Past playersRay Houghton
Years: 1987-1992
Appearances: 202
Goals: 38
Honours: League title (1987-88, 1989-90), FA Cup (1989, 1992)
Hard-working midfielder Ray Houghton was widely regarded as the final piece of the jigsaw in Kenny Dalglish's vintage Liverpool side of the 1987-88 season that romped to the First Division title.
The Scottish-born star began his career at West Ham United before joining Fulham and later Oxford; and when the latter outfit visited Anfield in September 1987, Dalglish decided he had seen enough and Houghton made his Reds debut exactly six weeks later.
Houghton made a further 27 league appearances and contributed five goals, but the key was the balance he provided on Liverpool's right flank to allow John Barnes freedom to run riot on the opposite side.
His industry and tireless running opened avenues for others and the wide man was a vital component of the famous 5-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest in April 1988.
Houghton missed just one of the Reds' 53 fixtures throughout the 1988-89 campaign, which concluded with FA Cup glory for Dalglish's men – Houghton was described by contemporary reports as being 'almost a side in himself' against Everton at Wembley.
Injury limited the midfielder to 25 games during the 1989-90 season but he nevertheless featured enough times in the league to collect a second winner's medal with Liverpool.
He bounced back by reaching double figures for goals in both of the subsequent campaigns – 10 and 12 respectively – and played an integral role as Graeme Souness led the Reds to FA Cup victory over Sunderland in the 1992 showpiece.
Somewhat surprisingly, given his scoring form and relatively young age of 30, the final proved to be Houghton's last appearance in a Liverpool jersey as Souness sold the Republic of Ireland international to Aston Villa that summer.
