalty foremost. I think EH was able to maintain a more detached view of what he did, obviously more money and better players whilst DC allowed his frustrations to take his focus away and of course not having the money to replace tried, tested and reliable players. 
But you’re correct about EH wanting total control, at AFCB he had it and he had been able to build the culture. Wherever he goes the expectation will be “produce your AFCB football by the end of the season”, he will not get the time nor the control. Certainly not at a bigger club and probably not at a smaller club either. But he will know that because he’s no fool.

One of the things we’ve been saying here is what will be Howe’s legacy for AFCBs time in the PL. And we’re not sure there is much of one. They’ve had opportunities to start a new ground but stepped back from doing that, the training ground is good but unchanged since Championship days. And my friends who are true AFCB fans fear that apart from the players and the memories there’s not a huge legacy. Crowds haven’t grown because they weren’t able to so although a fairly young fan base it could all evaporate if it doesn’t go well. So their is a sense that Eddie was getting a bit frustrated at AFCB staying “little Bournemouth”. But like all things at the end of an era people are looking for big answers when perhaps he’d just had enough and now seemed the right point to move on whilst his stock is still very high. (My opinion!)
UTG!

In the end irish, I suppose it’s what you gamble for. They’ve kept STs limited so that there were some POTD tickets available. Once they’d given the away allocation they were left with very little room for manoeuvre. I think, (I may be wrong) they limited STs to 7,500, about 1200 away supporters leaving about 2000 POTD. It has been hard to get tickets later in the week. I’m pretty sure the capacity was 11,600 but their reported attendances were around 10,600. I think the capacity might have gone down because in the PL they had to improve media facilities, disabled facilities and other stuff which took space away from the fans. The ground was always full with a few empty seats but not many.
At one time a few years back the exit arrangements were changed for a trial and rumour was they were thinking of filling in the corners to make it a completely wrap around stadium but nothing came of it.
But to answer your question yes I think they could get 15,000, certainly in the PL, perhaps not in League 1. Championship is a bit of a middle ground, for AFCB it’s still higher than they’ve been used to historically but lower than many have come to expect over the past 5 years. Pretty young fan base with increasing number of families so yes they should have gone for it. Being in the PL was their chance to really grow their fan base, it’s everyone’s chance really, and we’re not sure that they grasped that opportunity. Next season will still be 10,000 if they’re doing well, perhaps 8/9k if not. Struggle and the gates will drop, like any club. Back on League 1 it will revert to 5/6000.
Way before your time when I first went to Dean Court as a gashead in the Ted Macdougall days of early 70s they got 10,000 in division 3 and they were the fashionable team. When all the stars went in 73/74 and they got relegated the crowds went down and have never really recovered, until the Championship Yeats onwards. Bournemouth, a fashionable place with lots of alternatives to do, yet getting to the PL was their golden ticket.
UTG!

Too much time epping!😉
But it is a great stat and shows just what a remarkable story AFCB was. 5 years in the PL and never in serious relegation problems until Christmas onwards this year. I’m not a fan but I love a good story and this has been a great story.
UTG!

It is clear that Eddie Howe and Bournemouth have been one of the most incredible stories in football history, one I have been jealous of!
Although I believe they have benefited from some substantial investment, they have been the most unlikely members of the elite, and I am not sure if they had a definite plan to achieve what they have actually achieved, Wareham would have much more idea than me,
For so, long they were the epitome of a typical Div 111/League1 side, seemingly unlikely to even reach the Championship/old Div 11 level, for most of their existence.
Like many other Rovers fans, they have been one of the grounds I have most visited over the years, in the main with few victories,.
A team with similar expectations of success as clubs such as Shrewsbury or Walsall, or Southend, although the latter three have had their moments in the last thirty or forty years.
I first went to the old Dean Court in the 60s, when Eastville was still a huge ground, and Bournemouth’s was unimpressive, similar to Roots Hall, but certainly very tidy now.
It has been a fantastic achievement to remain in the Premier League for several seasons, not just be a one season wonder, or visit fleetingly like some other clubs, although you always expected that it wouldn’t last for long.
It will be interesting to see if Sheffield United or Brighton can maintain their momentum, or whether they will inevitably sink, although Sheffield United have much more tradition as a top division club, plus a large fan base.
Again, Wilder’s management has been such a major factor, and whenever I have seen snatches of their matches, it is always noticeable to notice the names of players who have featured against Rovers teams in the recent past.
Will be interesting to see how many fans Bournemouth will attract back in the Championship,even though it is anyone’s guess when any capacity is going to be tested next season, or even the season after that.
Reading’s crowds have slumped noticeably since their days in the sun, but Huddersfield seem to have maintained decent crowds, despite only having one season with the elite.
Once there is a fire sale of best players, hopes and expectations often nose dive.
The new manager will have a different task to rebuild the side, maybe Bournemouth have the type of fan base that wouldn’t heap the pressure on him, as wouldn’t be the case with other relegated clubs.
They are certainly the example to follow for all EFL clubs, that the impossible can still happen, but how long can it be sustained?