Jonathan Woodgate had barely been part of the coaching set-up 48 hours before he was thrown into the Cherries hot-seat.
On Monday Woodgate officially joined AFC Bournemouth as first-team coach under manager Jason Tindall.
By Wednesday morning, Tindall had been sacked and whilst it wasn’t formally announced until later that day, Woodgate was placed in temporary charge of first-team affairs, supported by Tindall’s coaching staff, including assistant manager Stephen Purches.
A brief statement on afcb.co.uk read…
AFC Bournemouth can confirm that Jonathan Woodgate will take temporary charge of the first team, following the departure of manager Jason Tindall.
Woodgate, who has previous managerial experience at Middlesbrough, will oversee training and lead the team on Saturday for the Sky Bet Championship home fixture against Birmingham City.
This decision has been taken while the club’s board of directors identify and conduct full and thorough due diligence on suitable external candidates ahead of an interview process, with the aim of confirming a new permanent manager as swiftly as possible.
As the statement alluded to, it is believed that AFC Bournemouth are keen to conduct a thorough interview process this time around, after the quick decision to replace long-term manager and legend Eddie Howe, with his assistant Jason Tindall just six months ago.
AFC Bournemouth are also thought to prefer an “external candidate” which appears to rule out Jonathan Woodgate as a potential new manager, despite being put in temporary charge and only being part of the club for 48 hours.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
Jonathan Woodgate will be Bournemouth's caretaker manager for the weekend's game against Birmingham City while the club look for an external appointment
[via @markmcadamtv] pic.twitter.com/pY1ylBtv5u
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 3, 2021
#AFCB assistant Stephen Purches is currently still with the club. They’ve also confirmed it will be an EXTERNAL full-time managerial appointment.
— Kris Temple (@kristemple) February 3, 2021
Should Woodgate be considered for the managerial post?
Yes of course
No we need more experience
No idea
Woodgate started his coaching career in 2017, with his home-town club Middlesbrough, Woodgate was assistant-coach to Steve Agnew, before dropping down into academy to become Under-18’s assistant coach, before bouncing straight back up into the first-team fold as Tony Pulis’ assistant.
In 2019 he was announced as Middlesbrough manager on a three-year contract following the sacking of Pulis. But would only last one year and a week as manager after a record which saw just 9 wins from 41 games.
In one of his final interviews as AFC Bournemouth manager, Jason Tindall spoke to the Daily Echo about Jonathan Woodgate’s first assessment of the squad following the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night.
Tindall said…
“…Jonathan Woodgate’s been here just a few days and one of the things he said – and he said to even the lads in there, this is probably the quietest dressing room he’s ever known in terms of a group of players and characters.
“With the dressing rooms he’s been in and the experience he’s got as a player – and coaching experience, it was interesting to hear him say.
“It’s something that I know – hence why I wanted to add players like Shane Long and Ben Pearson because I know that’s what this group need.
“They need those type of players that are going to have a voice on the pitch, have a voice in the changing room and work their socks off…”
Your say…
northstandmark wrote…
Base case scenario: Woodgate spends a few days hitting the reset button on the squad, some basic training drills and a fresh start for everyone. Perks them up a bit and gains a couple of positive results.
Puts us in a better position for whoever comes in. Woodgate hands over to external manager with the squad in a better headspace and settles down to his coaching role.
Whoever comes in knows Woodgate is only contracted until the summer, so it is not like he’s a lingering threat. The new man can decide in the meantime whether to keep Woodgate on longer-term or not. – Join the conversation, click here.
