The former Luton man had joined City in January 2008 in a £1.5m deal, but he was powerless to prevent their slide into League One during a season of instability. Howard was one of the few survivors from the fated Championship campaign. And the genial giant’s herculean efforts for City finally won over the Blue Army after he fell victim to the “boo-boys” during a stuttering spell in October 2009. But, after a 3-2 loss at Brighton, City went on a record-breaking 23-game unbeaten run with Howard at the fulcrum of their promotion push. In March, he topped the Football League charts for the number of assists with 22, providing the perfect foil to the free-scoring Matty Fryatt. Howard missed two games in March through suspension and he was sorely missed as City could only draw with Colchester and suffered defeat at fellow promotion-chasers Peterborough.