Steven John Howard (born 10 May 1976) is a former professional footballer 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, 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