Eddie Howe a shrewd appointment for Burnley

Last weekend Championship Burnley appointed rookie Eddie Howe as their new boss.

They have taken a slight gamble on appointing somebody so inexperienced in management but I’m sure the gamble will pay-off.

Criticised

I criticised the Burnley board and owners for their appointment of former-boss Brian Laws last season.

I saw it as a poor appointment. The cheap option if you like. However the appointment of Howe could be one of the shrewdest managerial appointments they will ever make.

Level-Headed

For a guy of 33 he shows a football brain beyond his years. He is a very level-headed guy and is very much a student of the game. As a player he was always seen as a leader in the team and in the dressing room. He has obviously taken those leadership skills into his managerial career.

Inspired

At just 33 years old Eddie Howe is the youngest Championship boss. What he lacks in experience he makes up for in know-how. At the age of just 29 he was given a player-coach role by then Bournemouth boss Kevin Bond.

Bond realised that the defender had a talent for coaching. His career as a player ended prematurely in 2007. He filled various coaching roles at Bournemouth before becoming manager on 19^th January 2009.

His appointment was an inspired one as Howe helped the Cherries survive relegation from League Two, despite a 17 points deduction. The season after the club did even better by securing promotion this time under the cloud of a transfer embargo.

League One

This season Bournemouth have again been superb under the leadership of Howe. The club are in contention for promotion and Howe has left the club in a really healthy state. He can be proud of his work at Bournemouth, especially as he was always doing his job under difficult circumstances.

In-Demand

The week he was first offered the Burnley job he also received two other job offers. It says a lot about Howe’s growing reputation in the game that he is so in-demand.

He didn’t feel the other two options were right for him but decided that Burnley was the club for him. The Burnley board and owner have pulled off a major coup by recruiting the highly-rated boss.

Good

Howe revealed just before completing the move to Burnley that he felt the opportunity to join the Clarets was just too good to turn down. He talked about Burnley being in the Premier League last season and their history being the big attraction.

Opportunity

At Burnley he will get the opportunity to work under less restrictive circumstances. Burnley is also a bigger club than the Cherries. It’s the perfect opportunity for Howe to hone his managerial craft.

Burnley currently sit tenth in the Championship table and are not too far off the play-offs positions. It’s not completely unrealistic to think they could still challenge for promotion this season. The appointment of Howe is bound to give the whole club a lift.

Home-grown

It’s good to see a young home-grown boss get his chance at Championship level. This season it has been encouraging to see a number of young British bosses managing clubs in the England’s second tier. The likes of Brendan Rodgers at Swansea and Norwich’s Paul Lambert are thriving in the Championship and it’s great to see.

Future

Eddie Howe will need some time to get to know the players, club and league but I’m confident that he will be a big success at Turf Moor. If Burnley don’t get in the play-offs this season then I’m sure Howe will get the club promoted in the near future.

His appointment is very much a long-term one. He has deserved his chance at a higher level and something tells me that Eddie Howe won’t be throwing it away in a hurry.

Is Eddie Howe a good appointment for Burnley?