10 Premier League managers ranked as players

#9 Eddie Howe (Bournemouth)

Eddie Howe spent most of his playing career with Bournemouth

Eddie Howe has become one of the most sought-after managers in the English game with rumours of the English national team and even Arsenal being interested in his services. Appointed to the helm of Bournemouth in 2008 to become the youngest manager in the Football League, Howe suffered a heartbreaking end to his playing career back in the day.

A promising central defender for the Cherries who made his debut for the club in 1994, he made two competitive appearances for the England U-21 side before being lured away by Harry Redknapp to Portsmouth.

Unfortunately for him, he suffered a knee injury that he could never quite shrug off and called it a day on his playing career five years later when he was just 29. He took over as Bournemouth’s manager in 2008 and a brief spell at Burnley followed, before returning to the Cherris in 2012.