So What Next

It all begged the question as to exactly who was using who here. It was reasonable to assume that neither Barry Kilby nor Brendan Flood would have gone public or official if they hadn't had some behind the scenes encouragement. That was certainly secret agent Niko's take on the subject on a rival messageboard that more and more Clarets were flocking to for the latest updates.

Then it was onto the next 'favourite' - cheeky chappy Eddie Howe. He must be a cheeky chappy 'cos he says so. "Cheeky chappy manager of AFC Bournmouth," says his twitter page. Coming from Dorset it's a bit odd that he's a cheeky chappy. I thought you had to come from Peckham or Tooting to qualify.

Tuesday, 11^th January and Howe decided to stay at Bournemouth and his Radio Solent BBC interview was impressive. Bournemouth fans breathed a sigh of relief. Had Burnley made a proper official approach? Whatever, it was of no consequence. Another avenue closed we assumed. The name Gary Megson came into the frame - rich irony - the man who kicked off all the troubles in the first place. Derek McInnes became the new favourite although the possibility of Stuart Gray being retained until the end of the season received several mentions as Burnley received their supposed rebuff.

So, on to the next one Derek McInnes, but after St Johnstone's 1 - 0 win over Hearts, McInnes in the post match interview said he had not been contacted by Burnley. In some corners there was a bit of disappointment about that. Didn't Coyle recommend him as his original replacement? Whatever: all in all the week leading up to the critical QPR game seemed to be going dull and quiet except that the Eddie Howe story still would not go away and that in spite of his Radio "I'm staying" declaration of loyalty to Bournemouth, Burnley were still in there according to the Lancashire Telegraph, and according to pundit Chris Kamara's twitter page (am I the only one who doesn't have one) it was a done deal other than the compensation. All the while, behind the scenes, agents were definitely on the blower to Brendan Flood & Co selling their wares including Trevor Stephen trying to flog Derek McInnes. That's the way it seems to work; the agent does the intro bit leaving the manager to say no-one has spoken to ME yet.

The Bournemouth chairman, Friday 14^th, provided the quote of the week: "Someone phoned us and it was Burnley." Whatever was said it was a successful call and by some fluke the Bournemouth game was on SKY on the same Friday. The guy who turned down Crystal Palace and Charlton accepted the Burnley job.

SKY asked him of course pre-game would he be joining Burnley. His grin was enigmatic. He gave nothing away. These guys must have training days for this sort of stuff. On SKY he looked young enough to be in a boy band - well one of the older ones I suppose, Take That or maybe Westlife. And this is one good looking guy; the ladies in Burnley will be having hot sweats.

The message boards went into overdrive and as a bonus Burnley kept a clean sheet against QPR but also failed to score themselves on a day when the heavens opened.

As a consequence of all this the next Dave T book will end halfway through the season, 'Entertainment, Heroes and Villains', successes and failures in football management, the story in detail of Cotterill, Coyle and Laws; three very different managers and three very different stories. That's just 6 years in the life of the club when so much has happened. A lot of people have contributed to this book from the club and media. The plan was to see the season through until the end, but then when Laws was dismissed it seemed the right time to finish and bring publication forward. There's a few things in there that will be receiving their first public airing, nothing sensational, but just enough behind the scenes info to make you think "hmmm". Eddie Howe will no doubt create his own chapters in the Burnley story one day. With luck, patience and support, in time, it will be something like Coyle's but without the bitter ending. Coyle meanwhile does seem to have hit a bit of a sticky patch at Bolton without a win in six games and pointing to those old faithful manager-excuse standbys, injuries and referees' decisions.

There was no fairy tale ending in Howe's last game away at Colchester but the huddle at the end of the game was deeply moving. So, he was asked, what made him turn down two clubs on Tuesday, say he was staying, and then change his mind on Thursday when Burnley called.

"Was it the lure of Burnley?" It must be the first time ever the words "lure" and Burnley" have been used in the same sentence. But all through the saga of the hunt for the new man, the media emphasised over and again what an attractive job it was. And that's what he said; it was too good. "I couldn't turn this one down."

