Middlesbrough F.C. season 2008-09 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

	\|Draws	\|Win %
All Competitions
Home	8	8	4	40.0%
Away	3	3	14	15.0%
Both	11	11	18	27.5%

	\|Draws	\|Win %
Premier League
Home	5	8	4	29.4%
Away	2	2	12	12.5%
Both	7	10	16	21.2%

The 2008–09 season was Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...

's eleventh consecutive season in the Premier League. They were relegated at the end of the season. They were knocked out of the League Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

in the third round and knocked out of the FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

in the quarter-finals (sixth round).

Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate in Crawley, West Sussex is a retired English footballer and ex-manager. He is known as the "Penalty Misser of '96." He served as manager of Middlesbrough from June 2006, until he was dismissed in October 2009...

continued as manager under chairman Steve Gibson

Steve Gibson (chairman)

Steve Gibson is an entrepreneur and the chairman and owner of Middlesbrough Football Club. He is acclaimed in Middlesbrough for being a local working class man who made good...

. Before the season, Southgate was considering whether to continue with the traditional role of a club captain, but later decided that Emanuel Pogatetz

Emanuel Pogatetz

Emanuel Pogatetz is an Austrian footballer who currently plays for Hannover 96 as a defender.- Club career :Pogatetz's career started at Sturm Graz before going to Kärnten and later to Bayer Leverkusen...

would continue being captain following his performances in the final ten games of the previous season.

Team kit and sponsors

Middlesbrough's kits were produced by Errea

Erreà

Erreà is a sportswear trademark founded in 1988, in Torrile...

for the fifteenth and final season, and sponsored by GPS

Global Positioning System

The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...

manufacturer Garmin

Garmin

Garmin Ltd. , incorporated in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, is the parent company of a group of companies founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min Kao , that develops consumer, aviation, and marine technologies for the Global Positioning System...

. Back at the start of 2008, the club ran a poll to decide whether the club should return to the white band of prior seasons. The votes came out in favour of the band, and it was then up to the fans to decide between three different designs. The winning shirt was announced on 7 May 2008 to be choice A – the white band with a curl. The away kit, announced on 17 July 2008, would see a return to the popular black and blue striped kit worn by Jack Charlton

Jack Charlton

John "Jack" Charlton, OBE, DL is a former footballer and manager who played for Leeds United in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and was part of the England team who won the 1966 World Cup...

's side of the mid-1970s.

Summer transfer window

Middlesbrough net spending over the 2008 summer transfer window was almost nil, as money spent bringing in new faces was matched by money brought in through player sales, though it had only been half a year since Afonso Alves

Afonso Alves

Afonso Alves Martins Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career during his time in Heerenveen in the Dutch league, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game...

' club-record signing during the previous season.

The first transfer for the season was thought to have been announced back in May, with Maidstone United

Maidstone United F.C.

Maidstone United Football Club is an English football team from Maidstone, Kent.The current club is a continuation of the old Maidstone United, which was a member of the Football League between 1989 and 1992. The club was forced out of the league by financial ruin but the youth squad formed the...

's England youth international defender Chris Smalling

Chris Smalling

Christopher Lloyd "Chris" Smalling is an English footballer who plays as a centre back for Manchester United and the England national team....

signing a two year contract. However, the player changed his mind, the contract was cancelled, and later the same month he decided to join Fulham

Fulham F.C.

Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

instead as it was closer to his home.

Mark Schwarzer

Mark Schwarzer

Mark Schwarzer OAM is an Australian association football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Premier League club Fulham. He rose to prominence during his time at North-East England football club Middlesbrough...

's departure at the end of the previous season saw Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate

announce that Brad Jones and Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...

would fight it out for the first choice goalkeeper's shirt, and thus no goalkeepers were amongst the signings during the summer, much to the initial dismay of Boro supporters. Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

goalkeeper Charles Itandje

Charles Itandje

Charles-Hubert Itandje is a footballer who plays for Atromitos as a goalkeeper.-RC Lens :Born in Bobigny, Paris of Cameroonian descent, Itandje began his professional career at French club RC Lens in 2001, for whom he made 170 league appearances and 21 appearances in European games...

later revealed that Middlesbrough tried to sign him on loan during the summer, but that his club refused to allow him to move.

The club's first signings of the summer were both announced on the same day in early July, with Dutch forward Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:...

arriving in a deal worth €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

4 million (£

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

3.2 million at the time) and French midfielder Didier Digard

Didier Digard

Didier Digard is a French footballer who plays for Nice as a midfielder.-Le Havre AC:Digard started his career with Le Havre, and spent eight years at the club. He played over 70 league games for the club.-PSG:...

arriving from PSG

Paris Saint-Germain FC

Paris Saint-Germain Football Club , also known simply as Paris Saint-Germain and familiarly as Paris SG or PSG , is a professional association football club based in Paris, France. The club was founded on 12 August 1970, thanks to the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain...

for €5 million (£4 million).

