Jake Howells

Jake Howells

Howells playing for Luton Town in 2011
Personal information
Full name Jake Thomas Howells[1]
Date of birth (1991-04-18) 18 April 1991
Place of birth Hemel Hempstead, England
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position Left back, left winger,
central midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Luton Town
Number 40
Youth career
Hemel Hempstead Town
Watford
2007–2008 Luton Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2008– Luton Town 266 (29)
2015 → Yeovil Town (loan) 6 (0)
National team‡
2009–2011 England C 4 (1)
2011–2012 Wales U21 5 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:06, 13 February 2016 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:03, 22 November 2015 (UTC)

Jake Thomas Howells (born 18 April 1991) is a professional footballer who plays for Luton Town. Born and raised in England, he has represented Wales at under-21 level. A versatile player, Howells began his career as a left back with spells at left and central midfield. He now primarily plays as a left winger.

Youth career

Howells was born and raised in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire,[2][3] and represented his town at youth level.[3] Howells spent time in the youth team at Watford before signing for rivals Luton Town in July 2007.[3]

Club career

After impressing in the Luton youth team, Howells made his first team debut as a substitute on the last day of the 2007–08 season in a 1–0 defeat to Huddersfield Town, having turned 17 just three weeks earlier.[4] Soon after, Howells revealed that he had turned down offers to join Premier League clubs Portsmouth and Fulham while in the youth team, and had instead chose to further his career at Luton.[5]

Howells became a regular in the first team during 2008–09, making his first appearance in a 1–1 draw with Bradford City in October. He played a total of 28 league games over the year, being used primarily at left back and occasionally on the left wing. With the exception of the final, Howells played in every game of Luton's Football League Trophy success, receiving a winner's medal at Wembley Stadium. Howells won the club's Young Player of the Year award following his impressive season,[6] and signed his first professional contract with Luton soon after.[7]

Howells scored his first senior goal the next season in a 4–3 win against Cambridge United on 26 September 2009. Following the departure of Mick Harford and the subsequent arrival of new Luton manager Richard Money, Howells was pushed forward from his regular left back position onto the left wing, scoring five further goals in the process, including two in a 6–3 victory over Histon. On 25 April 2010, Howells was named as Luton's Young Player of the Year for the second successive season.[8]

On 25 November 2010, it was announced that Howells had signed a new two-year contract with Luton.[9] With an injury to regular left-back Fred Murray in December 2010, Howells reverted to his original position in defence, helping Luton keep six clean sheets in a row throughout January 2011.[10][11] After another solid season in a number of positions, including central midfield, Howells again received the Young Player of the Year award and, in doing so, became the first Luton player to win the accolade for three seasons in a row.[12]

The 2011–12 season saw Howells used primarily at left back due to injuries to other players; he played in that position in the team that lost 2–1 to York City in the Conference Premier play-off final at Wembley Stadium in May 2012. The next month saw him sign a new three-year contract and, with the departure of Keith Keane to Preston North End, Howells became the team's current longest serving player at 21 years of age having made 183 appearances by the end of the 2011–12 season.[13] Moved back into midfield by new Luton manager Paul Buckle in the 2012–13 season, Howells scored his first goal of the campaign within the first 45 seconds of a 4–1 win against Macclesfield Town on 1 September 2012.[14]

Another managerial change saw Buckle replaced by the experienced John Still in February 2013. Howells scored the first goal under Still's reign in a 1–0 win over Stockport County on 2 March 2013.[15] As under previous managers, Howells continued to be played in a variety of roles, including on the left side of attack and in the hole behind two strikers. During the 2013–14 season, at the age of 22, Howells made his 250th appearance for Luton on 2 November 2013 in a 0–0 draw with Gateshead.[16] He became the club's regular penalty-taker during the 2013–14 campaign, successfully converting six out of six penalties. Luton won promotion to League Two during the season, with Howells playing in 35 league games.

In July 2014, Howells signed a new two-year contract with Luton.[17] He played in 41 games upon Luton's return to the Football League, scoring four goals, with the club ending the 2014–15 season in eighth place.

