I wrote last night about how Eddie Howe was passed over for the Crystal Palace job. How he kept Celtic waiting for months whilst he bided his time seemingly waiting for another, but not better, proposition to come up in England’s Premier League, for him to fawn over and take whilst allowing probably the biggest club he will ever have the chance to manage pass him by.
And I have to admit, the piece was wrote, somewhat unashamedly, with a hint of pleasure. And for that I make no apologies.
Eddie Howe will forever look back with a sense of regret. Regret that he never took on one of the biggest clubs in the world. Regret that he knocked back the best fanbase that any manager could ever hope for and also regret that he held out for a mediocre job in, admittedly one of the richest, but not best leagues in the world.
In another twist, Howe was one of the favourites for the West Brom job. A middle of the road West Midlands club now in the second tier of English football. And still, he wasn’t considered.
Instead they decided to go with Valerian Ismael. The former Barnsley boss took the Tykes to a play off spot in the Championship after an extremely impressive run which saw the club lose only three of their last twenty one league games.
Ismael also has experience in the German Bundesliga after having managed Wolfsburg. Which begs he question. If Howe is so good, why does no one want to hire him? It looks like Celtic have dodged a bullet here.