Russell Howarth

Bradford City On 8 June 2005, Howarth signed a two-year contract with League One club Bradford City. He was signed to provide competition for Donovan Ricketts, manager Colin Todd saying: "It was a position we needed filling badly. I am delighted to have got a keeper of Russell's calibre". it was Ricketts who started 2005–06 as first-choice goalkeeper. Howarth made his debut away to Rotherham United on 20 August 2005, coming on as a 27th-minute substitute after Ricketts was injured. The match finished a 1–1 draw. His last two appearances for Bradford that season, which came when Ricketts was suspended, were a 5–3 defeat at home to Barnsley in an FA Cup second-round replay on 13 December 2005 and a 2–1 defeat at home to Rotherham four days later. Howarth finished his first season at Bradford with a career-record 15 appearances. Former club York, by this time playing in the Conference National, made a failed bid to sign him on loan in September 2006. Howarth's first and only appearance of the season, a 2–1 defeat at home to Scunthorpe in the Football League Trophy Northern Section first round on 17 October 2006, proved to be the last of his career. and subsequently retired from professional football aged 25.

International career England under-16 Howarth received his first international call-up when he was included in the England national under-16 team to play Turkey on 12 January 1999. His second cap and first start came two months later in a 1–0 victory at home to Turkey on 30 March 1999.

England under-18 Howarth's next international call-up came over a year later when being selected for the under-18s for a match against Luxembourg on 27 April 2000, this time being one of two players with clubs below the top two divisions. He debuted after coming on as a 60th-minute substitute for Evans, in a 2–0 victory for England. Howarth was then called up for a friendly with Israel on 1 September, although he did not feature as Evans was chosen to start. In September 2000, he was named in the team that would participate in a 2001 UEFA European Under-18 Championship qualifying mini-tournament hosted in Ancona, Italy. He failed to appear in the first match against Andorra on 7 October 2000, but made his first start in the next match, a 5–0 victory over the Faroe Islands on 9 October.

Howarth was called up for a friendly at home to Belgium on 16 November 2000, which he started as England won 3–2, despite Evans having seemingly established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper for the under-18s. He was included in the squad for another friendly against the Netherlands on 1 March 2001, although Evans was chosen to play ahead of Howarth. although he failed to play a part in either leg of the tie, as Evans started in both the 1–0 home loss on 22 March 2001 and the 0–0 away draw on 26 April. Howarth started in a 1–0 defeat. and was subsequently called up for the under-20 match against Portugal at home on 21 November 2001. The match was England's first at under-20 level since the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. Howarth came on for England as a half-time substitute for Evans in a 3–0 home victory over Finland on 13 March 2002, in their penultimate friendly ahead of the 2002 Toulon Tournament. A call-up came for the final friendly away to Portugal on 10 April 2002, and he entered as a half-time substitute, this time for Myhill. Howarth did not play in the first group match against Poland on 10 May 2002 as Bywater started, but in the second match against Portugal he was chosen ahead of Evans in a 1–0 victory over Portugal on 12 May. He was an unused substitute for England's final two group matches against Italy and Portugal, and after losing both of these matches the team was eliminated. He was recalled by the under-21s for a match against Yugoslavia on 6 September 2002, although Liverpool's Chris Kirkland started. He was included in the squad for the under-21s' next match against Slovakia on 11 October 2002 in qualification Group 7 of the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and, despite Kirkland being injured, failed to play as Wolves' Matt Murray was selected. For the following qualifier against Macedonia on 15 October 2002, Howarth failed to make the substitutes' bench. Following his move to Tranmere his international call-ups continued, and he was selected for a get-together of the under-21s in November 2002, ahead of their 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against Portugal and Turkey in March and April 2003. However, he did not play in either match, with Bywater and Murray starting.

Post-football Following his retirement from football, Howarth became a paramedic. He became a coach for City Football Development in August 2009, which was set up to offer coaching to youngsters in York.

Personal life Howarth has been an Everton supporter since the early 1990s. His girlfriend Victoria worked as a deputy head teacher and while Howarth was a Tranmere player the couple lived on the Wirral. After signing for Bradford in 2005, Howarth briefly lived with his parents in Riccall before purchasing a second home in Halifax, West Yorkshire to live in with his partner. Third Division

2000–01 Third Division

2001–02 Third Division

2002–03 Third Division

8!!0!!0!!0!!3!!0!!3!!0!!14!!0

2002–03 Second Division

2003–04 Second Division

2004–05 League One

12!!0!!1!!0!!0!!0!!1!!0!!14!!0

2005–06 League One

2006–07 League One

11!!0!!1!!0!!2!!0!!2!!0!!16!!0

31!!0!!2!!0!!5!!0!!6!!0!!44!!0