Eddie Howe was born in Amersham in 1977, before moving to Verwood with his family at an early age. Howe begun his footballing career with local club Rossgarth, but he was soon training with the AFC Bournemouth Centre of Excellence.
A regular on the terraces at Dean Court, Eddie moved through the age groups to join Sean O’Driscoll’s youth team.
In his second year as a youth player, he was called up to the first team to make his debut against Hull City in December 1995, winning the man of the match award. He made two more appearances that season, and in the summer, was handed his first professional contract.
Despite his young age, Eddie soon established himself in the heart of the Cherries defence. His highly consistent performances made him a crowd favourite, shown by his and the supporters celebrations when he scored his first senior goal in a 2-2 draw at Burnley.
1998 proved to be a fantastic year for Howe. He played at Wembley in the final of the Auto Windscreens Shield and was named AFC Bournemouth player of the year, before being capped by England at under-21 level in the Toulon Tournament.
His performances continued to impress, and he was an important part of the side that came close to reaching the play-offs in 2001, as the club said goodbye to the old Dean Court. He was a regular in the side that started life in the new stadium, but in March 2002, Howe left for Portsmouth in a potentially club-saving lucrative deal.
He spent two injury-hit years at Fratton Park and was restricted to just two short appearances. He returned to the Cherries on loan in August 2004, and just like his previous debut, restarted his Bournemouth career against Hull City.
The club was in dire straits financially, and the supporters were forced to create 'Eddieshare' in a bid to fund his permanent transfer. In a matter of days, £21,000 was raised and Howe was a Bournemouth player once more.
Howe put in some inspiring performances, and he began his second fantastic spell with the Cherries. Some of the highlights include a 5-0 demolition of Doncaster with Howe finding the net and also a memorable win at Blackburn in the League Cup, where he despatched the winning spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out.
After three years back at Bournemouth and over 50 appearances, Eddie was forced to retire from playing in 2007 and was named as reserve team manager. He then became first team coach, but in 2008, was sacked along with Kevin Bond and Rob Newman. He was immediately reinstated at the club working in the Centre of Excellence.
On New Year’s Eve 2008, he was named as caretaker manager after the dismissal of Jimmy Quinn, with the side 10 points from safety in League 2.
After a period as caretaker, he was named as manager until the end of the season, and immediately showed that with despite no managerial experience, he knew how to shape a side.
Proving his astute eye for a player, Howe brought in some excellent signings from non-league, including players that typified the resilience and attitude of their leader.
Incredibly, Howe kept AFC Bournemouth in the Football League, and was awarded a longer contract along with Jason Tindall.
The 2009-10 season saw him hailed as one of the brightest young managers in England as he led Bournemouth to promotion despite a crippling transfer embargo. The side finished in second place despite on occasions only having 12 fit players at his disposal.
Bournemouth hit the ground running in League 1, and spent much of the first half of the season in the automatic spots. The Cherries were firmly rooted in the promotion places by January 2011, but Howe and assistant Jason Tindall left for Championship side Burnley.
At Burnley, he proved in his 18-month spell that he had the temperament and intelligence to manage at the highest level.
But in October 2012, in a sensational move, Eddie Howe returned home.
Born in the East End of London in 1977, Jason Tindall started his career at Charlton, making it through to the professional ranks and captaining the reserves to the Football Combination title in May 1998.
In July 1998, Tindall signed for Mel Machin's AFC Bournemouth. He made his League debut on 8th August 1998 as a substitute against Lincoln, before making his full debut on 22 August against Millwall - marking the occasion with his first senior goal from the penalty spot in the 3-0 win.
His opening two seasons were somewhat hampered by injury though, meaning that he only managed a total of 29 appearances. However, during this time he did experience his first taste of success for the Cherries, as he captained the reserves to the Combination Cup, beating Ipswich 3-1 in the final at Dean Court.
A highly versatile player, Tindall proved that in abundance during the 2000-01 season - arguably his finest for the Cherries. Making 51 appearances, he formed part of a side that narrowly missed out on the play-offs after a fantastic run during the second half of the season.
The utility player etched his name in Cherries history the following season as he graced the Cherries first ever game at the new stadium against Wrexham with a fabulous goal in the 3-0 win. The season though was to end in disappointment as the Cherries were later relegated.
