Why Portsmouth reality check is required - forget Eddie Howe or Paul Cook returning to Fratton Park

Pompey’s boss is under-pressure at present, comfortably this is his most uncertain period since arriving on the south coast in June 2017.

Crucially, he remains backed by owners Tornante and a club board which includes chief executive Mark Catlin.

A replacement is presently wishful thinking – while some of those individuals being championed rank as pure fantasy.

Certainly Eddie Howe and Paul Cook will not be returning to Pompey in the near future.

Take Howe, for example, currently without a job since leaving Bournemouth by mutual consent in August.

Spending two-and-a-half injury-ravaged seasons as a player at Fratton Park, restricting him to two appearances, does not necessarily ensure the Blues hold sufficient affection to lure him back at this stage.

Besides, he reportedly earned £3m a year during his final Cherries contract. A crucial point.

Having taken Bournemouth into the top flight and overseen them there for five seasons, Howe is rightly regarded as a manager of Premier League calibre.

During that period he was linked with Arsenal, as recently as 10 months ago in fact, and long been spoken about as a future England manager.

The first Premier League managerial casualty this term will inevitably see the 42-year-old catapulted among front-runners for the role.

A League One club burdened with a £2.5m salary cap is, unfortunately, out of Howe’s league at present – both financially and in terms of aspiration.

Supporters may demand ambition from owners and shooting high, yet realism must also be considered. As well as Howe’s own personal goals.

Incidentally, there are Nottingham Forest fans calling for boss Sabri Lamouchi to be dismissed following a 1-0 loss at Huddersfield Town on Friday evening.

Their overwhelming choice is Howe.

Paul Cook is another often paraded as the perfect managerial appointment, particularly following previous success at Fratton Park.

There remain differing opinions over the true reasoning behind his controversial departure.

Cook himself has declined to be interviewed on the issue ever since, thereby opting not to clarify what actually occurred.

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What is abundantly clear, however, is he was paid more at Wigan, it allowed him to be closer to his native Liverpool and he was stung by criticism from a section of Pompey support.

Following the 1-1 home draw with Plymouth on Good Friday in April 2017, he joined several club officials and fans for a good-natured post-match drink at the Shepherds Crook.

Witnesses verify Cook was forced to leave after three supporters became aggressive and abusive towards him.

Others in the pub had to intervene, with Pompey’s boss leaving his drink on the bar to catch a newly-ordered taxi to flee the uncomfortable situation.

Incidentally, Pompey were promoted to League One just three days later – following a 3-1 win at Notts County.

Still, after promotion, the Blues, then a community club, could not afford Cook’s wage demands to sign a new deal and spurn Wigan’s advances. They had already increased his salary.

Whether he represented the right fit for the incoming Tornante ownership is an excellent point.

All the same, he headed to Wigan, winning the League One title and, for two seasons, establishing himself as a Championship manager whose stock soared.

He was expected to get the Bristol City job this summer, but instead the Robins kept it in-house with Dean Holden, while Birmingham was also an interest.

At this stage of his career, there is nothing to draw Cook back to Fratton Park, particularly with the same owners in place who would have been an unlikely fit.

Considering he was handed a bumper pay rise when he joined the Latics – and then penned a new four-year deal in May 2018 – League One Pompey will be unable to match financial demands.

Like Howe, Fratton Park will not be on his radar, no matter how much fans wish it to be true.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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