Ian Howat
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ian Howat (born 29 July 1958) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played in
The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...
for
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
and
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...
. He later appeared for several non-league clubs.


Playing career

A product of
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
's youth policy, Howat made his Chester debut as a substitute in a
Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 Football League, 1920–21 and again from 1958–59 Football League, 1958 until 1991–92 Football League, 1992. When the FA Premier League ...
fixture against
Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...
on 16 October 1976. Later in the season he scored twice during the club's run to the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
fifth round and netted the winner against
Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...
in the
Debenhams Cup The Debenhams Cup was one of several short-lived football competitions introduced in the 1970s and 1980s, along with the Watney Cup, Texaco Cup, Anglo-Scottish Cup, the Super Cup and Full Members' Cup. It lasted for just two seasons ( 1976–77 an ...
final at the end of the season. In his time at the club, Howat had spells playing in attack alongside fellow forwards including Paul Crossley, Ian Edwards, Ian Mellor, Peter Henderson,
Ian Rush Ian James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best Welsh playe ...
and
Trevor Phillips Sir Mark Trevor Phillips (born 31 December 1953) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician who served as Chair of the London Assembly from 2000 to 2001 and from 2002 to 2003. He presented ''Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Trevor Phillips ...
without establishing himself as a first-team regular. He memorably found the target when Chester won 2–1 at
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
in April 1978, ending his hometown club's unbeaten home league record. In February 1982 Howat moved to
Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...
, but left the club at the end of the season. This marked the end of his
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
career and Howat joined
Bangor City Bangor City Football Club () was a Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. Founded in 1876, Bangor City have been founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the W ...
in the
Alliance Premier League The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South. The National League ...
. His spell with Bangor included an appearance at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
in May 1984 in the
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
final against
Northwich Victoria Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver, Weaver and River Dane, Dane, east of Chester, south of Warr ...
. A cartlidge operation the following season ruled Howat out of action for a couple of years, but he subsequently returned to play for Welsh non-league sides Oswestry Town,
Bangor City Bangor City Football Club () was a Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. Founded in 1876, Bangor City have been founder members of the North Wales Coast League, the Welsh National League, the North Wales Combination, the W ...
(second spell),
Caernarfon Town Caernarfon Town Football Club () is a professional Welsh football club based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd. They play in the . They are nicknamed "the Canaries" because of the club's yellow and green strip, a nickname that dates from 1895. Caernarfon ...
, Newtown,
Holywell Town Holywell Town Football Club () is a Welsh football club from Holywell, Flintshire. They are nicknamed 'The Wellmen', and play their home games at the Bartons North Wales Stadium (commonly known as 'Halkyn Road'), Holywell. They currently pla ...
and Llansantffraid. His achievements in later years included scoring 17 times in the first season of the
League of Wales League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...
for
Holywell Holywell may refer to: England * Holywell, Bedfordshire * Holywell, Cambridgeshire * Holywell, Cornwall * Holywell, Dorset * Holywell, Eastbourne, East Sussex * Holywell, Gloucestershire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Ho-Hoo#Hol, location in ...
.


Honours

Chester *
Debenhams Cup The Debenhams Cup was one of several short-lived football competitions introduced in the 1970s and 1980s, along with the Watney Cup, Texaco Cup, Anglo-Scottish Cup, the Super Cup and Full Members' Cup. It lasted for just two seasons ( 1976–77 an ...
winners: 1976–1977 Bangor City *
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
runners-up: 1983–1984.


External links


Welsh Premier career stats
(surname spelt incorrectly)
Article on Ipswich v. Chester FA Cup tie 1980 (featuring Howat)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howat, Ian 1958 births Living people Welsh men's footballers Footballers from Wrexham Men's association football forwards English Football League players National League (English football) players Cymru Premier players Chester City F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Bangor City F.C. players Oswestry Town F.C. players Caernarfon Town F.C. players Newtown A.F.C. players Holywell Town F.C. players The New Saints F.C. players