Eddie Howe

Edward John Frank "Eddie" Howe (born 29 November 1977) is an English former professional footballer and manager. A defender before retirement who spent much of his career at Bournemouth, he was the youngest manager in the Football League when appointed Bournemouth manager in January 2009. Howe rescued Bournemouth from relegation out of the Football League in his first season in charge, after the club started the season on -17 points, then led them to promotion the next. After a brief spell as manager at Burnley Howe returned to Bournemouth and led them to two further promotions in three seasons resulting in the club playing in the top flight of English football for the first time in their history. Howe's successes with Bournemouth resulted in him being given the inaugural Football League Manager of the Decade Award in 2015.

Playing career

Howe was born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. He began his footballing career with local youth teams Rossgarth and Parley Sports before starting his professional career at Bournemouth. He made his first-team debut in December 1995 against Hull City. Howe established himself as an important player in Bournemouth's defence and in 1998 he was selected for the England Under-21 team in the Toulon Tournament.