After a 25-year association with Bournemouth, Eddie Howe left the club by mutual consent days after relegation from the Premier League was confirmed.
Howe, who made more than 250 appearances for the Cherries as a player before spending 11 years as manager over two spells, will go down as the club’s greatest ever manager. After taking charge when Bournemouth were on the brink of falling out of the Football Leagues, Howe guided the club into England’s top-flight and kept them there for five seasons.
Now, though, both Howe and Bournemouth have gone their separate ways as the club enters a new era and aims to bounce straight back to the Premier League under a new manager.
So, who will be the next manager in the Vitality Stadium dugout? Here we look at the five leading contenders.
Jason Tindall
Tindall has been Howe’s trusted assistant throughout his managerial career, working as his No 2 during both spells at Bournemouth and the ill-fated season with Burnley. Like Howe, Tindall was also a long-term player for Bournemouth, making more than 170 appearances over nine years at the club.
Tindall, 42, is the huge favorite to take permanent charge at Bournemouth with odds as low as 2/7. If Tindall was a racehorse competing in the Kentucky Derby, he would be tipped to win the race and add his name to TwinSpires.com odds of winning the race by seven lengths.
A large contributing factor to Tindall’s low odds is down to Bournemouth’s finances. The club had become reliant on the money generated by the Premier League and its broadcast deals to cover a large wage bill that cost-cutting where possible has become imperative.
The balance Bournemouth need to strike is levelling out their finances while giving themselves the best chance to gaining immediate promotion. Putting that task in the hands of a manager with one unsuccessful year in charge of a fifth-tier side, Weymouth, seems a big risk.
Garry Monk
Monk has endured a somewhat turbulent start to his managerial career since being thrust into the deep-end as Swansea City’s player-manager in 2014. After a hugely successful first year-and-a-half – during which Monk led Swansea to Premier League safety before finishing eighth the following season – he was sacked after a poor start to the third season.
Short spells at Leeds United and Middlesbrough followed before Monk worked miracles at Birmingham City, only for his time in the Midlands to end after a falling out with chief executive Xuandong Ren.
Manager of Sheffield Wednesday since September, the turbulence has followed Monk to Hillsborough – although not of his own doing as the club will start next season on minus 12 points after breaking spending rules.
Monk, who signed a short-term deal until the end of the 2019/20 season, is yet to agree new terms and could understandably be interested in the prospect of taking charge at Bournemouth – a club far more stable than Wednesday and with loftier ambitions. He is priced at around 3/1 to be the next permanent manager at the Vitality Stadium.
John Terry
The former England and Chelsea captain has been gaining valuable experience as an assistant under Dean Smith at Aston Villa, playing his part in securing the club’s Premier League status for next season.
Terry is expected to follow other alumni from England’s ‘Golden Generation’ like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard into management and is surely waiting for the right opportunity. For someone who built his playing career on being a leader, Terry is not expected to be a No 2 for too much longer.
Terry has odds of around 8/1 to be the next Bournemouth manager, suggesting he is in contention for the vacancy, although the club may be hesitant in handing the role to a managerial novice when promotion is their primary aim.
Chris Hughton
One of the most popular managerial figures in English football, Hughton has been out of work since leaving Brighton in 2019.
Hughton does not really have any blemishes on his CV, doing solid jobs at Newcastle, Birmingham, Norwich, and Brighton, although his brand of football could be classed as safety-first, which does not fall in line with Bournemouth.
Hughton is priced at around 10/1 to take charge at Bournemouth and if the club are looking for a safe pair of hands with a wealth of experience in the Championship, the 61-year-old Englishman should be near the top of the list.
Steven Gerrard
There has been a fierce debate going on since Gerrard was linked to the vacancy, with some pundits claiming Bournemouth is a bigger, more high-profile job than Gerrard’s current position as Rangers manager.
Attempting to win the Scottish league title or attempting to gain Premier League promotion – which is a bigger achievement and what would look better on Gerrard’s CV?
Regardless of the debate, it’s probably a wasted discussion as Gerrard would surely be looking for a much bigger step up than Bournemouth when he decides to leave Rangers. His outsider odds of 16/1 are a reflection of the unlikeliness that the former Liverpool captain will take the reins at the Cherries.