Howard: Class or Ass?

Steve Howard – would it not be more appropriate to simply call him Marmite? It seems that at this present time as a Leicester City supporter, you either love him or you hate him.

It`s come to the time when I think something needs to be said about the man. Ask a general Walkers Stadium home crowd, and you`ll probably get a similar sort of reaction; one that doesn`t shine too favourably for the big Geordie.

So what exactly is wrong with him? He`s proven in the lower leagues, most notably with Luton Town, where he scored an impressive 96 goals in 209 games for the club. His form eventually earned him a move to Derby, where he scored just shy of 20 in their promotion season to the Premier League. Therefore, you`d have thought that goals would have been steadily on hand for us Foxes though, right? Not quite unfortunately.

I think it`s fair to say that big Steve`s not had the happiest of times at Leicester City so far. Take this season for example, 2 goals in 16 league appearances would suggest a striker who isn`t in form. So if his goal scoring record`s not all that hot, what exactly does Mr. Pearson see in him? I think the answer lies in his strike partner Matty Fryatt, who certainly hasn`t had trouble finding the net this season. Question is, would Fryatt have scored 15 goals this season if it wasn`t for the big man up alongside him?

Truth is, there`s a lot Howard does that goes unnoticed. Generally speaking, he`s done his job for the team this season. To the un-trained eye, it may seem as though Howard is slow, lazy and a liability up front. If only people would see past the lack of goals and the fact he can`t make every pass. If only people could see that he isn`t superhuman, and can`t reach headers that are three feet above his head. If only people could see that his team mates aren`t always intelligent enough to get to his headers. If only eh?

Howard is sometimes used in the wrong way by the team, especially when things aren`t going our way. For the times when we feel the need to switch to the long ball game, Howard is used as the outlet.

Unfortunately, he can`t win every header, control every pass and distribute it successfully all the time when he`s used in this way, and subsequently he`s used as a scapegoat. It`s quite ridiculous when you hear the abuse coming from our own fans, and it comes all too often for my liking.

Steve Howard isn`t, and won`t ever be a goal scorer for Leicester City, and the sooner people realise this, the sooner people will begin to appreciate him for what he does add to the team.



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