Steve Howard
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Steven John Howard (born 10 May 1976) is a former professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who played as a striker. Howard was usually cited as a typical target man and renowned for his aerial strength.


Club career


Early career

Howard began his career at non-league
Tow Law Town Tow Law Town Association Football Club is an English non-league Association football, football club from Tow Law, County Durham, currently playing in the Northern League (football), Northern League Division One, in the ninth level of the English ...
, whilst working as a roofer as his day-job. He worked 12-hour shifts and also dug up roads before moving to
Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...
in 1995. He moved on to
Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...
as their record signing for £120,000 in February 1999.


Luton Town

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...
signed him for £50,000 on 22 March 2001 with another £25,000 due if Luton avoided relegation, which they failed to do. Howard was almost sacked from Luton in late 2001 after an incident during an away game against
York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024–25 seas ...
. The Hatters had been awarded a penalty, and Howard grabbed the ball from the designated penalty taker and promptly missed. However, an infringement was noticed and the penalty was ordered to be re-taken. Against the protests of the senior players and the management team, Howard once again grabbed the ball and stepped up to take the penalty, missing once again. He was substituted immediately afterwards and he walked straight into the changing rooms. After reclaiming his place in the team, Howard went on to score 24 goals as Luton finished runners-up in the Division 3 and Howard won the Golden Boot for that Division. The 2002–03 season saw Howard partnered by
Tony Thorpe Anthony Thorpe (born 10 April 1974) is an English former professional footballer and former manager of Melton Town As a player he was a striker. He notably played for Luton Town, Bristol City and Queens Park Rangers. He also played in the Fo ...
. Many pundits expected Thorpe to be the striker to hit 20+ goals that season, but it was Howard who again finished as the Hatters' top scorer, this time with 23. Howard was part of the squad of players that dug deep and stuck together as the awful mess of the 2003 take-over saga unravelled. During that season, Howard suffered from a hernia and missed a large chunk of the season, but again he finished as the Hatters' top scorer, this time with 16 goals. In the summer of 2004 a transfer to
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
for £500,000 appeared to be imminent after Wednesday announced that Luton had accepted a bid for him. Luton then came out and denied accepting a bid. After much confusion, Howard stayed at Luton and earned himself a League One winner's medal. With 18 goals, Howard played a crucial part in Luton's promotion season, earning himself a place in the League One PFA Team of the Year alongside five of his Luton teammates. Howard signed a new deal in June 2005, despite interest from a host of clubs in Luton's new league. In his first season at
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...
level, he managed to hit 15 goals in 45 appearances. This is more impressive because Howard played a large chunk of the season at centre-half following an injury crises. Howard scored more than 100 goals for Luton and is the third all time scorer. He wore the number 19 shirt at Luton, and Howard is regarded by Luton fans as a club legend, with over 100 goals in all competitions (96 in the league), five years of service, two promotions and a never-say-die attitude. Howard's form attracted "derisory offers" from
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...
,
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...
and
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...
. On 22 July 2006, he signed a three-year contract with
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
for £1 million. Then-manager of Luton Mike Newell said the club had no choice but to let Howard leave the club.


Derby County

Howard made his Derby County debut in a 2–2 draw with
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
on the opening day of the 2006–07 season. His £1 million fee made him Derby's biggest signing for over 5 years and he initially struggled to repay it as he failed to score in his first seven appearances for the club. He finally broke his duck with the winner in a 1–0 victory against
Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...
at Molineux and went on to score in four consecutive games, the first player to do so for the club since
Fabrizio Ravanelli Fabrizio Ravanelli (; born 11 December 1968) is an Italian football manager and former international player. A former striker, Ravanelli started and ended his playing career at hometown club Perugia, and also played for Middlesbrough, Juventu ...
in 2001. Howard quickly became a fans' favourite as his work rate and goals helped Derby to finish third in the 2006–07 Championship and eventually earn promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 5 years following a 1–0 win over
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
in the play-off final. He finished the season as Derby's top scorer with 19 goals, of which 16 came in the league and 3 in Cup competitions, two of which were vital goals in the Championship play-off semi-final first leg against Southampton at the
St. Mary's Stadium St Mary's Stadium is a seated but also safe-standing football stadium in Southampton, Hampshire, England, which has been the home stadium of club Southampton since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 32,384 and is currently the largest footbal ...
, giving Derby a 2–1 lead prior to the second leg at Pride Park. Howard was also nominated for the January 2007 Championship player of the month award and was awarded the Jack Stamps Trophy as Derby's Player of the Season for 2006–07. Howard, and Derby as a team, found life in the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
difficult and he managed only one goal in a 4–1 defeat to
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
on 8 December 2007. He also missed a vital penalty in a 2–1 home defeat to
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
on 30 December 2007. It proved to be his last contribution for Derby County, and the club confirmed there was interest shown in Howard from other clubs in December.


