Can Leicester kick on and earn a play off spot?

 

By Tony Alvarez

At the beginning of the season the bookies favourites and many fans and pundits favourites to win the Championship was Leicester City. They had spent massively improving their squad in the summer and had a manager who was well regarded worldwide in Sven Goran Erikkson.

A look at the table shows just how wrong everyone was far from running away with the title the club are currently in 9^th place with 62 points from their 42 fixtures, the former England manager has long since departed and been replaced with a much smaller name in Nigel Pearson.

Howe will Eddie push Burnley up the table?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

Burnley go into today’s game at Hull knowing that defeat could see them drop into the bottom three of the Championship.

After finishing just outside the play-off spots last season and the campaign before that seeing them contest in the Premier League, it represents a dramatic slump in current fortunes.

For manager Eddie Howe, the pressure will only be increasing on his young shoulders after an impressive start to his burgeoning managerial career.

At 33 he’s one of the youngest managers in English football, only bettered in his youth by MK Dons manager Karl Robinson.

However, after doing a brilliant job in guiding Bournemouth from League Two relegation candidates to League One promotion contenders, he has found the going tough at the next level.

The summer saw plenty of changes at Turf Moor; a wealth of experience left the club in the likes of Chris Eagles, Clarke Carlisle, Graham Alexander and Tyrone Mears.

Howe invested in youth for his replacements, as Zavon Hines, Danny Ings and Junior Stanislas helping to mould a potentially exciting squad in the new manager’s image.

But with just five wins all season and on a current run of four defeats in a row going into the game at the KC stadium, the Clarets are in desperate need of a revival.

In general, goals aren’t a problem for Burnley. The duo of Jay Rodriguez and Charlie Austin have scored 18 goals this season, with 22 year-old Austin making the step-up brilliantly following his move from Swindon Town at the start of the year.

However, the other end is proving to be more problematic for Howe, with just one clean sheet all season hindering the progress of this young squad.

Another issue is that while there is a lot of potential in the midfield, there is no-one with a great deal of experience to anchor the side.

Captain Chris McCann is just 24 years old, and when things are as tough as they are at the moment, an old head can be of huge significance.

You have to admire the belief of Howe, not only in his squad but also himself. He has backed the big changes he made, and the squad he has assembled in the long-term.

However, time is a rare commodity in modern-day football, and if results don’t improve then Howe may not be given the chance to finish what he has started as Burnley try to avoid a second relegation in three years.

So what do you think? Will Howe be able to turn things round with this young squad? Is more experience needed to change their fortunes? Leave a comment and let us know your views.

FA Cup Preview: Burnley

Eddie Howe has become one of the best young managers in the Football League

By Laurie Fitzgerald

Burnley will go into this weekend’s fifth round tie at West Ham United believing that they have every chance of making it through to the last eight of the FA Cup for the first time since 2003.

The Clarets find themselves in a good run of form since the arrival of Eddie Howe as manager, with just one defeat in their last seven games in all competitions.

It has been an eventful season at Turf Moor, with Howe coming in to take on a managerial position made vacant by the sacking of Brian Laws following a 2-0 defeat at home to Scunthorpe at the end of December.

Having been unable to keep them in the Premier League last campaign, Laws was given the opportunity, as well as the money, to get Burnley back into the top flight at the first time of asking.

Chris Iwelumo, Dean Marney, Lee Grant and Ross Wallace were all brought in to add to a squad that was largely retained from the season before, with plenty of experience amongst the ranks from their promotion in 2009.

However, despite finding themselves just two points off of the play-off places going into the new year, Chairman Barry Kilby wasn’t satisfied with the club lying in 10^th position, and decided on finding a new man for the job.

That man was Howe, but even that had its own drama. The 33 year-old had carved out a reputation for being one of the best young managers in the Football League, taking Bournemouth from the relegation zone of League Two to the automatic promotion spots in League One.

Both Charlton and Crystal Palace tried to persuade Howe to become their new boss, but his heart seemed set on finishing the job he started at Dean Court, as he stated at a press conference that he was going to remain with the Cherries.

But the next day saw another twist, as Burnley were given permission by Bournemouth to hold discussions with Howe, and he was eventually appointed their new manager on a three-year deal.

The change looks to have paid off; despite having five of their past six league games away from home, they’ve secured wins against Portsmouth, Norwich and Watford.

The Lancashire side are now in eighth, and building momentum for a push for the play-offs.

The attention for the time being now turns to the Cup, and they will want to continue a run that has seen wins at home to lower league opponents in Port Vale and Burton Albion

While they will go into Monday night’s game as the underdogs, they have plenty within the squad to get Avram Grant’s side concerned.

Burnley have some of the best midfield options in the Championship. Jack Cork has continued to mature throughout his loan spell from Chelsea alongside Wade Elliott, while Marney seems to have stepped up a level since the managerial change.

But the standout player has been Chris Eagles. The 25 year-old has had an excellent campaign, creating opportunities for the likes of Iwelumo and local lad Jay Rodriguez and scoring 11 goals in the process.

Eagles has had an excellent season for the Clarets

Ability-wise, he is as good as anyone else in the division and as he showed last year that he would not look out of place at a Premier League side.

Add the threat of full-backs Danny Fox and Tyrone Mears, and Burnley will make sure that the Hammers have their work cut out if they want to earn a place in the Quarter-Finals.

