Everton fan Eddie Howe recalls the moment the Toffees captured his heart as a young boy

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The Bournemouth manager revealed that he watched 1984 FA Cup final to support Watford but ended up an Everton fan.

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe may have seen his team lose 2-1 at Everton on Saturday but he has told Graham Hunter’s Big Interview podcast that the occasion held a deep personal meaning for him after he became a Toffees fan as a boy.

Howe’s side, who have already all but assured survival in their first ever top-flight campaign, were defeated by a second-half Leighton Baines winner on Merseyside, but for Howe the pain of the loss was offset by the pleasure of managing at Goodison Park for the first time.

The 38-year-old revealed to Hunter’s Big Interview podcast that he started off as a Watford fan because of his proximity to Vicarage Road, but that his allegiance switched as he settled down to watch the 1984 FA Cup final as a six-year-old.

Howe said: “I was a passionate Everton fan as a kid. I lived near Watford – born in Amersham, raised in Chesham – so I used to watch Watford. Watford were playing in the 1984 Cup final, so I turned it on being a Watford fan, and then watched the game and there was just something that said I have to support the blue team.

“It was the kit, the name… and that was it. I was hooked. That inspired my following of them and I followed them ever since. I remember my first football being one of those plastic ones which had all the names of the Division One teams in it. You would spot them all and I was an Everton fan growing up, so I would always look for them when I picked up the ball.

“I didn’t get to Goodison until I was at a late, very late, age. We basically couldn’t [afford it], so that didn’t happen. That was my dream to go to Goodison as a kid, never got there until later in life.”

Howe’s name has been one mentioned as a possible candidate to take over from current Everton manager Roberto Martinez if the Spaniard is sacked at the end of another disappointing season.

The 38-year certainly has great pedigree – since beginning his first spell as Bournemouth manager in 2008 the club’s former playing hero has led the Cherries from starting a season on -17 points in League Two to surviving in their first ever Premier League season.