[3] He returned to the Southern League in 1899 with Brighton United,[4] under the management of former Leicester Fosse trainer John Jackson.
Although Tommy Spicer was first-choice goalkeeper,[2] Howes made 11 appearances in all competitions before the club folded in March 1900.
[8] He was reported to have suffered with nerves while with Dundee,[9] and a 1921 retrospective of a match in which he played described him as having "had his very bad days and his really brilliant outings.
In the first, he shared goalkeeping duties with Squire Whitehurst as Albion gained promotion to the Southern League First Division, but Howes' experience was preferred at the higher level, and he missed only one match in 1903–04.
[11] Despite having gained a reputation as "one of the best custodians in the South",[12] he was released at the end of that season,[2] and in November 1904 joined another Southern League club, Queens Park Rangers.