4. Mark Howard (Goalkeeper)
27 year old Howard has been Clough’s preferred goalkeeper, after he started in United’s FA Cup Fourth Round Replay against Fulham at Craven Cottage, a game which the Blades won 1-0, thanks to an last-minute extra time header from striker, Shaun Miller.
Howard has made only 30 appearances for the South Yorkshire side since he joined in 2012, however, out of the 19 league appearances he made last season, Howard kept 12 clean sheets. In the 7 games he didn’t keep a clean sheet, his side only conceded 11 goals. (Source: TransferMarkt)
His clean sheet record throughout his career continues to be impressive. Howard has kept a total of 43 clean sheets in 107 appearances. His ability to keep teams in games shone through on his last outing with Sheffield United. Howard arguably kept the Blades afloat for the majority of the game when they played Turkish giants Fenerbahçe in a hotly contested pre-season friendly at Bramall Lane on Thursday night; a game which the Blades snatched from the visitors when they scored a winner late on from a Neill Collins header.
As the Blades look to push for promotion this season, Howard could very much play the ‘Unsung Hero’ in keeping the promotion dream alive for Sheffield United.
