Steve Howard

For other people of the same name, see Steven Howard (disambiguation).

Steven Howard

Personal information
Full name	Steven John Howard
Date of birth	10 May 1976 (1976-05-10)
Place of birth	Durham, England
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Leicester City
Number	9
Youth career
1994–1995	Tow Law Town
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1995–1999	Hartlepool United	142	(27)
1999–2001	Northampton Town	86	(18)
2001–2006	Luton Town	212	(96)
2006–2008	Derby County	63	(17)
2008	→ Leicester City (loan)	1	(0)
2008–	Leicester City	135	(28)
National team‡
2007	Scotland B	1	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:55, 2 January 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:12, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Steven John "Steve" Howard (born 10 May 1976) is a Scottish-English footballer currently playing for Championship side Leicester City.

Howard is renowned for his aerial strength. He is a fan of Newcastle United and fulfilled a lifelong ambition of playing at St James' Park when he played in the Derby side which drew 2–2 on 23 December 2007.

Club career

Early career

Howard began his career at non-league Tow Law Town, whilst working as a roofer as his day-job. He worked 12 hour shifts and also dug up roads before moving to Hartlepool United in 1995. He moved on to Northampton Town as their record signing for £120,000 in February 1999.

Luton Town

Luton Town 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. 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. 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 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 team-mates.

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 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, Cardiff City and Norwich City. On 22 July 2006, he signed a three-year contract with Derby County for £1 million. Then-manager of Luton Mike Newell said the club had no choice but to let Howard leave the club.

Derby County

Steve Howard during his time at Derby County in 2006

Howard made his Derby County debut in a 2–2 draw with Southampton 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 at Molineux and went on to score in four consecutive games, the first player to do so for the club since Fabrizio Ravanelli in 2001.

Howard quickly became a fan's favourite as his work rate and goals helped the Rams to finish third in the Championship for the 2006/07 and eventually earn promotion to the Premiership for the first time in 5 years following a 1–0 win over West Brom in the 2007 Championship Playoff Final. He finished the season as Derby County'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 Coca Cola Championship Play-off Semi-Final first leg against Southampton at the St. Mary's Stadium, 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 difficult and he managed only one goal in a 4–1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford on 8 December 2007. He also missed a vital penalty in a 2–1 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers 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

Steve Howard playing for Leicester City, 13 September 2008

Howard in his fifth season with Leicester, 21 September 2011

Howard joined Leicester City 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 Matthew Oakley 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 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 in the 2009–10 season. He failed to score his first goal until 12 December 2009, in a 3–0 win over Sheffield Wednesday. Howard scored a total of 5 league goals in 35 matches as Leicester qualified for the Championship play-offs. Despite eventually going on to lose to Cardiff City 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 and The Scotsman as "unplayable".

Howard extended his contract with the club until June 2012 on 21 October 2010.

International career

Along with James Morrison and Gabriel Agbonlahor, Howard was one of a number of English players identified in June 2007 as being eligible to play for Scotland. In November 2007, Howard was named in the Scotland B squad for a match against Republic of Ireland B, scoring on his debut.

Career statistics

Correct as of 2 January 2012

Season	Club	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1995–96	Hartlepool United	Division Three	39	7	1	0	3	0	?	?	43	7
1996–97			32	8	1	0	1	0	?	?	34	7
1997–98			43	7	1	0	2	0	?	?	46	7
1998–99			28	5	2	2	2	0	?	?	32	7
Club Total			142	27	5	2	8	0	6	3	161	32
1998–99	Northampton Town	Division Two	12	0	Cup Tied						12	0
1999–2000		Division Three	41	10	1	0	2	0	?	?	43	10
2000–01		Division Two	33	8	2	0	2	0	?	?	37	8
Club Total			86	18	3	0	4	0	2	0	95	18
2000–01	Luton Town	Division Two	12	3	Cup Tied						12	3
2001–02		Division Three	42	24	0	0	1	0	?	?	43	24
2002–03		Division Two	41	22	1	0	2	1	?	?	44	23
2003–04			34	15	3	0	2	1	?	?	39	16
2004–05		League One	40	18	3	4	1	0	?	?	44	22
2005–06		Championship	43	14	1	1	1	0	–		45	15
Club Total			212	96	8	5	7	2	1	0	228	103
2006–07	Derby County	Championship	43	16	3	0	2	1	3	2	54	19
2007–08		Premier League	20	1	–		1	0	–		21	1
Club Total			63	17	3	0	3	1	3	2	75	20
2007–08	Leicester City	Championship	1	0	–						1	0
2007–08	Leicester City	Championship	19	6	1	0	–				20	6
2008–09		League One	41	13	4	0	2	1	3	1	48	15
2009–10		Championship	35	5	1	0	1	0	1	0	38	5
2010–11			29	4	2	0	4	1	0	0	35	5
2011–12			11	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	12	1
Club Total			136	28	8	0	8	3	4	1	156	32
Career Total			639	186	27	7	30	6	16	6	712	205

• NOTE: teams in Italics indicate loan period

Honours

Luton Town

• League One: 2004–05

Derby County

• Championship play-offs: 2006–07

Leicester City

• League One: 2008–09

External links

• Steve Howard career stats at Soccerbase

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Liam George	Luton Town Top Goalscorer 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06	Succeeded by Rowan Vine
Preceded by Colin Calderwood	BBC East Midlands Football Achievement of the Year 2007	Succeeded by Joe Mattock
Preceded by Iñigo Idiakez	Derby County Top Goalscorer 2006–07	Succeeded by Kenny Miller