AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe has been named the manager of the decade by the Football League at their annual awards.
To mark the ten year anniversary of the awards, the Football League selected a team of the decade and manager of the decade.
The team which was selected was Kasper Schmeichel, Angel Rangel, Gareth Bale, Wes Morgan, Ashley Williams, Wes Hoolahan, Adam Lallana, Peter Whittingham, Glenn Murray, Rickie Lambert, Jordan Rhodes.
Howe joined the Cherries coaching staff under Kevin Bond in 2007, taking the role of reserves manager and first team coach.
However in September 2008, Howe lost his job as coach when he was sacked along with manager Kevin Bond and assistant Rob Newman.
But only a few weeks later he was re-hired as part of the School of Excellence team.
On New Years Eve 2008, Eddie Howe was named as caretaker manager following the departure of Jimmy Quinn after just 121 days as manager.
Howe went on to complete the unbelievable feat of avoiding relegation from the Football League, after a seventeen point deduction and being 10 points behind with half the season to play, the Cherries avoided the drop with a game to spare. The following season Howe once again defied the odds by winning promotion with the same set of players after operating under a transfer embargo for 16 months.
In January 2011 Howe left the Cherries third in League One after accepting the managerial vacancy at Championship side Burnley.
During his 102 games in charge Howe had a win ratio of 50% and averaged 1.73 points per league game in charge.
After a week of speculation, Howe and assistant Jason Tindall both made a sensational return to the Cherries on 12th October 2012, with Howe sighting personal reasons for his departure from Burnley.
With the team in the relegation zone after just one victory in eleven games, the impact was instant, an eighteen game unbeaten run followed, with fifteen games in the league, while the Cherries also enjoyed an FA Cup run which included a draw away to FA Cup winners Wigan.
The run eventually ended, but the Cherries heads didn’t drop, with five consecutive wins completing a turnaround that saw the side close down a 21 point deficit to former leaders Tranmere, to league leaders in just four months.
With the difficult task of playing catch up completed, the Cherries then suffered a wobble, losing the next five consecutive matches and the team slipped from the top of the table to seventh and out of the play-off places.
The chance for automatic promotion looked to have gone despite the impressive run over the previous four months, but Eddie Howe had one more trick up his sleeve and that was to declare that he wanted his side to win all of their remaining games.
With nine games to go in the season the Cherries recovered with victory over Stevenage. Then wins came against Oldham, Bury, Colchester, Scunthorpe, Notts County, Shrewsbury and Carlisle. An all time club record of consecutive victories and with Doncaster Rovers, Brentford and Sheffield United all slipping up, promotion to the Championship was confirmed with one game of the season to go.
The Cherries missed out on the League One title after drawing with Tranmere on the final day, but the only thing that really mattered was achieving promotion to the second tier for only the second time in the clubs history.
The following season saw more records broken, with AFC Bournemouth setting a new club record highest finish in the second tier of 10th.
But this season with AFC Bournemouth enjoying their greatest ever season an array of not only club records, but Football League records have fallen.
AFC Bournemouth’s 8-0 victory over Birmingham City in October was the biggest away victory ever recorded in the second tier of English football, by anyone.
It was the Cherries biggest victory since joining the Football League in 1923 and it was Birmingham City’s largest home defeat in their history.
Callum Wilson’s goal at Reading was the Cherries 47th away goal during the 2014/15 season, a tally which beats the all time record in the second tier previously held by Sheffield Wednesday in 1951/52 and Chelsea in 1988/89.
In November the Cherries won six games in succession, breaking last seasons previous record in the second tier.
The Cherries unbeaten run of 14 league games, between October and December is also a record for the Cherries in the Championship.
Victory over Rotherham United in January set a new record for the most away victories in the second tier for the Cherries.
Against Fulham in March, Brett Pitman’s opener was the clubs 68th goal this season, breaking the record for the number of goals scored in a single season in this division.
AFC Bournemouth are also set for a new points record for the Cherries in the second tier of English football and highest finish as they continue to chase promotion to the Premier League.
Howe told afcb.co.uk…
“I am really proud. It was not something I expected and when you consider all the managers that have been in the Football League over the past 10 years, it is a huge honour.
“I was very surprised and honoured even to have been considered. I am very thankful to all the players I have managed and the club for giving me the job in the first place.
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