 He was named Barnsley's player of the year for the 2006–07 season, as the team successfully avoided relegation, and signed a new two-year contract.Having acted as captain of Barnsley during much of the 2007–08 season when Paul Reid was out of the team, manager Simon Davey appointed Howard captain on a permanent basis in January 2008.He said it was a "massive honour" to captain a top-half Championship team, and appreciated the trust Davey and the club had in him.