NewsLiverpool's Greatest - No.80: Ray Houghton
Years: 1987-1992
Appearances: 202
Goals: 38
Trophies: First Division (1987-88, 1989-90), FA Cup (1989, 1992)
Ray Houghton was a key component in one of the most revered Liverpool sides of all time and won two league titles and two FA Cups in five years.
Signed from Oxford United in October 1987, the midfielder joined forces with the likes of John Aldridge, John Barnes and Peter Beardsley under the management of Kenny Dalglish.
It was a recipe for magic and Houghton played 28 league games and scored five times as the Reds went on to claim the 1987-88 championship with 90 points and a goal difference of +63, producing some of the finest football Anfield has ever witnessed.
Indeed, a 5-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest late in the campaign was hailed as ‘better than Brazil’. Houghton – whose industry on the right flank perfectly balanced Barnes’ wizardry on the left – scored the opener that night.
He missed only one fixture across 1988-89 and delivered a tremendous performance in the FA Cup final as Everton were defeated 3-2 after extra-time on a poignant day at Wembley following the Hillsborough disaster.
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Watch on YouTubeInjury restricted the Republic of Ireland international’s availability in the next season, though he still played his part in Liverpool securing an 18th championship.
He recovered to feature regularly in the subsequent two years and reached double figures for goals in each of them, culminating in a second FA Cup success of his spell with the club when Sunderland were beaten 2-0 in the 1992 decider.
That fixture proved to be the swansong of an excellent half-decade for Houghton on Merseyside.
By then, Graeme Souness had taken over the reins in the dugout from Dalglish, and Houghton was somewhat surprisingly allowed to move on to Aston Villa that summer.
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