Eddie Howe: My Everton dream - and how I started supporting the BluesThe Bournemouth boss talks about how he became an Everton fanBournemouth manager Eddie Howe and Everton counterpart Roberto Martinez - and Howe has spoken about supporting the Blues
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe has revealed his love of Everton – and his dream of watching the Blues at Goodison.
The Cherries boss was in the away dugout for his side’s 2-1 defeat on Saturday, but he has told of how he would occasionally be in the away end when Everton headed down south.
With Roberto Martinez’s position under scrutiny, Howe has been one of the names touted as a potential replacement after keeping the South Coast side up in their first season of top-flight football.
The 38-year-old, who is in his second spell at the Vitality Stadium, spoke of where his love affair with Everton began.
“I remember my first football being one of those plastic ones which had all the names of the Division One teams in it,” he said. “You would spot them all and I was an Everton fan growing up, so I would always look for them when I picked up the ball.
“I was a passionate Everton fan as a kid. I lived near Watford – born in Amersham, raised in Chesham – so I used to watch Watford.
“Watford were playing in the 1984 Cup final, so I turned it on being a Watford fan, and then watched the game and there was just something that said I have to support the blue team.
“It was the kit, the name... and that was it. I was hooked. That inspired my following of them and I followed them ever since.
"When I moved to Bournemouth, when I was 10, I went to watch them being my local team. Watford, Everton, Bournemouth – they were the teams.”
Howe returned to Bournemouth in 2012 and led them to promotion to the top tier of English football for the first time in their history.
With 41 points from 36 games, his side sit in 15th, well away from the current relegation battle beneath them.
The defeat at Goodison saw him achieve a lifetime ambition as he managed at the Old Lady for the first time.
He told Graham Hunter’s Big Interview podcast: “I didn’t get to Goodison until I was at a late, very late, age. We basically couldn’t (afford it), so that didn’t happen. That was my dream to go to Goodison as a kid, never got there until later in life.
Everton beat Watford at Wembley in 1984 - and acquire a new fan
“But what we would do was follow them when they went to Watford, the London clubs, I used to go to Southampton, that was my way of following them.
"In the away end, but I didn’t sing. I’ve never been much of a singer. I’ll sit and watch but I don’t get vocally involved.”
Howe also spoke of his admiration for former Blues striker Tony Cottee, who bagged 99 goals during his time on Merseyside.
“I don’t know whether it is in my nature but (I like) supporting the underdog,” he said. “He signed for big money, had a big reputation, scored a hat trick on his debut, and everyone thought he was the next best thing.
“From that point, he scored loads of goals but he was never really given the credit he deserved for his goalscoring ability.
“Every fan loves a goalscorer, so I loved him, his movement, the way he scored. He didn’t quite get the credit he deserved for the amount of goals he scored.”
Liv Echo
