Ray Houghton is often overlooked when we discuss the greatest Liverpool sides but I would definitely include him in my best ever squad. He was a vital member of the last Liverpool side to win the league title and was the final piece of the jigsaw in the great 1987/88 team.
Ray was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland but started his football career north of the border with West Ham Utd. He came up through the ranks and signed professional forms as a seventeen year old in 1979. After just one appearance in three years, Ray was given a free transfer to Fulham in 1982. Fulham were managed by Malcolm Macdonald and had just been promoted to Division Two and it was over the next three seasons that Ray began to make a name for himself in midfield. During his time at Fulham, Ray was involved in a memorable sequence of games with Liverpool in the third round of the League Cup. The first game finished 1 – 1 at Craven Cottage as did the replay at Anfield. The tie was finally settled in the second replay after a Graeme Souness scorcher from 25 yards.
After 145 games and 21 goals for Fulham, Ray moved on to First Division new boys Oxford Utd in 1985 for £147,000. He made his debut in a 2 – 2 draw with Liverpool. Ray linked up with another future Liverpool player, John Aldridge, and had some great performances that season. He helped Oxford stay clear of the relegation zone with a win on the last day of the season. His finest moment as an Oxford player came in the 1986 League Cup Final against Queens Park Rangers at Wembley. Oxford Utd won the trophy with a 3 – 0 victory. He played well and scored the second goal in what was the biggest game in his career so far and the biggest game ever for Oxford Utd.
In the summer of 1987 Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish added John Barnes and Peter Beardsley to the side. Ian Rush had gone to Italy and joined Juventus but John Aldridge was already there to replace him. Dalglish needed another player to complete his near perfect side and after an away game at Oxford Utd at the start of the season he had found his man. Ray had played superbly in the game and almost straight afterwards Kenny paid £825,000 to bring him to Anfield. Ray replaced Craig Johnston on the right of midfield and was part of possibly the greatest forward line ever seen at Liverpool.
The Reds went twenty nine games unbeaten in the league from the start of the 1987/88 season. Some of the football being played was absolutely breathtaking and Ray was an integral part of this. He also scored some important goals too, including the winner against Everton in the fifth round of the F.A. Cup and a cracker in the famous 5 – 0 win over Nottingham Forest. By the end of the season Ray had won his first league championship medal. Ray was also important in Liverpool’s run to the F.A. Cup final as he also scored a superb goal in the quarter final against Man City. Unfortunately he was denied a winners medal when Wimbledon caused one of footballs greatest ever upsets.
His great year was to continue in the summer of 1988 when he was chosen by Republic of Ireland manager Jack Charlton for the European Championships in West Germany. Ray qualified to play for the Ireland side through his father. In the opening game Ray joined his fellow Liverpool team-mates John Aldridge and Ronnie Whelan to line up against England, who also included Reds players Barnes and Beardsley. Ray scored the only goal of the game with a looping header in what was considered a huge shock at the time. Unfortunately Ireland were eliminated from the tournament after a 1 – 1 draw with Russia (Whelan scored a stunner in that game) and a defeat to the eventual tournament winners Holland.
The 1988/89 season was one of tragedy with the Hillsborough disaster claiming the lives of 96 Liverpool supporters. He played in the 1989 F.A. Cup win over Everton at Wembley only for the Reds to be denied a double again, this time by Arsenal in a dramatic last game at Anfield. In his diary of that season, speaking about the disaster Houghton said: “I am not a Scouser but I felt I belonged. I always will now.”
The following season saw the league title return to Anfield for the eighteenth time in May 1990. Ray’s role was restricted to just sixteen league appearances due to a back injury but he was still an important member of the squad that won the title by nine points clear of Aston Villa. He was chosen for the Ireland squad at the World Cup in Italy that summer. He helped them to qualify for the second round and scored the second in the penalty shoot-out victory over Romania. Unfortunately Ireland were defeated by Italy in the quarter finals but returned home as heroes.
The 1990/91 season saw Liverpool playing well and seemingly headed for another league title win. Unfortunately in February 1991 came Kenny Dalglish’s shock resignation after the 4 – 4 draw with Everton in the F.A. Cup and Liverpool ended up finishing as runners up to Arsenal. New manager Graeme Souness immediately incurred the wrath of the fans when he sold Peter Beardsley to Everton and replaced him with Dean Saunders for almost three times the price.
In 1991/92 Liverpool had a poor season in the league but finished with a 2 – 0 win in the F.A. Cup Final over second division side Sunderland. Ray was voted the fans player of the season and had played well in the F.A. Cup Final. He scored twelve goals and finished as second top scorer behind Dean Saunders. Unfortunately the cup final ended up being Ray’s final game in a Liverpool shirt. Souness signed the woeful Paul Stewart from Spurs in the summer of 1992 and Ray was informed he would be fighting for his place with him. After a row over pay Ray was sold to Aston Villa for £825,000 and was soon joined by Dean Saunders who had only played at Anfield for one season. The replacing of the superb Ray Houghton with the awful Paul Stewart is a perfect example of just how bad things were for Liverpool under Graeme Souness.
Ray played three seasons for Aston Villa, helping them to a victory over Man Utd in the League Cup Final in 1994. This was the only trophy he won with Aston Villa and his time at Villa Park was mostly regarded as disappointing. It was during his time at Aston Villa that his most famous moment (to the worldwide football audience) occurred. It came during Irelands opening game of the 1994 World Cup in the USA. Ireland were playing Italy who where a pre-tournament favourite to lift the trophy. The game was played at Giants Stadium, New Jersey, which is an area hugely populated by Italian Americans. In the eleventh minute Ray scored a cracker from outside the area. This was to be the only goal of the game as Ireland created a huge stir. Once again Ray had scored a vital goal in a huge game that created a massive upset. The image of him doing a forward roll before being dived on by his Irish team-mates is one of the most famous from the tournament (along with Aldridge’s touchline row against Mexico).
In March 1995 Ray left Aston Villa to join Crystal Palace who where relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season. After two seasons he moved to Reading in July 1997. He finished his career at the age of thirty eight in May 2000 after three appearances for Stevenage Borough in the Nationwide Conference. Ray is now in demand as a successful television pundit working for RTE in Ireland and he is also an ambassador for Irish football.
Throughout his career Ray Houghton was always popular for whichever team he played for. Liverpool fans continue to hold him in high regard for his superb performances and vital goals which helped us win two league titles and two F.A. Cups. His continued popularity among Reds fans was reflected in his 52nd place finish in the series ‘100 Players Who Shook the Kop’.
Liverpool FC | Supporters Club | Vancouver, BC, Canada
