No disrespect to Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, but most Saints supporters do not see him as the man to succeed Ronald Koeman as manager of Southampton.

News that Eddie Howe is one of the front runners to succeed Ronald Koeman has not been greeted with universal delight amongst Saints supporters, they do not see Howe as yet haing the experience for the task in hand at St Mary's.

Howe was approached to take over at St Mary's a little under six years ago when Alan Pardew left the club and although he has done a brilliant job with the Cherries, his career has not proceeded at the same pace that Saints standing in the football world has.

Two years ago when Mauricio Pochettino left the clun, the Saints board produced a master stroke in appointing Koeman, it was stormy waters and it needed someone with the knowledge of European football and the standing in the game to stand tall and dteer the club in the right direction.

Under Koeman Saints have moved on greatly and that is why Howe is not the man for the job, the waters are still choppy and Koeman is sure to try and sign some of his former players as are other clubs.

So like two years ago Saints need to make a statement of intent, they are in the position to appoint some of the best young managers in Europe, Frank De Boer, Unai Emery and Andras Villas Boas have ll been mentioned and this is the calibre of manager needed to keep going in the right direction.

Eddie Howe has done a brilliant job at Bournemouth, but hs standing in the game is not yet big enough to take on this task and I think from a personal view he would feel that he still has a job to finish at the club.

So no disrespect to Eddie Howe or indeed Cherries fans, but we need higher profile manager to take over the reins at St Mary's, perhaps Howe will manage Saints at some stage, but the tie and circumstances are not right at the moment.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 11:31 - Jun 7 In many ways I hate to agree with this article as in a reasonable world Howe would be brilliant (as long as it was done properly of course) but sadly he is not 'high-profile' enough in what is an appointment that is every bit as crucial as two years ago - perhaps more so because there is an extreme danger that the 'jump-ship' mentality that has developed in recent years will be as bad or worse than ever in the coming weeks. It is one thing being a 'selling club' but we risk becoming an 'annual merry-go-round' club. We need an authoratative, 'high-profile' figure to take over VERY SOON. We may then be able to start worrying about the actual football for next season a bit sooner than usual.

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WanderingSaint added 11:31 - Jun 7 I am impressed with the intelligence of my fellow Saints fans. Howe just isn't the man for the job. There is no need for panic, we are simply in the position we knew we always would be, just 12 months earlier. We are a well run club, and have grown consistently over the past 5 or 6 years. That said, it's clear that we a not prepared toe club's long term future for (potential) short term success. I for one am fine with that. Most businesses who have a sudden sharp incline in growth inevitably have a sharp decline at some point. We are an attractive proposition for any manager. Will we be used as a stepping stone again? Of course we will, and that will continue until and unless we reach our ultimate goal of becoming a consistent top 4 club - so probably forever. RK has ben good, but not great. Personally, I feel that 14/15 was the best chance of a top 4 finish (in EPL) that we have ever had, and will have in my lifetime. I'm still a bit annoyed that RK didn't make a better fist of it that season. I hope i'm wrong.

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WanderingSaint added 11:34 - Jun 7 Should have said "not prepared to gamble the club's long term......"
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bstokesaint added 12:20 - Jun 7 I couldn't agree more. Like I said yesterday Howe will simply not attract the names that we need to progress. No-one could argue he's done a great job at Bournemouth, but he's miles off being who we need right now. We are a very attractive proposition. We're probably a ground extension and a wider global following away from moving up in the footballing world to the next club size stage. We have the wealth behind us, a world class academy and a good location from which to spread our roots and fanbase. There are opportunities here for a manager with a long-term vision who would like a proper challenge. The SFC brand is a lot way off it's true potential still.

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squidofdespair added 12:43 - Jun 7 Consistency. Stability. Bedfellows. Pick a manager and lock him for five years. Obviously a contract is not the way to lock in anyone in football these days.
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Scummer added 12:46 - Jun 7 i really like Eddie Howe. Considered, intelligent, forward thinking, and I can see how he could fit in well with the way the club is run. But I also agree with many of the comments above. However, one observation - a good chunk of us Saints fans were a little disparaging for both the Adkins and Pochettino announcements. In hindsight they were both rather shrewd appointments. Same with Koeman - he wasn't a name on the normal manager merry-go-round lists a couple of years back. They've certainly earned my trust to appoint the right person this time round.

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BUCK added 12:52 - Jun 7 There's only one name we should and I'm sure we'll get. Pelligrini, he was 12-1 48 hours ago, not he's as low as 2-1 and I've had a little tip off he's our next manager
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bstokesaint added 13:05 - Jun 7 If he is Buck I'd welcome him. I think his calm approach is what is called for right now. If the richest club in the PL thought he was the best manager they could get (at the time) then he'd more than fit the criteria for us. I won't ask about your little tip! Scummer, I came round to Adkins and Poch very quickly. Initially I was a little skeptical, but that's only because I knew nothing of them. The difference with Eddie is I already know all about him and have a lot of time to form an opinion. I think had we been appointed when we went for Adkins I wouldn't have been disappointed then.

