The world of football is full of fascinating stories, and sometimes the most interesting ones are about the relationships between people.
These stories can involve rivalry, misunderstanding, and sometimes, a surprising amount of personal growth. A great example of this is set to play out on the touchline at St James’ Park, where Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe will come face to face with Bradford City boss Graham Alexander.
What makes this meeting special is that their history goes back more than a decade, to a time when they were on the same team but not exactly on the same page.
The story begins in 2011, when a young and promising Eddie Howe was appointed manager of Burnley. He was taking over a team that was in a period of change.
The squad had several older players who had been key figures for years, and one of them was the captain, Graham Alexander. At the time, Alexander was 39 years old, a respected leader and a very experienced professional.
But when a new manager arrives, they often have a new vision for the team, and that’s exactly what happened. One of Howe’s first big decisions was to move Alexander down the pecking order, meaning he would no longer be a regular starter.
For Alexander, this was a bitter pill to swallow. He had been a crucial player for Burnley for several seasons, and suddenly he found himself mostly watching from the bench, only coming on for the last few minutes of games.
He has since admitted that this was the most difficult period of his entire career. He was desperate to play, knowing that at his age, he didn’t have many years left in the game.
He didn’t like the decision, and he didn’t like the man who made it. The feeling, he believes, was probably mutual.
Just five months after Howe arrived, Alexander decided to leave the club, cancelling his contract to join Preston for his final season as a player.
At the time, it was a situation filled with frustration. Alexander felt he was a “casualty” of the new manager’s plan. He admits he didn’t handle the situation very well.
It’s hard for any competitive athlete to accept being sidelined, especially when you feel you can still contribute. The player and the manager were caught in a difficult transition, and it created a clear distance between them.
However, time has a way of changing perspectives. The real turning point came when Graham Alexander himself became a manager. Suddenly, he was the one making tough decisions.
He was the one who had to think about the long-term future of the team, sometimes at the expense of individual players’ feelings.
It was only when he sat in the manager’s chair that he truly understood the pressure and responsibility that Eddie Howe was under all those years ago.
He realized that Howe wasn’t being personal; he was simply doing what he felt was best for Burnley Football Club.
This new understanding completely changed Alexander’s view of the past. The old negative feelings melted away.
In fact, after Alexander got his first permanent management job at Fleetwood Town, one of the first people to send him a congratulatory message was Eddie Howe.
The message was a warm welcome to the “mad house” of management. That small gesture meant a lot and helped bridge the gap that had formed years before.
Alexander now says he has used that difficult experience from both perspectives as the player who was dropped and as the manager who has to drop players to become better at his own job.
So, when the two men meet again before the Carabao Cup match, it won’t be a reunion of old rivals. Instead, it will be a meeting of two professionals who share a unique understanding.
They have both lived through both sides of a challenging situation and have come out the other side with mutual respect.
Alexander now calls Howe a “brilliant manager” and says he looks forward to seeing him. What was once a source of tension has become a valuable life lesson.
It’s a powerful reminder that sometimes, you need to walk in someone else’s shoes to truly understand their journey. The game itself will be a contest, but the story of the two managers is already a tale of reconciliation and personal growth.