In the summer of 2015, Howells asked to leave the club.[18] On 15 July 2015, Luton manager John Still confirmed that he had turned down an offer for Howells' services from an unnamed club.[18]

On 11 September 2015, Howells joined Luton's fellow League Two club Yeovil Town on a one-month loan.[19] He played in six league games and one Football League Trophy match for Yeovil before returning to Luton in October 2015. Howells was left out of the first-team squad by Still upon his return, but was recalled to the starting line-up by interim boss Andy Awford following Still's sacking in December 2015. He made his first Luton appearance of the 2015–16 season in a 3–2 win at Exeter City on 19 December 2015. Howells admitted he had no complaints over his treatment by Still, stating that "maybe it was the wrong step" to ask to leave the club in the summer.[20]

International career

Howells is eligible to play for England by birth, and also qualifies for Wales through one of his grandfathers. Wales enquired about picking Howells for their under-21 team towards the end of the 2008–09 season, but on 30 October 2009 he was named in the England C squad for the match against the Poland U23 team.[21][22] He earned his first cap in a 2–1 victory over the Poles.[23] Howells scored his first goal for England C in a 1–0 victory over Estonia U23 in the International Challenge Trophy on 12 October 2010.[24]

In August 2011, Howells agreed to play for Wales U21, being eligible to do so as the England C team is classified as semi-professional. He made his debut for Wales U21 in a 2–1 friendly loss to Hungary U21 on 10 August 2011.[25] He made four further appearances during the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship qualification campaign, playing in victories over Montenegro U21 and Andorra U21, and defeats to the Czech Republic U21 and Armenia U21 as Wales U21 failed to qualify.

Career statistics

As of match played 13 February 2016.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Luton Town
2007–08[26] League One 1000000010
2008–09[27] League Two 280300050360
2009–10[28] Conference Premier 31660–20396
2010–11[29] Conference Premier 42350–80553
2011–12[30] Conference Premier 42530–71526
2012–13[31] Conference Premier 41360–50523
2013–14[32] Conference Premier 35820–40418
2014–15[33] League Two 364410010415
2015–16[34] League Two 100000000100
Total 266292910032132731
Yeovil Town (loan) 2015–16[34] League Two 6000001070
Career total 272292910033133431
A. ^ The "League" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League and Football Conference.
B. ^ The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the Football League Trophy, FA Trophy and play-offs.

Honours

Luton Town
Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. Retrieved 30 April 2009.
  2. ↑ "Player Profiles 2008/09". Luton Town F.C. 7 September 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 Wash, Roger (2008). Hatters Heroes. Roger Wash. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-9560832-0-3.
  4. ↑ "Luton 0–1 Huddersfield". Luton Town F.C. 3 May 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  5. ↑ "Jake turned down big guns to stay at Town". Luton Today. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  6. ↑ "LTSC Awards Night Winners". Luton Town F.C. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  7. ↑ "Hatters hand Howells pro contract". BBC Sport. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  8. ↑ "Awards a plenty for Pilks". Luton Town F.C. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  9. ↑ "Jake Howells rewarded with Luton Town deal". BBC Sport. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  10. ↑ Cunliffe, James (3 January 2011). "Pilkington praises Howells ahead of Hayes test". Luton on Sunday (LD Express Newspaper Ltd). Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  11. ↑ "Luton Town 2010–11 results and fixtures". Soccerbase. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  12. ↑ "Two trophies for Tyler". Luton Town F.C. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  13. ↑ "Howells pens new Luton deal". Bedfordshire on Sunday (LSN Media Ltd). 27 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  14. ↑ "Luton 4–1 Macclesfield". BBC Sport. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  15. ↑ "Stockport 0-1 Luton". BBC Sport. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  16. ↑ "Luton Town fan's view: Thank you, Jake Howells". Bedfordshire on Sunday (LSN Media Ltd). 8 November 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  17. ↑ "Luton Town: Jake Howells signs new Hatters deal". BBC Sport. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  18. 1 2 "Hatters reject offer for Howells". Luton Today (Johnston Publishing Ltd). 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "Howells heads to Yeovil for a month". Luton Today (Johnston Publishing Ltd). 11 September 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  20. ↑ "Howells has no complaints over his treatment by Luton". Luton Today (Johnston Publishing Ltd). 21 December 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  21. ↑ Wood, Mark (2 June 2009). "Young Howells is on Wales' wish list". Luton Today. Johnston Publishing. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  22. ↑ "C squad named". The Football Association. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
  23. ↑ "Fine win for England C". The Football Association. 18 November 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  24. ↑ "England C into ICT semis". The Football Association. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
  25. ↑ "Wales U21 1–2 Hungary U21". BBC Sport. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
  26. ↑ "Jake Howells season 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  27. ↑ "Jake Howells season 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  28. ↑ "Jake Howells season 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  29. ↑ "Jake Howells season 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  30. ↑ "Jake Howells season 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  31. ↑ "Jake Howells season 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  32. ↑ "Jake Howells season 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  33. ↑ "Jake Howells season 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  34. 1 2 "Jake Howells season 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Retrieved 11 September 2015.

External links

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