There was no scintillating display at Turf Moor either as Burnley and QPR put on a poorish game with a final 0-0 score and a clean sheet for the first time in weeks. Warnock was adamant QPR shaded things. "A well drilled side with one show pony," was a comment that best summed them up. But that does beg the question how would you describe Burnley in 8 words? Truth is they're a puzzle, with some bits that need replacing, some that don't fit, and now 6 points behind the play-offs. Eddie Howe might just have seen he has some good players there but others who are not so good. He would have seen the limitations of Iwelumo, and what happens when someone does their homework on Mears and Eagles. Just one shot on target was a sorry statistic. He might also have noted that 5 of the next 6 League games were away from home. Those people who, at the beginning of the season, forecast that Burnley, for all the hype, were in truth a mid table side, and were seen as doom-mongers and faithless might just have been correct.

Although Howe was at Turf Moor to see the game the final finishes were not put to the deal until the following day. And that was it - goodbye Brian Laws, hello Eddie Howe. Though the media insisted that he was taking over a club in good shape, look a little more closely and the cracks were there to see and the prospect of even a 6^th place finish was very optimistic.

Maybe you have to belong to a certain generation to truly mourn the passing of Nat Lofthouse, Footballer of the Year in 1953. He personified the image of the 'traditional' fearless, English, battering-ram, centre forward. But even if for some he is only a 'name' in the history books it's a name that carries with it an instant image of days gone by, of the 50s, ankle-high stiff brown leather boots, muddy pitches, short back and sides, poor wages, the 'bloke next door' image when even top players went on the bus to the ground on matchday alongside the fans. It was such a physically hard game then and no-one personified it more than Nat Lofthouse when he clattered into the back of Man U goalkeeper Harry Gregg in a Cup Final and the goal was allowed. Today the centre forward would probably be sent off for such a deliberately reckless challenge. But that was the way of the game then. The toughness of it made it all the more remarkable that ballplayers like Jimmy Mac at Burnley should be able to flourish.

Just a few days later came the headline that, if correct, shows that football has indeed gone crazy, when Darren Bent (he who misses chances that 'arry Redknapp's wife could score) was a £24million target for Aston Villa. TWENTY FOUR BLOODY MILLION for a journeyman. And then those of us who saw him thought of Nat Lofthouse or Ray Pointer on £20 a week. On our own doorstep you could imagine Willie Irvine and Andy Lochhead laughing all the way to the bank, except they never had a pay cheque big enough to match their talents. Kenny Dalglish in his Mail on Sunday sports column suggested that fans would not begrudge the vast amounts paid to today's stars. Well, the news for you Kenny is that yes we do. It's madness. And what we deplore as well are the mealy-mouthed attitudes of some of these aloof celebrity players who can't even smile or spare one word when a fan asks for an autograph. I saw one of them caught by the cameras on TV, Wayne Bridge, unsmiling, face like a bag of spanners, remote, scribbling on a fan's pad as he tried to get away as quickly as he could. His rudeness and indifference was embarrassing.

Message board Thread of the year must surely have been the one with the pic of a sophisticatedly attired Howe (all in black) and Tindall up in the BL Stand; Howe with a boyishly handsome, charming, but very satisfied smile, and Tindall looking just a tad furtive and alarmed. Here's my pick of the best lines:

JT how much are they paying
EH keep smiling and look as if we know what we're doing.

JT I thought you said we were going to the Bernabau
EH No I said we were going to Burnley now

JT Hey Eddie you don't get many women running the line do you?
EH that's Chris Eagles you daft twat.

JT Did we really say we'd get them out of this Division
EH yeah but we didn't say which way

So, the dust settled, the new boys were paraded and Howe was assured, well-spoken and came across really well. It's a high risk but exciting appointment; we wanted one man out and by and large the majority of fans seem well pleased and energised by the boldness and imagination of the replacement. And, as rumours circulate that Chris Eagles is coveted by other clubs; then if Darren Bent is going to fetch £24million, Eagles is worth £48million. And just think what Eddie could do with that.