Eddie Howe is a big pull factor to the South coast

For most of the players it will be back to work today. I can't say fitness tests is probably what they are all looking forward to, with the exception of Simon Francis perhaps. Still, there is one face I am sure they are all looking forward to seeing.

The lure of having the chance to work for Eddie Howe is undoubtedly something that has a particular resonance with many players. Elliott Ward has already discussed his decision to come to Bournemouth was largely influenced by his talk with Eddie and the opportunity to work on his game with one of the best young managers there is in the game. That's not saying that a DVD may also have had some influence, but even that was organised by Eddie.

We have already seen that the highly talented young Ryan Fraser was prepared to up sticks from Aberdeen to work for Eddie Howe and Bournemouth, and the attraction has been just as strong with many others of our current crop and previous teams under Eddie. He has some magical presence that is keenly felt in his desire to succeed, and while he gives off a calm and relaxing vibe his eyes seem constantly fixed, calculating what words have been said and how to reply in a manner that expresses his true feelings.

Yeah, Eddie Howe is an honest guy. His manner and his soft spoken words do not portray the deep inner instinct he has to be a winner and to succeed. Perhaps behind doors he has a temper, can be flustered or frustrated but I doubt it. Everything seems to just wash off him and it's a quality that I bet a lot of us wish we had.

While many would expect him to be a bit intimidated by having to go back to Turf Moor in November, he simply shrugs it off as part of the territory that comes with the job. It's more important that the players can perform he admitted in a recent interview on Cherries Player. And that's Eddie all over, it's the players that he is thinking of first. Their worries, their concerns, are they happy? Can he put things right? Can he make a difference? Get that extra five per cent out of them that other managers can't.

AFCB are truly blessed. With Eddie anything is possible. In Eddie we trust. UTCIAD!