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DPeps added 13:10 - Jun 7 Pell would get my vote. But his odds might have gone down because de Boer has just ruled himself out... according to his agent
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LordDZLucan added 13:55 - Jun 7 I'm disappointed to see that there isn't more support in this forum for Eddie Howe. He's a very intelligent and articulate man and I think he would learn the ropes very quickly. I also think he would command respect and most importantly we'd have a chance of getting him to stay for more than a couple of years. If not Howe then Pelligrini would be a good choice; again he should stay around for more than a couple of years.

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SanMarco added 13:56 - Jun 7 It's probably not taking many bets to alter prices radically on this at the moment so I think DPeps probably right. It is relatively unusual for someone who has managed one of the 'big four' to subsequently manage a 'smaller' club in the Prem. Can't actually think of an example, perhaps Mark Hughes, or, oh yes who was that Ranieri fellow???
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SaintBrock added 14:09 - Jun 7 Fans not keen on Howe? Who can blame them, it would be an effing disaster to appoint an unproven Championship winning manager with only one year's experience in the top flight to manage Saints in their current pomp. Let's face it the Cherries early impetus just petered out last season once their simple tactics became well known and they only just escaped relegation. That are the most likely to go down in their second season as normality takes over from last season's topsy-turvy, never-to-be-repeated miss-mash

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BoondockSaint added 14:24 - Jun 7 Everyone on this site is "..very intelligent and articulate" But we ain't getting offered the job are we? Because we would not attract the right players (amongst other reasons). Pellegrini is fine with me. Too bad Rafa is staying at Newcastle-what really hurts is that he is staying because he wants the challenge of being successful with a club that is not the media's favourite , and is loyal-qualities we thought we had in Koeman....

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Santos added 14:58 - Jun 7 Diego Simeone according to recent reports considering his position at Athletico??? De Boer would seem a good fit!! Howe likewise would be a good fit but do agree with all in the article. Will need a chance somewhere the question is are we brave/confident/silly (not sure where I sit with it) enough to give him the chance. Pellegrini sorry just do not think he would do well with us?? As for rest what about Quique Flores ticks a lot of boxes.

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SaintPaulVW added 17:18 - Jun 7 I'm a bit surprised that Eddie Howe is considered to be 'not at the right stage of his career' for Saints. Not too sure where he is supposed to go to get the experience before we would consider him. I think he would be a good appointment, a young hungry manager. All the main candidates were young once and all achieved success to get their reputations. The only issue is of course the new appointment affecting the movement of players. As Koeman wasn't really involved with transfers and there was an exodus of players on his arrival is this really an issue? Never dull being a Saints fan. Haha. (BBC are reporting it's all been agreed)

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SaintBrock added 17:51 - Jun 7 Eddie Howe did not play for Barcelona or win a Champions League medal - end of story!
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aceofthebase added 17:57 - Jun 7 Let's not raid Bournemouth and steal their manager. It's just not done! We play European football so perhaps our new manager should have some experience and we must have a manager that can persuade the likes of Mane to stay and others to join. We also need a manager that is willing to trust some of our younger players apart from JWP. More excitement to follow I'm sure.

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SaintPaulVW added 18:29 - Jun 7 (When I say agreed above, I mean Ronald, his brother and the other assistant going to Everton for £5 million, not EH joining us) Here come 2 weeks of fun.
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1970 added 19:25 - Jun 7 Pellergrini are you mad a nice man yes but Citeh are soulless and lack any kind of cohesion, consistency and speak to the fans and they will tell you he is tactically inept, and clueless when they concede, the next manager has to have vast European experience preferably a winner of European trophies or an ex-player , people like Eddie Howe!! behave yourself poopey lovers your not getting rid of him to us he will take you down next season which is a bit of a shame but Saints have not qualified for Europe for fun they will want to build on that big time ,so don't be surprised if thy appoint the likes of De Boer, Zola and such I hope they hurry up, and please don't get desperate and get Moyes, I'm very glad Irwin has gone with Ronald I never rated him as any kind of coach may be a talent spotter but not a coach, may be a motivator but not a physio, bring on Emery please he ticks the European boxes coyr.

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pintsizedsaint added 21:06 - Jun 7 Emery is apparently in advanced negotiations with PSG. It was a nice feeling while it lasted... I agree that it's just come a bit too soon for Howe. In any event we SHOULD NOT mirror what clubs like Everton and Spurs have done. If Howe is to manage it should be at the end of his contract with Bournemouth. De Boer would be a useful choice but he doesn't want to come here. Yet I still have great confidence that Saints will appoint well.

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SanMarco added 21:42 - Jun 7 Pellegrini is rumoured to be heading to Valencia. We need to move quickly or we will end up with the crap stuff on the shelf that no one wants...
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SaintPaulVW added 06:04 - Jun 8 If Emery is going to PSG, doesn't that make Laurent Blanc available? Not sure if he's ever played for Barcelona though.....
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saintmark1976 added 07:58 - Jun 8 In my opinion should we end up with Eddie Howe (and I hope we do not) it makes me wonder what happened at Dean Court (or whatever they call it now) last season.Without doubt the most abject Saints league display I can remember.How many points did Bournemouth avoid relegation by?
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SanMarco added 10:23 - Jun 8 If TUI introduces a prize for best conspiracy theory we have the first entry saintmark !!
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