Keith Houchen
Keith Morton Houchen is an English former professional footballer and football manager. A forward, he scored 184 goals in 687 league and cup games.
He started his professional career at Hartlepool United in February 1978, after failing to win a contract at Chesterfield. He was coached by Billy Horner to become a strong centre-forward, using his natural strength and power to retain possession in attacking positions. Financial difficulties forced the club to sell him to Leyton Orient for £25,000 in March 1982. After failing to impress in his two years in London, he was moved to York City for £15,000 in March 1984. He played seven games in the club's Fourth Division title-winning season in 1983–84 before transferring to Scunthorpe United for £40,000 in March 1986. He did not settle at the club, but in the summer, he was fortunate enough to win a £60,000 move up through three tiers to First Division side Coventry City.
Though never a prolific player for the "Sky Blues", he scored a spectacular headed goal in the 1987 FA Cup final at Wembley, which earned him Match of the Day's Goal of the Season award. He featured in the 1987 FA Charity Shield, but he faded from the first-team picture at Highfield Road. In March 1989, he joined Scottish Premier Division side Hibernian for a fee of £325,000. He returned to England in August 1991 when he was sold to Port Vale for £100,000. After falling out with manager John Rudge, he returned to Hartlepool on a free transfer in June 1993. He was appointed as player-manager in April 1995 but endured a tough time at Victoria Park and left the club in November 1996. He later coached at the Middlesbrough Academy and entered the property market.
Career
Early years
Keith Morton Houchen was born in Middlesbrough to Ken and Vernie Houchen, who both worked in social clubs. He grew up some five minutes from Ayresome Park. He grew up with three brothers; Jimmy, Dennis, and Patrick, who all joined the Coldstream Guards; and one sister, Jackie. He attended St Mary's College as a youth. A promising athlete and gifted footballer, as a youngster, he travelled to London for a trial with Crystal Palace along with John and Terry Fenwick, but was told he was too lightweight at the time. After an unsuccessful trial with Aston Villa, he became an apprentice at Chesterfield in 1977.Hartlepool United
He was not offered a professional contract at Chesterfield by manager Arthur Cox and so left the club without making a senior appearance at Saltergate. However, he was soon spotted playing amateur football in Nunthorpe by Hartlepool United manager Billy Horner. Houchen joined the "Monkey Hangers" on non-contract terms before turning professional in February 1978, signing a one-year contract on £30 a week. When he arrived at the Victoria Park, Hartlepool were a struggling Fourth Division club. He made his debut in a 1–1 home draw with Crewe Alexandra. Though grateful for the opportunity and training, Houchen lamented that "we used to have a mad rush to the bank to cash our cheques. Only about six of them would go through, and the rest would bounce." He scored his first senior goal against Barnsley on 24 March 1978. He scored further goals against Darlington, Rochdale and Newport County to end the 1977–78 campaign with four goals in 13 games. He played regular first-team football in 1978–79 and scored 13 goals in 42 games to become the club's top scorer. He then went on to score 14 goals in 44 games in 1979–80, as the club finished 19th, just two points above the re-election zone. His goalscoring record attracted the attention of bigger clubs; however, club chairman Vince Barker told Reading that even if Houchen were available then they would not be able to afford him. His exploits continued into the following season, and the club rejected bids of up to £80,000 from Plymouth Argyle and Cardiff City. He scored 17 goals in 48 appearances in 1980–81, yet again becoming the club's top scorer, as Hartlepool were in the promotion hunt until a late spell of bad form sent them down the table to ninth. He hit 19 goals in 38 games in 1981–82 to become the club's top-scorer for a fourth consecutive season. However, having scored 65 goals in 170 league appearances, Houchen wanted a move to a bigger club at a higher division; he regularly handed in transfer requests, but the club ignored all.Leyton Orient
Hartlepool United were in dire financial straits by March 1982, and were £60,000 in debt to the Inland Revenue. This crisis at the club allowed Leyton Orient manager Ken Knighton to take Houchen to Brisbane Road for a bargain price of £25,000. He signed a four-year contract on £225 a week with a £1,000 signing on fee. He scored one goal against Chelsea in 14 appearances, as the "O's" finished in last place and were relegated out of the Second Division in 1982. He missed the start of the 1982–83 campaign due to injury, but managed to hit ten goals in 38 games by the end of the season. His ten goals included one against Sheffield United on the last day of the season, in a win which kept Orient in the Third Division. He scored ten goals in 34 games in 1983–84, but was not highly rated by new boss Frank Clark. For his part, Houchen said that Clark "would shout, and rant and rave, and tactically he wasn't particularly brilliant." He handed in a transfer request, which was accepted.York City
