Robert John Howe (born 22 December 1945) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Playing career

Howe played for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

youth system before progressing through their ranks and appearing in the first team at the age of 21 in 1966. He played at Upton Park until 1971 when he switched to

A.F.C. Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...

. He played there until his retirement from league football in 1973. Howe came out of retirement in 1977 to become the player-coach of the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

in the NASL where he played until 1983.

Coaching career

After his playing days were over, Howe become the coach of the

United States U-20 men's national soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' b ...

at the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship and later went on to become the coach of the Portland Timbers from 2001 to 2005. Howe was also in charge of the "Education of Coaches " for the

US Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

. He wrote the preface for " The official playing and coaching manual of the United States Soccer Federation". Howe also had a short stint with the Saint Kitts and Nevis national football team towards the end of 2012 in a consultancy role. After managing the Portland Timbers, Howe became the Director of Coaching for Emerald City FC youth soccer club in Seattle, Washington. He has served in this role for 11 years. In January 2016, Howe was the 2016 recipient of the "Dr. Thomas Fleck, US Youth Soccer Excellence in Coaching" award.

Honours

As a player

West Ham * FA Youth Cup:

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

* Football League Cup runner-up: 1966 Seattle Sounders * NASL National Conference: 1977 * NASL Western Division: 1980, 1982 * Trans-Atlantic Challenge Cup: 1981 * Europac Cup: 1982 * Soccer Bowl runner-up:

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, 1982

As a manager

Portland Timbers * Commissioner's Cup: 2004

References

External links

Fansite for the West Ham United 1970-71 team

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howe, Bobby 1945 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders AFC Bournemouth players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players People from Chadwell St Mary Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players West Ham United F.C. players English football managers Portland Timbers (2001–2010) coaches USL First Division coaches Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) coaches English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States