Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Mark James Howard[1] | ||
Date of birth | 29 January 1986 | ||
Place of birth | Salford, England | ||
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
Playing position | Centre back | ||
Club information | |||
Current club | AGF | ||
Number | 3 | ||
Youth career | |||
Barr Hill Lads Club | |||
?–2004 | Manchester United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
2004–2006 | Manchester United | 0 | (0) |
2006–2008 | Brøndby | 45 | (1) |
2009– | AGF | 51 | (2) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
Mark James Howard (born 29 January 1986) is an English footballer who plays for Danish Superliga side AGF as a defender. Mark has played with Wayne Rooney in his time at Manchester United, where he also knows another AGF-player Adam Eckersley from.
Mark Howard was in the season 2010/2011 elected by fans to AGF's hottest player.
Contents |
Born in Salford, Greater Manchester, Howard attended Hope High School, Salford, with fellow Manchester United players Phil Bardsley and Mark Redshaw. Howard began his career playing for the Barr Hill Lads Club in Salford. He signed for Manchester United as a junior player, and played a number of years in the youth and reserve teams of the club. Having failed to make an impact in the first team, Howard was amongst seven United players given a free transfer at the end of the 2005–06 season.[2]
Howard moved to Danish Superliga champions Brøndby IF. Brondby had recently hired Manchester United reserve team coach René Meulensteen as manager. Howard participated in training sessions and played a friendly match against German team 1. FC Nuremberg, before signing a three-year contract with Brøndby on 28 July 2006.[3] He made his senior debut for Brøndby in August 2006, and played 13 of 18 league games as Brøndby finished in seventh place after the first half of the 2006–07 Superliga season.
When Meulensteen left the club in January 2007, new manager Tom Køhlert brought in Danish defender Mikkel Bischoff in contention for Howard's place in the central defence. When Bischoff suffered an injury, Howard proved himself once again and continued in the starting 11 for the rest of the season. He was also a part of the Brøndby team which won the 2006–07 Royal League cup on 15 March 2007. In the final match of the cup, Howard received a penalty kick, which Martin Ericsson converted to a goal, securing Brøndby a 1–0 win over F.C. Copenhagen.
Having secured his place in the starting eleven during the first half of the 2007–08 season, Howard was awarded the player of the year in Brøndby on 1 December 2007. On 10 December 2008, he signed a three and a half year contract with AGF.
|