David Howland (born 17 September 1986) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
He scored 17 goals in 171 league and cup appearances in an eleven-year career in professional and semi-professional football in England and Northern Ireland.
He was an unused substitute in the League Cup fourth-round tie against Blackburn Rovers in September 2007 in unusual circumstances.
Special dispensation was granted for Howland, who had not been assigned a squad number for the 2007–08 season, to take his place on the bench wearing a numberless shirt.
[8] At the end of the season, he was released by Birmingham,[9] but his performance while on loan at Port Vale was sufficient to earn him a two-year permanent deal.
[16] In September 2010, Howland left England for Belfast, signing a season-long contract with IFA Premiership club Glentoran.
[22] He featured ten times in the 2014–15 campaign and just once in the 2015–16 season before he announced his retirement in August 2016, owing to a long-standing injury.