On 22 March 1984, York City manager Denis Smith signed Houchen for a £15,000 fee, later saying that "anybody who could score sixty-five goals playing for Hartlepool must have something". He signed a two-year contract on £225 a week. He scored on his debut against Aldershot at the Recreation Ground, despite missing a penalty; he replaced Steve Senior in the second half, who had broken his leg. The "Minstermen" went on to win the Fourth Division championship by a 16-point margin, with Houchen featuring mostly as a substitute in the final seven games. With John Byrne and Keith Walwyn forming an effective striking partnership, Houchen played as an attacking midfielder. He hit a hat-trick in a 7–1 thrashing of Gillingham at Bootham Crescent, and also converted a penalty that he had won to knock Arsenal out of the FA Cup at the fourth round. He scored a total of 18 goals in 45 appearances in 1984–85 to become the club's top scorer. However, injuries helped to limit him to eight goals in 38 games in 1985–86, and he decided to accept a move back down to the Fourth Division.Scunthorpe United
He was sold on to Scunthorpe United for £40,000 in March 1986, signing a contract of £250 a week and receiving a car and an ex gratia payment of £10,000. Houchen later said that "it was the only time I ever gave up... it wasn't the right club because it wasn't going anywhere... I said to Yvonne, 'I'm just going to take the money'". In doing so he rejected moves to Preston North End and Third Division Bury. He quickly regretted the move, and despite getting along well with manager Frank Barlow he found himself hating everything at the club, from the supporters to the Old Showground itself.Coventry City
After 97 days with the "Iron" he moved on to Coventry City for a £60,000 fee, after impressing in a reserve team game between the two clubs. The management team of George Curtis and John Sillett offered Houchen £350 a week, £50 an appearance, a £10,000 signing-on fee, as well the chance to play First Division football. He struggled with injuries at the start of the 1986–87 campaign but recovered to ensure his name went down in the club's history for his exploits in the FA Cup. He bagged five goals in their 1986–87 cup-winning run, the first being the winning goal away at Old Trafford against Alex Ferguson's Manchester United. He then scored two against Sheffield Wednesday in the quarter-finals, and one against Leeds United in the semi-finals, both games being held at Hillsborough. The final and most famous goal of the run came in the 1987 FA Cup final in front of 98,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium in a 3–2 win over Tottenham Hotspur. However, Houchen almost missed the match after catching food poisoning from a trout caught by reserve goalkeeper Jake Findlay. The goal came from a Dave Bennett cross. It was an instinctive full-stretch diving header that was impossible for Ray Clemence to save. It levelled the score at 2–2 on 63 minutes, and an own goal from Gary Mabbutt in extra time won the game for Coventry. As well as his FA Cup winning medal, Houchen's header also earned him the BBC Match of the Day's Goal of the Season award for the 1986–87 season. This was due to the acrobatic effort involved and partly due to the incredible run he had made from deep midfield to meet the crossed ball. It is generally considered as one of the most famous goals scored at Wembley, and certainly the best headed goal.Ironically, manager John Sillett spent much of the money from Coventry's FA Cup run on Chelsea striker David Speedie, who would replace Houchen in front of goal. Sillett's one consolation to Houchen was that he would play him in the 1987 FA Charity Shield, which ended in a 1–0 defeat to Everton. The 1987–88 season was poor for both club and player, as illness, injury and competition from Speedie, Gary Bannister and Cyrille Regis restricted Houchen to just three goals and 24 appearances. On 14 August 1988, he was selected by Graham Taylor to represent the Football League in a game against Scunthorpe United to celebrate the opening of Glanford Park; Houchen scored once in a 6–1 victory. He scored just twice in 16 appearances in 1988–89, though one of these goals was the winner against Midlands rivals Aston Villa in a 2–1 Boxing day victory at Highfield Road. He also featured as a substitute in the infamous 2–1 defeat to Conference club Sutton United at Gander Green Lane. The result was all the more remarkable considering that Coventry went on to finish seventh in the league and that Houchen was one of ten Coventry players that day who had won the FA Cup less than two years previously.