' Cardiff City manager Russell Slade has vowed '

Cardiff City manager Russell Slade has vowed there’ll be no old pal’s act with Bournemouth counterpart Eddie Howe

Friday Dec 12, 2014


By Terry Phillips



It may be a case of friends reunited at the Goldsands Stadium tomorrow, but Cardiff City manager Russell Slade has vowed there’ll be no old pal’s act with Bournemouth counterpart Eddie Howe.

The two bosses, who have the reputation of being among the good guys on the managerial circuit, both have their eyes on the promotion places in the Championship, and Slade knows his side faces a battle to get one over one of the division’s surprise packages so far.

Bournemouth have already topped the table on one occasion this season and now lie third, six places and six points ahead of Cardiff, and Slade said: “I know Eddie really well and he is a really good friend of mine.

“I’ve known him for an awfully long time. He has Bournemouth well organised and they will be a tough nut to crack.

“He has a great squad, a terrific group of players. Howe sets his team up in a flexible 4-4-2 similar to ourselves.

“I chat to him every week, if not every other week. We talk about football and players in the main. We get on exceptionally well and he would be classed as a friend.

“On Saturday we will be both do everything we can to win, of course, and he will know how badly I want Cardiff to come out on top.




“Whoever wins, whoever loses, we will spend 10 minutes or more chatting to each other. That’s important no matter who you play. It doesn’t always happen, but I’m sure it will at Bournemouth.”

“There is, though, no doubt in my mind Eddie could be a Premier League manager in the future. He has already done quite a few managerial miles and he is an outstanding prospect.”

Slade, though, knows that Howe can be steely when needed, a character the Bluebirds’ boss will need to show himself as the season goes on.

“Eddie, certainly, has a hardness in him,” said Slade. “When I was a young manager, (former Notts County boss) Jimmy Sirrel used to tell me ‘Sometimes you must be able to spit’.

Howe, 37, left Bournemouth to take charge at Championship club Burnley in 2011, but returned to Dorset during October 2012 and Slade says: “It didn’t quite work out for him at Burnley, but I would not say Eddie wasn’t successful there.

“The nucleus of his team was taken over by Sean Dyche, another fine manager, and they went up with that group plus a few additions. Eddie was clearly building something. I have a lot of respect for Eddie and the way his teams play.

Howe’s Cherries are unbeaten 10 Championship matches, while Slade’s men have earned eight points from their last four fixtures and have kept clean sheets in three of those.

Cardiff are close to a two points per game average since Slade took over, and he said: “Three clean sheets in four games says we are looking solid. Now the key is to balance between staying solid and still being able to penetrate, create chances and score goals.”

The big decision for Slade is again who to play wide in midfield, with Anthony Pilkington again ruled out by a hamstring injury. Mats Daehli could be the favourite, although Kim Bo-kyung and Ravel Morrison are other contenders.

Bruno Manga is expected to be fit, but may have to be content with a place among the substitutes. Ben Turner and Sean Morrison have played together in the last three games when City have conceded only one goal and they have been at the heart of a back five who have kept two clean sheets.