Howard's Way

Steve Howard
By Mill House
August 1 2013

So Pools are stuck with one of their biggest critics. Stevie Howard has discovered that at the age of 37 nobody else wants to take the risk of signing him. Now he has to bite the bullet and stay on at the club where he is reputedly the highest earner ....

He has already been booed this season following his reported comments about the club while on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. As a result he will have a monumental task in winning the fans over - most of whom quickly realised that his style of play didn't suit that of the rest of the team.

If big Stevie is to earn his wages this time around  he would be advised to get his head down and stop moaning at everyone else when he makes a mistake.

Getting the ball under control and bringing teammates into the game - instead of going for flick-ons - might also help  as would a bit of humility.

And if Cooper and Hignett want to get the best out of him then keep him on the bench until the last 15 minutes where he can come on and make an impact - if needs be.