I don't understand why Howard is seen as a strong canditate.

He has hardly done anything.
He was lucky to win the first week.. and the only thing since then was to step in when Philip and Lorraine argued and make a few disparaging comments

He is as invisible and boring as Norul. So why is he so popular?

The thing is - you have to remember how heavily edited the show is. And it's an entertainment show first and foremost. Of course it will be edited to show more of people like Ben, Philip and Debra - because they are the loudest ones and the most obnoxious ones and therefore make for the best tv.

The reason I like Howard is that when he says something, it's usually very sensible. He is capable of discussing ideas without feeling that he has to shout louder than everyone else, and without putting down anyone who doesn't instantly agree with him.

I thought on the whole he was not a bad project manager - it wasn't a good week for the male team though...none of them seem to take him seriously. I would hire Howard over Ben or Philip any day.

Maybe Norul was edited too.. perhaps he was a dynamo in real life

I don't think even heavy editing could have disguised the fact that Nooral was a fish out of water! Nice guy, seemed much more normal and relaxed on Fired, but just not Apprentice material.

Re Howard, I'm not seeing it either but then we really haven't seen enough of him to be able to judge him properly. Just doesn't seem to be very dynamic. I guess if he were interesting enough, the producers would be making more of him. It's all about who shouts the loudest here.

Perhaps he's just seen as the least 'dislikeable/ribbish' in the pack. I don't like him especially but he's a bit of a nothing. Let's face it, none of them is great. The best business people don't apply to these shows. the best people are already in good jobs and don't need to. It's all the wannabes....with a few notable exceptions like Ruth Badger.

I'm not saying he did amzingly well, but the money Phillip's team made to slightly off-set the massive loss on the rug didn't come from him selling a skeleton at cost and spending all day lugging a carpet around. The money almost certainly came from Howard & Kate's subteam.

We can't really say which of the two was more responsible, but he and Kate are the only subteam that came out of this episode at all well.

He hasn't been a sparkling gem, but he's not been terrible either. Such damning praise.

The good thing I've seen in Howard is the way in which he seems to be able calm the volatile ones and keeps the task on track. I didn't think he was a particularly good PM first time round but am interested to see how he does now there are fewer candidates in leading a team.