Moving from Arsenal to Manchester City nowadays makes sense for a lot of WSL players, with both sides extremely competitive at the top of the women’s game – but in 2013, they were incomparable.
In the 2013 WSL season, Arsenal had just missed out on the Champions League by finishing third, while Manchester City were simply awarded direct entry into the first division for the 2014 season, regardless of their results in 2013. True, City were the emerging force, but Arsenal had proven time and again their ability to win trophies.
For Arsenal defender Steph Houghton, that didn’t little to dampen her enthusiasm. Signing a contract with Manchester City for the start of the 2014 season, Houghton was giving up her captaincy in exchange for a project.
Steph Houghton gave up her Arsenal captaincy to join Manchester City
“I was Arsenal captain and I really enjoyed it there, but when Man City come calling, you have to listen,” Houghton tells FourFourTwo. “Their men’s team was developing so much, I felt they were potentially going to do the same with the women’s team.
“Once I’d listened to what they wanted to do, not just with the team but in and around the training ground and city, I bought into it. It was the ability to train every single day, too.”
Houghton, who also played for Sunderland and Leeds Carnegie in her career, won eight trophies with the Sky Blues and finished as league runners-up on seven more occasions. While she could easily have added more silverware at City, the medals she did win definitely vindicates her decision.
Though now retired, when Houghton was playing she would often train alongside the Manchester City U18s side in order to boost her ability and fitness. While doing so, she came across a young Phil Foden.
“He was probably 14 and you knew he was going to make it,” Houghton adds. “Trying to chase him around for 90 minutes was tough! But I loved it.
“Only five or six of us trained full-time. Jason Wilcox was the Under-18s manager and he was really good with us, just treating us like the lads.”
Houghton is one of the best players to ever play in England, in FourFourTwo’s view. As well as her contributions to different clubs, she was also a stalwart for England’s national team.
She made her debut for her country in 2007 while playing for Sunderland, before going on to win 121 caps, 72 of which were as captain. She was named skipper under head coach Mark Sampson in 2014, but Sarina Wiegman stopped selecting her for the national team – her last cap coming in 2021.
