Rob Howard (footballer)

Rob Howard

Personal information
Full name	Robert William Howard [1]
Date of birth	(1999-09-15) 15 September 1999 (age 24)
Place of birth	Chelmsford, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Bishop's Stortford
Youth career
2011–2014	Southend United
2014–2016	Arsenal
2016–2018	Colchester United
2018–2019	Southend United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2022	Southend United	5	(0)
2019	→ Harlow Town (loan)	5	(0)
2019	→ Dartford (loan)	7	(0)
2020	→ Braintree Town (loan)	4	(0)
2021	→ King's Lynn Town (loan)	16	(0)
2022	→ Farnborough (loan)	2	(0)
2022–2023	Welling United	23	(0)
2023–	Bishop's Stortford	0	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:59, 31 May 2023 (UTC)

Robert William Howard (born 15 September 1999) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Southern League Premier Division Central club Bishop's Stortford.

After playing youth football for Southend United, Arsenal and Colchester United, Howard started his career at Harlow Town, on loan from Southend United, making his debut in 2019. Loan spells at Dartford and Braintree Town followed, before making his senior debut for Southend United in League Two in December 2020. He joined King's Lynn Town on loan in March 2021 and spent the remainder of the season at the club.

Early life

Born in Chelmsford, ^[2] Howard grew up in Billericay. ^{[3] [4]}

Career

Early career

Howard started his youth career at Southend United at the age of 11, before joining Arsenal as a 14-year-old. ^[4] He joined Colchester United in 2016, signing a two-year scholarship in May of that year, ^[5] but was released in 2018 at the end his scholarship deal. ^[6]

Return to Southend United

Howard returned to Southend United on a one-year deal in July 2018. ^[7] Howard joined Harlow Town on loan for the remainder of the season in March 2019, for whom he made 5 appearances. ^[8] The club activated an extension clause in his contract at the end of the 2018–19 season. ^{[9] [10]} He joined Dartford on a month-long loan in August 2019, ^{[11] [12]} and made 7 league appearances. ^[2] He joined Braintree Town on loan in January 2020, for whom he made 4 league appearances. ^[2] He was offered a new one-year contract with the option of a further year in summer 2020. ^[13] He made his senior debut for the club on 19 December 2020 in a league win over Mansfield Town. ^{[14] [15]} On 22 March 2021, Howard joined National League side King's Lynn Town on loan until the end of the season. ^{[16] [17]} Having made his debut for the club the following day, starting in a 3–0 league defeat away to Altrincham, ^[18] Howard made 16 appearances for King's Lynn Town across his loan spell. ^[2] On 11 February 2022, Howard joined Southern League Premier Division South side Farnborough on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season. ^[19]

Welling United

On 3 June 2022, Howard signed for Welling United. ^[20]

On 9 May 2023, Howard left Welling United. ^[21]

Bishop's Stortford

In July 2023, Howard signed for National League North club Bishop's Stortford following a spell with the club on trial. ^[22]

Career statistics

As of 15 April 2023

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Southend United	2018–19 [23]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2019–20 [24]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2020–21 [25]	League Two	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2021–22 [26]	National League	3	0	1	0	—		0	0	4	0
	Total		5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Harlow Town (loan)	2018–19 [8]	Isthmian League Premier Division	5	0	0	0	—		0	0	5	0
Dartford (loan)	2019–20 [2]	National League South	7	0	0	0	—		0	0	7	0
Braintree Town (loan)	2019–20 [2]	National League South	4	0	0	0	—		0	0	4	0
King's Lynn Town (loan)	2020–21 [2]	National League	16	0	0	0	—		0	0	16	0
Farnborough (loan)	2021–22 [2]	Southern League Premier Division South	2	0	0	0	—		0	0	2	0
Welling United	2022–23 [2]	National League South	23	0	0	0	—		1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	24	0
Career total			62	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	64	0

1. One appearance in the London Senior Cup

References

1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Southend United" (PDF). English Football League. p. 65. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
2. Rob Howard at Soccerway. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
3. Phillips, Chris (9 July 2019). "Southend United defender Rob Howard excited to face home-town club Billericay". Echo. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
4. Phillips, Chris (25 July 2018). "Rob Howard happy to go full circle at Southend United". Echo. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
5. Hudson, Matt (10 May 2016). "New Scholars Confirmed". www.cu-fc.com. Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
6. Gregory, David (24 May 2018). "Young Trio Offered Contracts". www.cu-fc.com. Colchester United F.C. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
7. Phillips, Chris (5 July 2018). "Rob Howard signs professional deal with Southend United". Echo. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
8. "Rob Howard". www.harlowtownfootballclub.co.uk. Harlow Town F.C. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
9. "Southend United Announce Retained List". www.southendunited.co.uk. Southend United F.C. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
10. "Clubs announce retained lists: Who is staying and who is going?". ITV News. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
11. Phillips, Chris (28 August 2019). "Southend United's youngsters benefit from loan spells". Echo. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
12. "NEW SIGNING: Rob Howard". www.dartfordfc.com. Dartford F.C. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
13. Phillips, Chris (17 May 2020). "Southend United youngsters are handed professional contracts". Echo. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
14. Phillips, Chris (22 December 2020). "Rob Howard's pride at making Southend United debut". Echo. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
15. Phillips, Chris (20 December 2020). "Southend United boss Mark Molesley thrilled to hand Rob Howard 'deserved' first team debut". Echo. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
16. Plummer, Greg (22 March 2021). "Linnets swoop for two new defenders". Lynn News. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
17. Armstrong, Mark (22 March 2021). "King's Lynn Town complete double signing". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
18. Lakey, Chris (23 March 2021). "Jackson out of luck on another tough night for Lynn". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
19. @SUFCRootsHall (11 February 2022). "Squad Update" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
20. "Former Southend United youngster joins National League South side". www.echo-news.co.uk. The Echo. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
21. "SQUAD UPDATE : SENDLES-WHITE, HOWARD & BARNES DEPART". Welling United F.C. Official Website. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
22. "Two New Signings!". www.bsfc.co.uk. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
23. "Games played by Rob Howard in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
24. "Games played by Rob Howard in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
25. "Games played by Rob Howard in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
26. "Games played by Rob Howard in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 March 2021.

External links

• Rob Howard at Soccerbase