An amusing one regarding Eddie Howe and Celtic from Marvin Bartley.
If you are wondering who Marvin Bartley is, he’s a lower league manager in Scotland, currently with Stenhousemuir.
Apparently he also gets work as a football pundit north of the border.
With Martin O’Neill seemingly set to be leaving a failing Celtic, Bartley has brought up the name of Eddie Howe.
He reckons Eddie Howe could now be set to replace O’Neill at Celtic.
Marvin Bartley’s main claim to fame appears to be that he was managed by Eddie Howe over a decade and half ago at Bournemouth when they were in the third and fourth tiers of English football.
Bartley declaring to Clyde One Superscoreboard: “I wouldn’t be as surprised as others if Eddie Howe ended up at Celtic. Yes he’s from the south of England but he loves that big club feel. When he went to Newcastle, I don’t think he realised how big they were. Celtic are a different level to them. I think that sort of thing could interest him. I don’t think his next move will be based purely on finances, it will be the size of the club and the project and if he’s going to be given all the keys to go and sign the players he wants and not be told who to sign. He needs to be a manager, he won’t accept being a head coach. He already spends a lot of time in Scotland playing all the golf courses.”
Obviously we know that Marvin Bartley is playing to his audience north of the border, desperate to big up Celtic and by association, Scottish football.
However, you still have to laugh.
This fantasist believing that after doing such a stellar job at Newcastle United at the top of the (English!) Premier League, Eddie Howe would then for his next job drop so far down to the level of Scottish football and Celtic???
Those in Scotland who believe this kind of thing are clearly still living in the past.
When does any top class player or manager now join a club in Scotland?
Things have moved on and the likes of Celtic and Rangers are living on memories. Yes they get decent sized crowds but nobody outside of Scotland has any interest in Scottish football, it is no different to other low level European leagues such as say Belgium.
Time has moved on from when the size of crowds trumped all other factors when it came to ability to afford and attract the best managers and players. The football public in Scotland has also brought this on themselves to a large degree, rather than supporting their local team they choose Celtic or Rangers. Nobody outside Scotland is interested in their domestic league because it is just two clubs, it is over 40 years since any other won the league.
With nobody interested in watching the low quality non-competitive Scottish domestic football, that is why TV broadcasters are willing to pay so little for the rights, so Celtic, Rangers and the rest get next to nothing when the domestic cash is shared out.
The reality is that Bournemouth are now a far bigger club than Rangers and Celtic. Given the choice, no quality player or manager is choosing a Scottish club over the Cherries these days. If they wanted to, Bournemouth could walk in and buy all of the best players Celtic and Rangers currently have. The only problem is that pretty much none of them would be anywhere close to getting into the Bournemouth team.
As for Eddie Howe having any interest in managing Celtic these days, you are having a laugh. He came close to working there years ago, when his CV only had multiple promotions from the lower English leagues and then some seasons in the Premier League fighting relegation with Bournemouth. However, after his stunning success against the odds at a huge club like Newcastle United over the last half a decade, it will be the likes of Manchester United and other powerful clubs that will have the pulling power to attract somebody of the calibre and profile of Eddie Howe, when they replace Michael Carrick or whoever.
I love the comment from Marvin Bartley that a deciding factor could be golf courses that attract Eddie Howe to take over at Celtic. It is like saying that because a top manager such as Howe or another likes going on holiday to the Maldives, they might be tempted by a job in football over there.
As a Newcastle United fan, I think it is all but inevitable that Eddie Howe will eventually be appointed by one of the other major (English!) clubs AND he will do really well.
I would love to think England would be his next job but doubt it, I think that will come later as he has unfinished business in club football and loves that day to day involvement.
The one thing I am hoping is that he will repeat what he did when resigning from Bournemouth. Spend a year with his family, take some time out, before he takes his next job.