Bournemouth and Eddie Howe part ways by mutual consent after relegation to Championship
With speculations rife about their future together, Bournemouth have confirmed that manager Eddie Howe has left the club by mutual consent. The 42-year-old was the Premier Leagueâs longest-serving manager before the Cherries got relegated and led the club in more than 450 games across two spells.
While Norwich City have, so far, opted to stick with Daniel Farke as their manager for the foreseeable future, Watford are still looking for candidates to replace Nigel Pearson. The former Leicester City boss was sacked a week before the season came to an end and the Hornets have still not appointed a replacement. Bournemouth and Eddie Howe, however, were set to have crunch talks over this last week and have finally released a statement stating that the club has parted ways with Howe.
The statement revealed that the 42-year-oldâs five years stay at the Vitality Stadium has come to an end which brings the curtain down on a sensational 25-year association with the club. Howe was first appointed in 2009, left the club in 2011 only to return a year later and has since led them to incredible heights. The Englishman pushed the club out from the Championship and into the Premier League with them spending five years in the top tier before their relegation.
The 42-year-old revealed in an open letter to the fans, that he believes it was the right time for him to leave the club after a meeting with the club officials confirmed as much. Howe also added that the last â25 yearsâ have been some of the best moments of his life and he believes that the club will be back within the top tier again in the near future. It will see, Howe's assistant manager Jason Tindall take charge as the interim boss with the club looking to appoint a replacement.
âAfter what has been an incredibly challenging few days and following extensive talks between myself and the club I can confirm that we have collectively come to the decision that it would be in the best interests of AFC Bournemouth for me to leave the club by mutual consent. It is difficult to put into words what Bournemouth means to me, both as a town and as a football club," wrote Howe in an open letter to fans.
"Having spent a total of 25 years with the club as both a player and a manager, this decision - made together with the club - is one of the hardest I've ever had to make. However, although the affection and love I have for this football club will always remain, we collectively feel that now is the right time for the club to go in a new direction. Bournemouth will always be in my heart, but I firmly believe now is the right time for the club to have a change."
He wanted to write to everyone associated with the club in his own words.
â AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth) August 1, 2020
Please read this letter from Eddie after the unbelievable journey we've all been on â¤ď¸ đ¤ https://t.co/7ouQas89bH