[3] Howard began his career at non-league Tow Law Town, whilst working as a roofer as his day-job.

Against the protests of the senior players and the management team, Howard once again grabbed the ball and stepped up to take the penalty, missing once again.

Many pundits expected Thorpe to be the striker to hit 20+ goals that season, but it was Howard who again finished as the Hatters' top scorer, this time with 23.

Howard was part of the squad of players that dug deep and stuck together as the awful mess of the 2003 take-over saga unravelled.

His £1 million fee made him Derby's biggest signing for over 5 years and he initially struggled to repay it as he failed to score in his first seven appearances for the club.

He finally broke his duck with the winner in a 1–0 victory against Wolves at Molineux and went on to score in four consecutive games, the first player to do so for the club since Fabrizio Ravanelli in 2001.

[4] Howard quickly became a fans' favourite as his work rate and goals helped Derby to finish third in the 2006–07 Championship and eventually earn promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 5 years following a 1–0 win over West Bromwich Albion in the play-off final.

[13] Howard, and Derby as a team, found life in the Premier League difficult and he managed only one goal in a 4–1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford on 8 December 2007.

[18] Howard bagged a hat-trick in a 4–1 win over West Brom on 15 March,[19] a result he said was coming and was confident the club could stay up.

[4] Despite eventually going on to lose to Cardiff City 4–3 on penalties in the play-off semi-final,[28] Howard's performance in the second leg earned him great plaudits, being described in both The Times and The Scotsman as "unplayable".

[34] This made him the most-used substitute in the club's history, beating the previous record of 54 held by Trevor Benjamin.

However, his first season back was not successful and Steve was booed off in his last game before being loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday while Hartlepool were relegated to League Two.

Boss Colin Cooper stated that "He wants to repay the fans and although he knows that won't be easy, it's something he's determined to do" as he was handed the number nine shirt for the 2013–14 season.

Some owls fans were speculative about the loan signing of the 36-year-old, who was brought in from – at the time – bottom of the League One Table, Hartlepool United who were on the verge of relegation.

Along with James Morrison and Gabriel Agbonlahor, Howard was one of a number of English-born players identified in June 2007 as being eligible to play for Scotland.