As for the rest of the season, and with two exciting young talents in Marvin Bartley and Charlie Austin joining to add strength in depth, Howe’s side have plenty to play for this season.

They might need a very strong end to the campaign, but with all the drama that has unfolded so far at Turf Moor, the fans will be prepared for anything.

So what do you think? Burnley fans, how do you think you will do on Monday evening? What are people’s thoughts on Eddie Howe? Can the Clarets go up this season? Let us know your opinions

Are managers just as disloyal as players?

By Laurie Fitzgerald

You have to have a huge amount of sympathy for Bournemouth fans after the past few days. At the start of the week, Cherries fans were probably resigned to losing their manager Eddie Howe after he was given permission to speak to both Crystal Palace and Charlton regarding their vacant managerial positions.

However, on Wednesday it was announced by the club that Howe intended to stay at Dean Court and Bournemouth fans could rest safe in the knowledge that their manager would at least do all he could to guide them to the Championship come May.

But 48 hours really is a very long time in the world of football, and it has now been confirmed that Howe is the new manager of Burnley. He made it clear that while he was disappointed to be leaving the club, the opportunity to manage at Turf Moor was too good to turn down – a cliché that is used all too often by managers leaving one club for another.

It does make you wonder when managers have the audacity to accuse players of not showing any loyalty to their club, only for themselves to go and take a better offer elsewhere. Howe is certainly not the first to cause dismay amongst his beloved supporters.

While Burnley fans should be delighted with the appointment of Howe, they will know all too well how the Bournemouth faithful will be feeling. They went through the same emotions with Owen Coyle.

Having guided the Clarets to Premier League promotion in 2009, Coyle then got the side into a position to survive in the top flight during the first half of the 2009/2010 campaign. But when Bolton Wanderers sacked Gary Megson after a poor start to their season, Coyle made it clear that he had no intention to leave Burnley and go to the Reebok stadium, despite being a former Bolton player.

So imagine the disgust of the Burnley fans when Coyle was appointed Bolton manager a week after seemingly pledging his future to the Clarets. Burnley went on to be relegated, and his former fans now view him as a ‘Judas.’

This tag has been associated to other managers as well. Harry Redknapp made it clear when he was leaving Portsmouth for the first time that he wouldn’t be the new manager of arch-rivals Southampton, only to join the other side of the South Coast a few weeks later, while Saints fans were victims themselves when Glenn Hoddle left for Tottenham having claimed to be committed to staying on at the Dell in 2001.

As strange as it sounds though, I can understand why managers do this. When things go wrong at a football club, the managers are almost always viewed as the scapegoats. If England fail at a major tournament, its not that the players are good enough, it’s that the manager isn’t.

When Roy Hodgson couldn’t revive the fortunes of Liverpool, the blame was laid squarely at the feet of him and not a squad that had been struggling under previous management. Avram Grant is going to be the latest managerial casualty at West Ham, having managed the same group of players that also failed under Gianfranco Zola.

Players aren’t the ones that are sacked, its managers. Fans will look at them before the squad for answers or changes. So how on earth are managers going to maintain long-term careers in football management and strive towards managing bigger clubs if they don’t have a cold-hearted streak about them?

It’s not fair on the fans, and the sympathy always lies with them because they love their club above all others. But while managers can be viewed as hypocrites when they question the loyalty of players, there is an understanding when they prove to be as disloyal as anyone else.

So what do you think? Are managers as disloyal as players? Can you understand when managers show this lack of commitment? Let us know

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Will a possible Howe departure damage Bournemouth’s promotion hopes?

By Tony Alvarez

Following last seasons second place finish in league two, Bournemouth are currently flying high in league one currently sitting 3^rd in the table after 22 games.

Despite gaining promotion against all odds following threats of going into receivership, in the 2008-09 season they started the season with a 17 point deduction yet survived.

The key turning point appears to be the appointment of Eddie Howe who became permanent manager in January 2009.

The board have to be commended for giving him the job which made him the youngest manager in the Football Leagues.

After guiding Bournemouth to safety in the back end of the 09 season Bournemouth started the season flying, winning 8 out of the first 9 games.

This brought an offer from Peterborough for the manager’s service but he stuck loyal to the club that gave him the chance and was rewarded with promotion.

How Bournemouth could do with Howe showing that loyalty again now. If you believe the rumours manager-less Crystal Palace and Preston are asking for his services.

Again if you read the reports he is very tempted by the bright lights with Palace looking likely to acquire his services, if this happens this will be a catastrophic blow for the south coast club.

I am not for a second suggesting that Bournemouth’s recent rise is completely down to Eddie Howe but no one can deny he has been a huge part of this success.

Even after losing top scorer Brett Pitman in the summer to championship side Bristol City, Howe just moved on with his squad of players and improved the squad where he felt necessary.

This has clearly played off with only 1 point separating Bournemouth and their rivals Southampton who currently occupy second place and an automatic promotion place.

This coming in there first year in League one is a lot more than many fans expected, the feeling around the club seems to now be that the sky’s the limit.

What are your thoughts would the move be right for either Eddie Howe or Bournemouth? Do you think Bournemouth could gain promotion under Howe? How do you think it will affect the club if Howe does depart? Who would you like to see take over? Let us know your thoughts.

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