HULL CITY EXCLUSIVE: Dowie to be unveiled as manager today
IAIN Dowie will be the man to plot Hull City's final push for Premier League survival and will be named as new manager today.
The 45-year-old agreed terms on a short-term contract last night and is due to be officially unveiled as Phil Brown's successor later this morning.
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Iain Dowie will be unveiled as Hull City's new manager today
As revealed in yesterday's Mail, Dowie emerged as the clear front-runner for the job despite City holding tentative talks with a string of high-profile figures.
Mark Hughes, Alan Curbishley and Terry Venables all made contact with chairman Adam Pearson, but with none showing the same desire as Dowie, the former Crystal Palace and Charlton boss won the vote of City's hierarchy.
Pearson met with Dowie in the north-west yesterday to thrash out personal terms on a deal that will offer a lucrative bonus for steering the Tigers away from danger.
That task begins with Saturday's trip to rock-bottom Portsmouth and continues with an inviting run of fixtures against Fulham, Stoke and Burnley.
With three points and an inferior goal difference to make up on 17th-placed Wolves in the remaining nine games, the task facing Dowie remains difficult, but achievable.
A gloomy financial forecast at the KC Stadium makes the new manager's task all the more important, but desperate to return to management 18 months after leaving QPR, Dowie is known to be hungry for the challenge.
Dowie's arrival this morning comes just over three years since he toyed with the chance to take over the Tigers when Phil Parkinson was axed in December 2006.
Once he became manager of Coventry soon after, he admitted holding talks with Pearson but would not discuss if he was ever offered the chance to manage City out of respect to Brown, a close-friend from his north-west family roots.
The chance to take over at the KC Stadium has come back around, though, and out of work since leaving a coaching role under Alan Shearer at Newcastle last summer, Dowie was desperate for another crack at management.
He has spent much of this season working as pundit with Sky Sports – covering Preston's home game with Sheffield Wednesday last night – but has always maintained ambitions of a return to the game.
Dowie will have discussed the make-up of his backroom staff and at this stage it remains unclear if Brian Horton and Steve Parkin will keep their positions until the end of the season.
Spells in charge of Oldham, Crystal Palace, Charlton, Coventry and QPR saw him flanked by fitness coach and close ally John Harbin.
His last two posts have seen him aided by former England goalkeeper Tim Flowers while brother Bob Dowie has also played key roles in his managerial past.
A late twist in City's search for a new manager saw firm links emerge with Portsmouth manager Avram Grant.
But that appears to have been little more than a distraction ahead of the sides meeting at Fratton Park this weekend and Pompey were quick to describe the links as "nonsense."
Sporthull will be updating with news on Dowie's appointment throughout the day.
FOR a full profile of Iain Dowie and the qualities he will bring
to Hull City in their fight for Premier League survival, see today's
Mail.
181 Comments
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by scarborough tiger, seaside
Wednesday, March 17 2010, 9:20PM
“ps, you cry to the HDM to remove posts that prove what you are tonym, a deluded fool with no job, no mates and no idea of anything to do with hull city”
by TonyM, Hull
Wednesday, March 17 2010, 7:31PM
“Alec, I get posts removed, when I see them, if I think they are defamatory. I have even asked for posts criticising you to be removed if I think they go too far, because I think it is the wrong forum for personal abuse. Yes, I have strong views, but I have never been abusive, and if I have ever got close it is usually been in response to somebody¿s insults. If it is Bartlett and not Pearson who got rid of Brown, as you say, then Adam Pearson is not doing a very good job of representing himself judging by the responses on these pages. By the way, did anyone happen to see any comments from the WI regarding the alleged incident? I don¿t appear to have seen any?”
by Ric, Glasgow
Wednesday, March 17 2010, 7:27PM
“Not ecstatic over this appointment,but who knows!!!!.I think Brown would have took us down,but we'll never know will we.Best of luck to Iain Dowie.........................We MUST support him for the next 9 games.”
by Rich, Hull
Wednesday, March 17 2010, 6:52PM
“I hope non of you lot turn up to the remaining games with your negative attitudes. You seem to have a short memory when it comes to what Dowie has achieved with Palace. With Charlton he didn't even get half a season despite having an injury-ravaged squad. Coventry granted didn't go too well but QPR had won half their games & he still got sacked. I would say he's more tactically astute than Brown and weak tactics have been an issue for us. If he can give the squad some confidence and get us playing a bit tighter then we have a good chance of staying up, lets start it with 3 points on saturday”
by Alec, Hull
Wednesday, March 17 2010, 5:47PM
“TonyM, Hull commented on 17-Mar-2010 16:29,
"I have never posted when I was supposed to be at a match" YOU posted on here during match time and then when I pointed it out, you said "Not me must have been someone else using my name"
"Neither do I make fictitious claims about people insulting their partners" You posted insults on here insulting my wife, you said "Not me must have been someone else using my name"
Various post have been made in your name, you said "Not me must have been someone else using my name"
There is a recurring theme here TonyM and it appears that it is that you are nothing but a liar.
If indeed you are innocent in all these events how come you have not protested to the HDM to have these damning posts removed?
How come it is always other posters that are the liars, when are you going to accept the fact that people can see what you are.
Why should I stand up for Pearson, he can do that himself I would think, all I am standing up to is you and your hatred of the man that took your idol's job, let me tell you something my friend it was Bartlett the club owner that got rid of both your idols not Pearson.”