Football works in mysterious ways – as Eddie Howe knows only too well. In the spring of 2002, the signing of the then-Bournemouth player by south coast rivals Portsmouth was seen as a crucial building block to the club moving forward with a new squad under the guidance of Harry Redknapp.
He was handed his debut in March of that year as Pompey found themselves at the wrong end of the table, despite boasting a team containing Croatian great Robert Prosinecki and future England striker Peter Crouch. Although Graham Rix’s side found themselves in the top half of the table until Christmas, things had gone downhill quicker than Crouch on a set of roller-skates in the New Year. By the time Howe arrived – three days after Rix had been sacked – they were looking nervously over their shoulders.
Redknapp taking over the reins made little difference. Pompey lost three and drew two of their final five matches under him, finishing 17th. This was a club stuck in neutral for almost a decade.
“It was a strange time when Eddie arrived,” says Linvoy Primus, who made almost 200 appearances in a nine-year stay at the club. “But it was clear to all of us that he was exactly the kind of player we needed. He played the game like he acted – he was very composed, a really classy centre-back.”
By the time the new season had arrived, wheeler-dealer Redknapp had surpassed himself. Paul Merson had arrived, as had Matt Taylor, Gianluca Festa, Shaka Hislop, Hayden Foxe, Steve Stone and Tim Sherwood. For success-starved fans on Portsea, this was football’s answer to the Harlem Globetrotters, even if Prosinecki had flown the nest.
Howe, though, was seen as a critical young head in a breathless rebuilding exercise. At least he was for nine minutes of the 2002-03 season. A knee injury on his Pompey debut at Preston had cut short his involvement the previous season and now the curse struck again. It would be the last time he wore the shirt.
“As a footballer I’m not sure you think too far ahead, at least I didn’t,” says Sasa Ilic, the former goalkeeper who signed for Portsmouth in February 2003. “Did we think Eddie would go on to become a manager, I’m not sure, but you could tell from the way he carried himself that he thought a lot about the game.
“He spent a lot of time with Harry, who was probably the best manager he could have learnt from. He would obviously have been very concerned about playing football again, but he didn’t waste that period, he clearly put it to very good use.”
Suddenly, from being a 25-year-old on a healthy contract at a club intent on going places, Howe was hit by the realisation that his best days as a player were probably already behind him.
“It was a sliding doors moment, I suppose,” says Primus. “For some players an injury is the end, a full stop. For others it’s an opportunity to learn and change the way they think. At Portsmouth we didn’t necessarily set-out to create a philosophy but what Harry was so good at getting players to focus on what they did well. That’s something that Eddie picked up and definitely brought into his management style.
“No one needed me to step into midfield and try and spray 30 yard passes – why would I do that when I could give it to Paul Merson and he could do it with the outside of his boot with his eyes closed? The way we played and the way we set-up ourselves up, we entertained the crowd because that’s what they wanted.
“Eddie will know that’s exactly the way the Newcastle fans think too. They’re very similar cities in some ways. Football means everything in both of them.”
Ilic too thinks that Howe and Newcastle will be a perfect blend.
“Newcastle is one of those places where you run out and get goosebumps, it’s an incredible place to play,” says the Montenegro-based hotelier. “Is there anywhere better for a young English manager to go and make a name for himself? I don’t think so.”
By the time Howe had left Portsmouth, first on loan to Swindon and Bournemouth before a full-time switch back to Dean Court, the club were flying high in the Premier League.
That rise didn’t last. Howe’s looks set to continue far longer.
Howe deflects tricky questions with ease – now to keep Toon up
By Kevin Garside, i chief sports correspondent
Eddie Howe has already hit his first bonus target. Had he walked into his inaugural press conference as Newcastle United manager carrying a mop and bucket he could not have done a better job of cleaning up behind the ownership issue.
The morality, human rights record, gender attitudes, hostility to the LBGTQ community or any objectionable cultural or ethical position held by Newcastle’s Saudi proprietors are for other people. Howe’s only consideration in replacing Steve Bruce as manager is the stuff between the white lines.
Moreover he is grateful for the owners’ trust and proud to represent their club. Well what else was he going to say? The question about the Saudi connection had to be asked. And it was more than once.
On each occasion it met with the same straight bat. “This was a football decision. I’m absolutely delighted to be manager of Newcastle and that’s my only comment,” he said in response to the first delivery.
Reporter: “Eddie, you are a pretty principled manager. You were one of the first managers to take a pay cut during lockdown. How will you reconcile those principles with the project here that many people describe as immoral money from Saudi Arabia?”
Howe: “As I said earlier my focus is football, running the team, managing the players. That’s all I’m going to talk about and that’s all I’m going to think about.”
Howe’s opening games
Eddie Howe has a gentle early spell before a tough end to 2021.
- 20 Nov Brentford (h)
- 27 Nov Arsenal (a)
- 30 Nov Norwich (h)
- 4 Dec Burnley (h)
- 12 Dec Leicester (a)
- 16 Dec Liverpool (a)
- 19 Dec Manchester City (h)
- 27 Dec Manchester United (h)
- 30 Dec Everton (a)
Reporter: “But life is not just about football is it? There are bigger concerns and many questions about the project. What questions have you asked about the project?”
Howe: “As I said. I’m going to repeat myself. It’s about football for me. That’s all I’m going to concern myself with.”
This will be the way of it until the goals start going in. It was the same at Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. In the end the money wins out, resistance fades into the margins. Besides it is perhaps unfair to expect more of Howe and his players than others in the sporting firmament as well as the British establishment complicit in Saudi affairs. Dig deep enough and anyone with a pension or an ISA is probably connected with an investment portfolio daubed in Saudi fingerprints. Care to give that dividend back?
Howe claims to be a better manager than he was when he left Bournemouth 15 months ago. He said he was better educated about the game, more organised and efficient. He had certainly done his homework on how to negotiate incendiary questions in press conferences.
By erecting a conceptual wall around political issues, Howe has freed himself to pursue what in football terms is a substantial career opportunity. He was not first choice. So what? Howe is not vain enough to think himself the finished product. He is an articulate, intelligent coach who outperformed the setting at Bournemouth. He brings to St James’ Park a solid grasp of the immediate requirement, having raised Bournemouth from the foot of the fourth tier.
There will be money to spend in January but that is six weeks away. Howe will need to start banking points in the interim if Newcastle are to stay up.
“It’s all about the short term,” he said. “We need to address the position of the team very quickly.
The aim is to move up the league to avoid relegation. That is my main focus. Everything else can wait for another day.”
Despite the scale of the task Howe feels he is in the right place: “The pull of the club is huge. The size of the club, the history of the club. I just thought it was a perfect fit. Yes I have had lots of other options but I wanted to take my time and really utilise my time away from the game. I feel refreshed, energised and ready to start work.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/30b70mC
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