City legend Steph Houghton has begun a brand-new column on mancity.com and the Official Man City App.

City’s all-time appearance holder, Houghton was a Blue for over a decade and cemented herself as one of the best defenders and captains to ever represent the Club. 

The former England international called time on the pitch in 2024 and has since become a staple in football media. 

And Houghton’s latest project will see her provide her expert City-centric insight in her new column. You can read the first edition below…

SHINING SIGNINGS 

I want to start my debut column by talking about the form of Aoba Fujino.

When you’re a new player and you come from a different country, it takes a while to settle in. Aoba Fujino was one of those, but we’d always seen glimpses of her strengths and now she’s a shining star for City this season.

She’s arguably one of the best on the half turn and finding spaces and driving at people. And she has a real sense of trying to get into the box, makes runs in behind and we saw that with her goal against Inter. I know she’s been here a couple of seasons now, but I feel as though we still haven’t seen the best of her. 

She’s still young, she’s played on the right, she’s played on the left and played in the number 10 position. And she’s made a difference in games by offering runs in behind but also when she has the ball at her feet she’s very clinical and that is important if we need goals from other areas.

I love the way she plays, she makes it look easy when she’s receiving the ball on the half turn and she works so hard for the team. And that’s something that is easily underestimated. The work she does off the ball and the unselfish movements that she makes for the likes of Bunny and Lauren, I notice them, and I’m sure the girls notice her hard work too. 

She’s not the only player who has impressed me. As a fellow defender, Jade Rose has really caught my eye. Last season she was immense and has continued that form this term. She maybe doesn’t quite get the plaudits she deserves but I think that’s because she’s been such an amazing constant. She’s had different centre-back partners, different right-backs and sometimes that can be hard because you probably want a bit more continuity. But I also think that challenge has helped her progress at the rate that she has. 

We all knew about Jade’s physical profile, how quick she is and how aggressive she can be, but what has improved the most for me is her positioning and ability to read the game.

Jade just makes the basics look so easy and I don’t mean that she’s a basic player because she’s not. But the things you need to do as a defender, she does flawlessly. When you need to defend, you defend. When you need to block a cross, she blocks it. But also simple things like playing out from the back. It’s not always about breaking two or three lines but about picking the best pass possible - and she does that really well. 

She’s been one of my favourite players, and I’ve said that to her too. 

ALL EYES ON CHELSEA 

It’s Chelsea v City today – and that’s a game I’m really looking forward to, like so many others.

Whenever we play Chelsea, it’s always a good game. It feels like we have played them hundreds of times and they’re always great matches. City are in a great position but we have a tough one ahead because Chelsea are full of quality and they’ve played well in the league. 

I feel the tactical battle could be the difference. How will they deal with Bunny and Hempo, how will City contain Alyssa Thompson and Chelsea’s attacks? 

Ellie Carpenter has also been on fire for Chelsea, she’s got so much energy. Melvine Malard played against City for United last season, so we know what quality she possesses and brings to Chelsea’s attacking line. 

I think for us it’s about maintaining our mentality that when we go to Stamford Bridge, we play how we want to play and we use our strengths as much as possible. 

In a positive way, I don’t think we’ve seen City play to the best of our ability yet and we’re still winning which is a great place to be because there is always room for improvement.

If we were to get three points this weekend, it would be amazing, but I also think it’s vital we don’t lose. Saying that, I know that won’t change the team’s attitude of wanting to go and win. The teams are different from last season, especially from Chelsea’s point of view, they’re a lot more settled. They have a formation that is working for them, and they’ve got some great threats. But so do we. 

So I’m excited to watch, I think it will be a good game. They are the games you want to be involved in as a player because you know you’re playing against very good players and there is so much at stake, especially with the international break is so close. 

INTER INTEL 

The Chelsea game is obviously our second this week, after our impressive 4-1 victory over Inter Milan on Tuesday.

There’s no doubt fixtures have been coming thick and fast for Andrée Jeglertz’s team after our WSL title win ensured we’re back in the Champions League. It’s exactly where City should be and after a few weeks of finding our feet on the European stage, the team are looking more and more familiar with the demands of midweek football. 

We’ve had a hard run in the Champions League so far and against Inter I think we probably just needed the points on the board. After a really convincing win against West Ham and then going away to Inter, it’s hard when you have a quick turnaround, but I thought Tuesday night was a really professional performance. The players took their opportunities to get minutes and contribute which was the most pleasing thing. 

It was really important we got our job done but I also think that this is the beauty of the Champions League format in the sense that as long as we do what we need to do then we will have a chance of progressing. You look at City’s last three Champions League games of Inter Milan, BK Hacken and Austria Wien, and know they are winnable games for us. One down, two to go. 

OUTSTANDING SQUAD DEPTH 

I think this season was always going to be about how Andrée manages the squad and how the girls as a team buy into the fact that there is going to be some rotation. You have to show a really good attitude and be the best teammate you can be so when the opportunity to play comes around, you’re ready to take your chances. 

And that is what has really impressed me about the girls. Everyone is playing an important part in every game and they are all ready to go in a heartbeat. I’ve been there where you’re a player that hasn’t played that many minutes and you might get frustrated. But it’s about doing what you need to do in training to get you ready for when the opportunity comes. 

This is a squad that is eager to impress and when you also have clarity on what your role is within the team, it makes a huge difference. I see a squad that is really happy which is important because it helps create and elevate a professional environment. It’s always about the team first, it’s not personal. 

We had prime examples of that in players like Iman Beney playing right wing when she normally plays right-back. Grace Clinton is coming into form a little bit now. Gracie Prior, a young player that has perhaps not had the opportunities she would have wanted this season, but to go and play in the Champions League against some very good players and have the performance that she did, she should be really proud. 

And we have even more squad depth to come. We’ve got the likes of Viv, Beth and Niamh to come back into the fold soon, so the competitiveness is good but ultimately, it’s about what Man City need and that’s to perform every single week, and when you’re needed you have to perform as well. Â