Tindall was a prominent part of the 2002-03 promotion winning team, but missed out on glory at the Millennium Stadium after a knee injury ruled him out of the run-in. It was an injury that was to severely disrupt his appearances from then on, as he was sidelined for 18 months.
Following an operation with top American surgeon Dr. Steadman, Tindall went on to make 171 appearances for the Cherries prior to his release in 2006.
After a brief spell playing Weymouth, Tindall was handed his first taste of management at the Conference club in January 2007, before going on to work with Jimmy Quinn at Cambridge United. It was this partnership which eventually paved Tindall’s way back to the Cherries, as following Quinn’s appointment as Bournemouth boss, Tindall was named as his assistant.
Following Quinn’s exit in December 2008, Tindall was crucially retained, being employed as new boss Eddie Howe’s assistant. And during their first six months in charge, the pair, against all odds, kept the Cherries in the Football League after a dramatic end of season finale at home to Grimsby.
The following 2009-2010 season will arguably go down as one of the best in Bournemouth’s history, as despite a transfer embargo being put in place, the side finished second and achieved automatic promotion to League One. During this season, not only did Tindall play a crucial role in the coaching set-up, but he was also forced out of retirement to offer his services on the pitch.
Having established the Cherries as firm favourites for promotion at the start of the 2010-2011 season, Tindall alongside manager Howe, left the club for Championship side Burnley in January 2011.
However, now with over 18 months of Championship experience to his name, Tindall returns to AFC Bournemouth making up half of one of the club’s most successful management partnerships ever.
Neil Moss
Goalkeeping Coach
Neil Moss is a Cherries legend and was recently voted as supporters all time number one keeper.
He supported the club as a youngster and came through the youth system to establish himself in the first team before moving to Southampton.
He returned to Bournemouth in 2002 and played a huge part in promotion that season.
Moss has coached ever since his retirement from playing and also runs his own goalkeeping academy.
Chris Hargreaves
Development Coach
Appointed in July 2012, Chris brings a huge amount of experience with him as he has become the clubs first Development Coach.
His career saw him serve Grimsby, Hull City, West Bromwich Albion, Hereford, Plymouth. Northampton, Brentford, Oxford United and Torquay.
Chris was on the coaching staff at Exeter City during the 2011-12 season.
John Yems
Football Operations & Recruitment Manager
Yems joined the club in October 2012 after the appointment of Jason Tindall and Eddie Howe.
Yems has a long history in the game, having enjoyed management roles at Crawley, Torquay and Exeter City and coaching roles at Millwall, Fulham and Crystal Palace.
Most recently, Yems spent the 2011/12 season as Andy Hessenthaler's coaching assistant at Gillingham, and brings a wealth of football knowledge and contacts to the club.
Dan Hodges
Head of Sports Science
Dan Hodges joined the backroom staff at Bournemouth in June 2012.
The sports scientist gained experience at Manchester City and Rochdale before joining the Cherries.
Garvan Stewart
Performance Analyst
Garvan Stewart joined the Cherries in June 2012. He previously worked at Portsmouth for four years, as well as Cardiff City and the Welsh FA.
Steve Hard
Physio
Cherries physio Steve Hard has served the club for a number of years and was previously at Millwall.
Dave Gardner
Sports Therapist
Gardner joined the staff from Reading in the summer of 2011 and assists physio Steve Hard.
Shaun Brooks
Head of Youth
Shaun is a highly rated coach who has played a major part in the development of the Cherries Academy since his arrival in 2010.
A former Cherries player who made nearly 150 appearances on the south coast, Brooks assisted Paul Groves during his period as manager, and returned to his position as head of youth in October 2012.
Paul Groves
Youth Team Manager and Head of Coaching
Paul Groves is a highly experienced coach who made over 700 appearances during his career, playing for the likes of Leicester, West Brom and Grimsby.
After a spell of management with Grimsby, Groves went on to coach the first team at Portsmouth and West Ham before joining the Cherries' youth setup.
Groves was appointed first team manager in March 2012, but returned to his position as youth team manager in October 2012 after the appointment of Eddie Howe.