| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Steven Norman Howey[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1971-10-26)26 October 1971 (age 54)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Sunderland, England[2] | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3] | ||
| Position | Centre-back[2] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1989–2000 | Newcastle United | 191 | (6) |
| 2000–2003 | Manchester City | 94 | (11) |
| 2003–2004 | Leicester City | 13 | (1) |
| 2004 | Bolton Wanderers | 3 | (0) |
| 2004 | New England Revolution | 3 | (0) |
| 2005 | Hartlepool United | 1 | (0) |
| 2010 | Bishop Auckland | ||
| Total | 305 | (18) | |
| International career | |||
| 1994–1996 | England | 4 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2006 | Crook Town | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Steven Norman Howey (born 26 October 1971) is an English football coach, former professionalfootballer and sports radio presenter.
As a player, he was acentre-back who notably played in thePremier League forNewcastle United,Manchester City,Leicester City andBolton Wanderers, before winding up his career with brief stints inMajor League Soccer withNew England Revolution and inThe Football League withHartlepool United. He wascapped four times byEngland and was part of thesquad forEuro 96.[4][5]
Following the end of his playing days, Howey had a brief spell asmanager ofnon-league sideCrook Town before coming out of retirement to play forBishop Auckland whilst serving as a coach. He has since worked as a sports radio presenter for Total Sport andBBC Radio Newcastle.[6]
Howey started his career withNewcastle United signing a professional contract on 11 December 1989. At first he was playing in thestriker position for theyouth and reserve teams untilOssie Ardiles conceived the idea of moving him from the attack back into thedefence.[7] Howey was an important part ofKevin Keegan'sFirst Divisionchampionship winning side in1992–93, winningpromotion to thePremier League. Once promoted, Howey continued to be a first-choice centre back but was often missing through injury. During Howey's time at Newcastle they were Premier League runner-up twice, in1995–96 and1996–97, in addition toFA Cup runner-up in1997–98 and1998–99. Howey is still a very popular figure in Newcastle as part of a successful influx from Newcastle's youth academy which also includedSteve Watson,Robbie Elliott andLee Clark.[citation needed]
In August 2000 newly-promotedManchester City paid Newcastle £2,000,000 for him.[8] His debut came in a 4–0 defeat toCharlton Athletic setting the tone for a disappointingseason which saw Man City relegated. Howey remained at Man Citythe following season as part of the team which secured an immediate return to the Premier League as First Division champions. Onelast season at Man City saw Howey contribute to a top half finish and comfortable survival. In his three seasons with Man City Howey scored 11 goals. A highlight of his time at Manchester City was scoring a late equaliser againstrivalsManchester United atOld Trafford, in a game more remembered for the clash betweenRoy Keane andAlf-Inge Haaland.[9]
In June 2003, Howey joined newly-promoted Premier League teamLeicester City for an undisclosed fee.[8] After making 13 appearances for the Foxes, he moved toBolton Wanderers on 28 January 2004.[10] Having made only three appearances for the club from theReebok Stadium, he was released.[11]
On 26 August 2004, Howey signed withSteve Nicol'sNew England Revolution inMajor League Soccer as a "Senior International."[12] He made his debut in a 0-0 draw againstD.C. United two days later.[13] He started the next two consecutive matches for the Revolution but would make no further appearances for the club.[13] He was waived on 26 November.[12][14]
In March 2005, Howey signed withLeague One sideHartlepool United on a short-term contract,[15] where a final appearance (on 9 April 2005 againstColchester United) brought down the curtain on his sixteen-year professional career.[4]
Howey earned fourcaps forEngland, starting all four matches.[16] He made his debut in the 1–0 win againstNigeria atWembley Stadium in November 1994.[16][17] He won caps in the draws withColombia[18] andPortugal[19] in 1995 before making his final appearance in the 1–0 victory overBulgaria in March 1996.[16][20] Howey was called up to theEngland squad forEuro 96,[21] and was an unusedsubstitute in the first match againstSwitzerland,[22] but was not fit enough to be on the team sheet for the remaining four matches.[23] He was never called up to the full squad again.[16]
Howey had a short, unsuccessful spell asmanager ofCrook Town, taking the helm in September 2006 and resigning just two months later after a poor run of results. He followed this with a spell as ayouth team coach atMiddlesbrough before making a playing return withNational League sideBishop Auckland who he also served in a coaching capacity. Howey become a coach atEast Durham College Football Development Centre in 2007 and become head coach in 2010.[citation needed]
Howey has worked as a presenter for Total Sport andBBC Radio Newcastle.[6]
In 2019 and 2020, Howey featured in both seasons ofITV showHarry's Heroes, which featured former football managerHarry Redknapp attempting get a squad of former England international footballers back fit and healthy for a game against Germany legends.[24]
Howey co-presentedTotal Sport onBBC Newcastle withMarco Gabbiadini and Simon Pryde.[when?] His older brotherLee was also a footballer, principally with Newcastle'srivalsSunderland.[25]
In December 2024, 53-year-old Howey made public that medical tests had proven that his brain was in cognitive decline, which he attributed toheading footballs. He was one of four Premier League-era footballers who took legal action over sporting authorities, along with the family of deceased former player and managerJoe Kinnear.[26]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Newcastle United | 1988–89 | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 1 | 0 | |
| 1989–90 | Second Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1990–91 | Second Division | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 11 | 0 | ||
| 1991–92 | Second Division | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | - | 26 | 2 | ||
| 1992–93 | First Division | 41 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 [a] | 0 | 53 | 2 | |
| 1993–94 | Premier League | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 17 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Premier League | 30 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 [b] | 0 | 41 | 1 | |
| 1995–96 | Premier League | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | 33 | 1 | ||
| 1996–97 | Premier League | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [b] | 0 | 9 | 1 | |
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 14 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 [c] | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 [d] | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 [e] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Total | 191 | 6 | 23 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 242 | 7 | ||
| Manchester City | 2000–01 | Premier League | 36 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 39 | 6 | |
| 2001–02 | First Division | 34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 38 | 3 | ||
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 26 | 2 | ||
| Total | 94 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | - | 103 | 11 | |||
| Leicester City | 2003–04 | Premier League | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 15 | 1 | |
| Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 2003–04 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 3 | 0 | |
| New England Revolution | 2004 | Major League Soccer | 3 | 0 | ? | ? | - | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Hartlepool United | 2004–05 | League One | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 [e] | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career total | 305 | 18 | 26 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 367 | 19 | ||
[b]UEFA Cup
Newcastle United
Manchester City
