Jonathan Mark Howson (born 21 May 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for and captains EFL Championship club Middlesbrough.

The managerial appointment of Gary McAllister saw a greater emphasis placed on the club's younger players including Howson who became a regular towards the end of the season.

After United narrowly missed out on an automatic promotion place, their play-off campaign would set the stage for one of Howson's finest games in a Leeds shirt.

Howson remained a regular under McAllister for the first half of the season but the Scot's underwhelming tenure was eventually ended in December after five straight defeat in the league and cup.

Howson finished the season in a permanent central midfield place alongside Neil Kilkenny and started in both of the club's two unsuccessful play-off semi-finals against Millwall.

[13] Howson started the season well, creating a solid central midfield partnership with Michael Doyle and leading the team to nine straight wins in all competitions but he lost the armband when club captain Richard Naylor made his return from injury against Carlisle United in late September.

[14] Leeds faced Tottenham Hotspur in the next round three weeks later when Howson again provided a long-range pass for Beckford who won a last-minute penalty.

Unfortunately, Tottenham won the replay 3–1 and Leeds also missed out on another Wembley appearance after losing on penalties to Carlisle United after drawing 4–4 on aggregate in the Football League Trophy regional final.

With Howson playing in his preferred attacking midfield position, he scored a surprise fifteen-minute hat-trick during the second half as Leeds sealed a valuable 4–1 victory.

Howson – thriving in a more attacking position – added a further three goals during this run in away victories over Coventry City, Burnley and a draw at home to Portsmouth.

[18][19][20] United's impressive form continued into 2011 as Howson captained to the side to what was almost another famous FA Cup victory over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on 8 January.

Howson helped to end a run of two wins in eight games with his ninth and tenth goals of the season in a 5–2 victory over Wembley victors Doncaster Rovers on 5 March.

[23] As United returned from an international break, they recorded a vital 4–1 victory over ten-men play-off rivals Nottingham Forest with Howson opening the scoring early in the second-half.

Howson's long-term midfield teammates Neil Kilkenny and Bradley Johnson also left the West Yorkshire club, with Player of the Year Max Gradel joining the exodus on the deadline day of the Summer transfer window, as Ken Bates once again emphasised the need for prudence, much to the anger of the fanbase.

On 29 November, Howson scored his first goal of the season in a 4–0 away victory over Nottingham Forest in what was an emotionally charged affair, coming only two days after the death of Leeds legend Gary Speed.

[29][30] The injury was suspected to keep Howson out of football for several months and he did not feature for his boyhood club again before he was sold to Premier League Norwich City in late January 2012.

[31] The sale of Howson prompted protests amongst Leeds supporters; enraged by what they perceived as a lack of ambition after failure to hold on to several key players in recent seasons and minimal investment in the first team squad.

[33] Parker would be sent out on loan to Carlisle United shortly after and Simon Grayson, who had initially defended the sale, was sacked after criticising the club's lack of investment after a 1–4 defeat to Birmingham City on the January transfer deadline day.

He scored two goals in the last two games of the season, including a fine solo effort at Manchester City, as Norwich finished the campaign in 11th position in the table.

[40] Howson again proved his capability as an attacking midfielder with a good performance away at Stoke on 29 September 2013, scoring from a long-range effort that won Norwich the match 1–0.

[50] Howson helped Norwich secure promotion back to the Premier League as the club beat Middlesbrough 2–0 in the final at Wembley Stadium.

[54] On 7 July 2017, after much speculation, Howson signed for newly relegated EFL Championship club Middlesbrough, for an undisclosed fee, reported to be around £6 million.

[55] He made his debut on 5 August 2017, the opening day of the Championship season, in a 1–0 defeat to promotion-favoured Wolverhampton Wanderers, in which he was substituted off in the 81st minute for Rudy Gestede.