Monday 17 August 2015 20:00, UK
They're at opposite ends of the Premier League food chain but Brendan Rodgers and Eddie Howe are two kindred spirits, writes Adam Bate.
Monday might mark the first ever league meeting between Liverpool and Bournemouth but having been drawn together in both domestic cup competitions in 2014, it’s actually the third season in a row that the two clubs have faced each other. The relationship between their respective managers, Brendan Rodgers and Eddie Howe, goes back rather further.
For Howe, in particular, Rodgers’ rise to take the helm at the five-time European champions is an inspiration. The confirmation that he’s on the right path. “Without a doubt he is a role model for me,” said the 37-year-old ahead of their previous encounter. “Take away everything he has done in management and he is also a brilliant person.”
Indeed, the bond between the two men has only been strengthened by Sean O’Driscoll’s presence on the Liverpool bench. For Steve Fletcher, who played alongside and under both O’Driscoll and Howe, it is confirmation that the men currently in charge of the Reds and the Cherries see the game in the same way.
“A lot of Eddie Howe’s influences at Bournemouth have come from Sean and how meticulous he was in his training,” Fletcher told Sky Sports. “He likes to play a certain way and has stuck to his beliefs. I know that Eddie is good friends with Brendan Rodgers and has been up to see Liverpool train. Eddie would only do that if he liked the style of football.”
In fact, Howe has been learning from Rodgers even before his time at Liverpool. “I went to watch him work at Swansea for two days. He sat with me one afternoon and we talked football for about four, five hours. I know if another manager did that, they’d be looking at their watch going, ‘I’ve got work to do’. He never did that. I couldn’t believe his generosity.”
Although he’s developed a reputation for supporting young coaches, whether Rodgers would extend such courtesy to just anyone is unclear. It seems more likely that he identified a like-minded soul. Rodgers has even admitted to watching Bournemouth on numerous occasions last season. “They are super organised, playing good football at a good intensity.”
It’s been a running theme. When the teams met in the FA Cup in January of last year, Rodgers also praised Bournemouth’s “courage” to play. It’s at this point that the more cynical might interpret Rodgers’ compliments as a roundabout way of validating his own approach. Consider the following verdict on their shared beliefs…
“It is coaches like Eddie Howe who will take the game forward in this country because they believe in a way of working and they have a philosophy. Eddie is similar to myself in terms of the philosophy of football. It is not easy when you're a young manager to stick your head out to get your teams to play and pass the ball but he certainly does that,” said the Liverpool boss.
Michael Calvin interviewed both men for his new book Living on the Volcano, an intimate study of the men behind football management. He recognises the reasons why Rodgers’ choice of language opens him up to criticism but delved beyond the caricature to discover a man of considerable substance. “I really liked him,” Calvin told Sky Sports.
“I suppose he’s conditioned to talking in little soundbite bubbles. It’s coach-speak. The one-line philosophy about being a welfare officer rather than a manager. He talks about ‘our people’ and the Shanklyesque stuff but what I found most authentic about Brendan was when I asked him to talk to me as if he wanted to sign me as a player and he got that.
“We went to the flip chart in his office and he gave me the pep talk. What I found really interesting about Brendan is that he’s got far more emotional depth than his critics would want to acknowledge. When you get Brendan away from ‘the circus’ and instead talking in human terms about how he does his job and why he does his job, I found that fascinating.”
Calvin identified common motivations for both men. Rodgers’ late father remains a driving force in his desire to be the best that he can be, while the loss of Howe’s mother was a key factor in his return to the south coast. Both men have been drawn to the familial aspect of life at a football club and embraced its importance to the community.
“With Eddie Howe, you could tell with the way that he was talking about Bournemouth and how they were going to get kicked out of the training ground with bailiffs coming round, just how much he felt for the club,” said Calvin. “Eddie’s view is that this is about making an impact on people’s lives.”
The comparisons are compelling. “There are certain parallels you can draw between us,” admits Howe. “But I wouldn’t be foolish enough to say I’m anywhere near Brendan. He is in an elite group and I would love one day to get somewhere close to him.” When they emerge from the dug-out at Anfield on Monday evening, it will be apparent that he is getting closer.
Living on the Volcano: The Secrets of Surviving as a Football Manager, by Michael Calvin
