David Howland

David Howland

Personal information
Full name	David Howland
Date of birth	17 September 1986
Place of birth	Ballynahinch, Northern Ireland
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Glentoran
Number	8
Youth career
2002–2005	Birmingham City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2005–2008	Birmingham City	0	(0)
2008	→ Port Vale (loan)	17	(1)
2008–2010	Port Vale	45	(2)
2010–	Glentoran	94	(12)
National team
2006–2008	Northern Ireland U21	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 May 2015. † Appearances (goals)

David Howland (born 17 September 1986) is a Northern Irish professional football midfielder who plays for Glentoran in the NIFL Premiership. He has represented his country at under-21 level.

Starting his career at Birmingham City, a January 2008 loan move to Port Vale was made permanent at the end of the season. He was released by the club in the summer of 2010, at which point he signed with Glentoran. He helped the club to win the Irish Cup in 2013.

Club career

Birmingham City

Howland was born in Ballynahinch, County Down, and joined Birmingham City's Academy in 2002. He signed his first one-year professional contract in 2005, which was renewed for a further year.^[1] He was allocated a first-team squad number for the first time during the 2006–07 season, and signed a further year's contract before the 2007–08 season.^[2] A central midfielder, he played regularly for Birmingham's reserve team but did not make an appearance for the first team.

He was an unused substitute in the League Cup fourth round tie against Blackburn Rovers in September 2007 in unusual circumstances. Birmingham had selected the 15-year-old Jordon Mutch, having obtained confirmation from the Premier League that it was within the rules for a boy of that age to play, but were informed less than two hours before kick-off that due to the Football Association's child protection rules Mutch would not be eligible. Special dispensation was granted for Howland, who had not been assigned a squad number for the 2007–08 season, to take his place on the bench wearing a numberless shirt.^[3][4]

Port Vale

In January 2008 he joined Port Vale of League One on loan for the remainder of the season,^[5] and made his debut in the Football League on 26 January 2008 against A.F.C. Bournemouth.^[6] At the end of the season he was released by Birmingham,^[7] but his performance while on loan at Port Vale was sufficient to earn him a two-year permanent deal.^[8]

He was one of few Vale players to hit 40 games in the 2008–09 season. He enjoyed his time under Dean Glover,^[9] especially in games with Glover's five-man midfield tactic.^[10] However he was transfer listed by new manager Micky Adams in August 2009, along with five others, having failed to impress in the pre-season.^[11] After a month on the transfer list, he was the only one of the six to have received no inquiries from any clubs,^[12] which came as a surprise to many Vale fans. He returned to the Vale first team in mid-September, after impressing in training, though he remained transfer listed.^[13] In April 2010 he learned that he would not be offered a new contract by manager Micky Adams.^[14]

Glentoran

In September 2010, Howland left England for Belfast, signing a season long contract with IFA Premiership club Glentoran.^[15] He made his debut in the televised Sky Sports match at home to Linfield. He was utilised in the playmaker role in the heart of the midfield. The "Glens" finished in third place in 2010–11, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. In January 2011, he signed a contract to keep him at the club until 2014.^[16] Glentoran then finished sixth in 2011–12.^[17] They finished fourth in 2012–13, and qualified for the Europa League. Glentoran also won the Irish Cup, and Howland played in the 3–1 final victory over Cliftonville.^[18] Howland also featured in the club's Europa League qualification defeat to Icelandic club KR.^[19] The "Glens" finished the 2013–14 season in fifth place, though Howland missed much of the campaign after injuring cartilage in his knee.^[20] He featured ten times in the 2014–15 campaign.

International career

Howland has represented Northern Ireland at junior levels and was first selected for the under-21 squad in February 2006.^[21] He has won four caps at under-21 level.^[22][23]

Statistics

Club level

As of 4 May 2015.

Season	Club	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other[24]		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2005–06	Birmingham City	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2006–07		Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2007–08[25]		Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2007–08[25]	Port Vale (loan)	League One	17	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	1
2008–09[26]	Port Vale	League Two	40	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	41	3
2009–10[27]			5	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	7	0
Total			62	3	2	1	0	0	1	0	65	4
2010–11[28]	Glentoran	NIFL Premiership	20	2	0	0	3	0	0	0	23	2
2011–12[28]			26	4	0	0	2	0	0	0	28	4
2012–13[28]			29	5	4	1	2	0	0	0	35	6
2013–14[28]			9	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	1
2014–15[28]			10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
Total			94	12	4	1	7	0	0	0	105	13
Career total			156	15	6	2	7	0	1	0	170	17

International level

Under-21 caps

Northern Ireland's goal tally first.

International appearances and goals
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition	Goal
2007
01 (00)	6 February	The Oval, Belfast	Wales	0–4	Friendly	0
02 (00)	24 March	Stadionul Nicolae Dobrin, Pitești	Romania	0–2	Friendly	0
03 (00)	16 November	Mourneview Park, Lurgan	Luxembourg	5–0	UEFA U-21 Championship Qualification	0
2008
04 (00)	26 March	The Showgrounds, Ballymena	Romania	1–3	Friendly	0

Honours

with Glentoran

• Irish Cup winner: 2012–13

References

1. "Player Profiles: David Howland". Birmingham City F.C. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
2. "Birmingham sign youngster Howland". BBC Sport. 15 May 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
3. "Statement regarding Jordon Mutch". Birmingham City F.C. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
4. Tattum, Colin (27 September 2007). "Howland comes to the rescue for Blues". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
5. "Birmingham youngster joins Vale". BBC Sport. 23 January 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
6. "Port Vale 1–3 Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 26 January 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2008.
7. "Young quartet released". Birmingham City F.C. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
8. "Howland to stay with the Valiants". BBC Sport. 23 May 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
9. "Howland flourishing under Glover". BBC Sport. 4 November 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
10. "Attacking freedom helps Howland". BBC Sport. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
11. Shaw, Steve (6 August 2009). "Port Vale: Valiants transfer list six players". The Sentinel. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
12. Shaw, Steve (2 September 2009). "Breaking News: Davidson set to extend Stafford stay". The Sentinel. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
13. "Manager: Howland Has Earned Chance". port-vale.co.uk. 20 September 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2009.
14. "Port Vale release Lawrie, Howland, Richman & Edwards". BBC Sport. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
15. "Glens sign David Howland". glentoran.com. 19 September 2010. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
16. "Glentoran duo Callacher and Howland sign new Oval deals". BBC Sport. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
17. "Glentoran 2011–2012 : Northern Irish Premier League Table". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
18. Jackson, Lyle (4 May 2013). "Waterworth double as Glentoran beat Cliftonville". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
19. "Glentoran 0-3 KR". uefa.com. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
20. "Glentoran midfielder Howland faces spell on sidelines". BBC Sport. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
21. Harris, Martin (2 February 2006). "Under-21 squad announced". Irish Football Association. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
22. "Squad Profiles – Under 21: David Howland". Irish Football Association. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
23. Harris, Martin (26 March 2008). "U21s No Match For Strong Romanians". Irish Football Association. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
24. Includes other competitive competitions, including the Football League Trophy.
25. "Games played by David Howland in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
26. "Games played by David Howland in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
27. "Games played by David Howland in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
28. "Stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 April 2014.

External links

• David Howland career statistics at Soccerbase