Leicester City

Howard joined
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
on 1 January 2008 for a fee of £1.5 million, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract. Initially signing on loan, Derby teammate
Matt Oakley Matthew Oakley (born 17 August 1977) is an English football coach and former professional Association football, footballer. As a player, he was a midfielder, notably in the Premier League with Southampton F.C., Southampton playing there for ove ...
joined him at the club on 11 January. He made his debut in a 3–1 defeat to QPR on 1 January 2008. He scored his first goal in an
M69 derby The M69 Derby, formerly the A46 Derby, is a football match played between Coventry City and Leicester City. It takes its name from the motorway that connects the two cities, which are only 24 miles (38 km) apart. Although neither side ...
on 12 January, in which Leicester won 2–0. Howard bagged a hat-trick in a 4–1 win over West Brom on 15 March, a result he said was coming and was confident the club could stay up. Despite regaining his form by scoring six goals however, Howard could not prevent Leicester from being relegated at the end of the season. Desperate to win promotion back to the Championship, Howard was able to maintain his form the following season. Partnering teammate Matty Fryatt in attack, he scored 13 league goals and contributed numerous assists to help Leicester maintain their lead at the top of League One. He went on to help the club secure their promotion as champions, earning his second League One medal on 24 April. Howard was also voted Leicester City supporters club player of the season for the 2008–09 season. His overall performance earned him the club's player of the season award on 28 April 2009. In April 2009, Howard believed Leicester could win promotion to the
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
in the 2009–10 season. He failed to score his first goal until 12 December 2009, in a 3–0 win over
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
. Howard scored a total of 5 league goals in 35 matches as Leicester qualified for the
Championship play-offs The English Football League (EFL) Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-of ...
. Despite eventually going on to lose to
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...
4–3 on penalties in the play-off semi-final, Howard's performance in the second leg earned him great plaudits, being described in both
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
and
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...
as "unplayable". Howard extended his contract with the club until June 2012 on 21 October 2010. He scored 4 league goals and played 35 games in the 2010–11 season, of which 19 were as a substitute. He was linked with a permanent move to Sheffield Wednesday in April 2011, but Leicester denied that they were selling him. In the 2011–12 season, Howard's position in the first team was limited as a result of Leicester buying new strikers. He made his 55th appearance off the bench in a 2–0 win over Coventry City on 3 March 2012. This made him the most-used substitute in the club's history, beating the previous record of 54 held by
Trevor Benjamin Trevor Junior Benjamin (born 8 February 1979) is a former professional footballer and manager who played as a forward. He is famed for being a prime example of a journeyman footballer, having represented 29 teams in his career, and making over ...
.


Hartlepool United return

On 11 July 2012, Howard re-joined Hartlepool United as a
free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...
following his release from Leicester City His first goal back at the club came in a 2–1 defeat at home to
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...
on 2 October 2012. However, his first season back was not successful and Steve was booed off in his last game before being loaned out to
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...
while Hartlepool were relegated to League Two. Howard's first game back from his loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday was in a pre-season friendly for Pools against
Middlesbrough F.C. Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Nicknamed the Boro, they were fo ...
in which his substitution was greeted to boos due to comments he had made about the club in the press and on Twitter. Boss
Colin Cooper Colin Terence Cooper (born 28 February 1967) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a defender who notably played in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough. He played over 50 ...
stated that "He wants to repay the fans and although he knows that won't be easy, it's something he's determined to do" as he was handed the number nine shirt for the 2013–14 season. Howard's contract was terminated by mutual agreement on 25 November after only managing 3 goals in a season and a half. His last game for Hartlepool saw him sent off after only being on the field for five minutes in a 3–1 home defeat to
Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...
.


Sheffield Wednesday

Howard was signed on loan on 28 March 2013 and was one of 3 emergency loan signings made by manager Dave Jones. Howard was brought in alongside
Stuart Holden Stuart Alistair Holden (born August 1, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder, and is currently a lead TV game analyst for Fox Sports. Holden is part of the ownership group for Spanish La Liga footba ...
and
Seyi Olofinjana Oluwaseyi George Olofinjana (born 30 June 1980) is a Nigerian former footballer who played as a midfielder. Olofinjana began his career with local sides Crown and Kwara United before moving to Europe with Norwegian side SK Brann. After two seas ...
. Some owls fans were speculative about the loan signing of the 36-year-old, who was brought in from – at the time – bottom of the League One Table,
Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...
who were on the verge of relegation. Howard made his first appearance for the Owls against
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...
at Ashton Gate on 1 April 2013 in a 1–1 draw. During the game Howard flicked on a header to set Jermaine Johnson up for his fourth of the season. Howard only played 63 minutes before being substituted by striker, Gary Madine. Howard made his second appearance for the owls as substitute, in the 69th minute and replaced striker
Leroy Lita Leroy Halirou Bohari Lita (born 28 December 1984) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for club Barwell. Lita was a product of the Chelsea youth system but never made a first-team appearance for the club; in 2002, he moved to Brist ...
. Howard started his third game for the Owls, partnered alongside Lita and was denied a first Wednesday goal from a close range shot saved by Millwall keeper David Forde, in a vital 1–2 victory over
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...
. Howard's first goal for the Owls came in the last game of the season from a Miguel Llera pass, Howard struck a top left finish in the 2–0 victory over
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
, to clinch safety from the hands of relegation.


International career

Along with James Morrison and Gabriel Agbonlahor, Howard was one of a number of English-born players identified in June 2007 as being eligible to play for
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. In November 2007, he was named in the Scotland B squad for a match against Republic of Ireland B, scoring on his debut in a 1–1 draw.


Personal life

Howard is a fan of
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...
and fulfilled a lifelong ambition of playing at
St James' Park St James' Park is a Association football, football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United. With a seating capacity of 52,305, it is the List of football stadiums in England, 8th la ...
when he played in the Derby side which drew 2–2 on 23 December 2007.


Career statistics


Honours

;Individual *
PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...
: 2004–05 League One *
Football League One Player of the Month The EFL League One Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the player adjudged the best for each month of the season in EFL League One, the English football league system, third tier of English football. Originally nam ...
: August 2004 ;Luton Town *
Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...
: 2004–05 ;Derby County *
Football League Championship play-offs The English Football League (EFL) Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-of ...
: 2006–07 ;Leicester City *
Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...
: 2008–09


References


External links

*
Profile and stats
at FoxesTalk {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Steve 1976 births Living people Footballers from Durham, England Anglo-Scots English men's footballers Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's B international footballers Men's association football forwards Tow Law Town F.C. players Hartlepool United F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Luton Town F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players People educated at Park View School