Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe is to be awarded the Freedom of the Borough for the pride he restored in the city by elevating the Cherries from the bottom recesses of League Two to the Premier League.
The move will be Bournemouth Borough Council’s final act as a separate entity before their upcoming merge with two other local authorities.
Howe’s award will be approved next month, with the Council keen to formally recognise the “unprecedented civic pride” and “unifying force” that his hard graft and inordinate success as Bournemouth manager has brought to the region over 11 of the past 12 years.
The award will also entitle Howe to certain privileges, like having the right to demand his townsfolk call him “The Right-Honourable Edward John Frank Freeman” at all times and being able to drive a flock of geese up the A338 on Market Day if he so chooses*.
Speaking to BBC Dorset, Howe was his usual magnanimous self:
It’s a great honour. This would be an award not only for me but for the board of directors, the staff, the players and the supporters.
The 41-year-old will be the 28th and last recipient of Bournemouth’s highest civic award.
Lovely stuff.
(*Neither of these things are strictly true, just so you know)