Next up came a series of midfield departures. After six years on Teesside

Teesside

Teesside is the name given to the conurbation in the north east of England made up of the towns of Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar, Billingham and surrounding settlements near the River Tees. It was also the name of a local government district between 1968 and 1974—the County Borough of...

, Dutch midfielder and former club captain George Boateng

George Boateng

George Boateng is a Dutch footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nottingham Forest in The Championship.-Club career:...

left for newly promoted Hull City

Hull City A.F.C.

Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...

for a fee of £1 million, while academy

Middlesbrough F.C. Reserves and Academy

Middlesbrough Reserves and the Middlesbrough Academy are the reserve and under-18 teams of Middlesbrough F.C. respectively.Most reserve home fixtures and all Academy home fixtures are played at Rockliffe Park, near Hurworth, though the final reserve home game of the season is usually played at the...

graduate and England under-21

England national under-21 football team

England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....

midfielder Lee Cattermole

Lee Cattermole

Lee Barry Cattermole is an English professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League. His preferred position is in central midfield in front of the back four and he is known for his tough-tackling midfield play.-Early life:Cattermole was...

signed for Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

in a deal worth £3.5 million, rising to £4 million based on appearances. Boro's midfield options were further reduced when Hérold Goulon

Hérold Goulon

Darryl Hérold Goulon , or Hérold Goulon as he is commonly known, is a French footballer who plays for Doncaster Rovers on loan from Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. Goulon can play as a Defensive Midfielder or as a Central Midfielder.Goulon is well known for his strength and aggression,solid...

, signed two years earlier, left without playing a senior game for the club.

Wellington Phoenix's New Zealand international left-back Tony Lochhead

Tony Lochhead

Tony James Lochhead is a New Zealander football defender who currently plays for Wellington Phoenix of the A-League.-Club career:Lochhead went to America to play college soccer for UC Santa Barbara in 2001...

joined the club on a week-long trial at the end of July but the club eventually decided against offering him a contract.

Finally, just a week before the season began and after only a year on Teesside, Luke Young moved to Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

for a fee of £5.5 million rising to £6 million based on appearances. Fans were disappointed with the sale but, coupled with Young's wish to make the move, the club felt the offer was too good to turn down, having only paid £2.5 million for him a year earlier. A replacement was brought in when Middlesbrough completed the £3 million signing of Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

's Justin Hoyte

Justin Hoyte

Justin Raymond Hoyte is an English footballer who plays for Middlesbrough. His younger brother, Gavin Hoyte, plays for Arsenal in the reserve team. His mother is the British sprinter, Wendy Hoyte.-Arsenal:...

before the first game of the season, but not in time for him to be eligible to play. The right-back signed a four-year contract.

January transfer window

In mid-November, before the window opened, former youth goalkeeper David Knight

David Knight (footballer)

David Sean Knight is an English footballer who plays for Histon as a goalkeeper.-Club career:Born in Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, Knight began his career with the Middlesbrough youth system at the age of 11 after he was spotted by a scout playing for his local team Hetton Juniors...

returned to the club on a month-to-month contract as cover following an injury to third-choice keeper Jason Steele.

Middlesbrough and MFK Košice

MFK Košice

MFK Košice is a professional Slovak first division football club based in Košice. The club, founded in 1952, won the Slovak League twice, the Slovak Cup four times and the Czechoslovak Cup once. The most successful era of the club has been in 70's and 90's years of past century which they have...

came to an agreement that would see talented young players exchanged between the two clubs. It was verbally agreed that 17-year-old Peter Gál-Andrezly

Peter Gál-Andrezly

Peter Gál-Andrezly is a Slovak footballer who is currently playing for the Slovak Corgoň Liga club MFK Košice.-Career:The Slovak Gal-Andrezly began his career with MFK Kosice and was in 2007 promoted to the seniorside of the Corgoň Liga....

would join the Middlesbrough reserve side

Middlesbrough F.C. Reserves and Academy

for the second half of the season. Two further players, Serbian Under-21 international Nemanja Matić

Nemanja Matic

Nemanja Matić is a Serbian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Benfica. He also has 2 caps for the Serbian national side.-Career:...

and 18-year-old Juraj Hovančík came to England on a trial period during December.

During December, the club told reporters that there were no funds available for transfers, meaning they needed to sell before the could buy, although at the same time the club were not looking to move on any of their best players either. This became a key element of the January transfer window.

The transfer window was once again dominated by reports linking Stewart Downing

Stewart Downing

Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...

with a move to Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

, but this time there was a basis for such reports. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp

Harry Redknapp

Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....

announced his interest in Downing towards the end of December. With the transfer window open, Spurs put in a bid for the player, reported to be around £6 million, which was described as "derisory" by Middlesbrough chief executive Keith Lamb. An improved offer was submitted and immediately rejected. Middlesbrough told Tottenham that the player was not for sale and any further interest they had would not be entertained, while chairman Steve Gibson told the media that no senior player would be leaving the club in January. Shortly afterwards Downing submitted a written transfer request. The request was considered before being rejected. Downing's father, Stewart Senior, revealed his son's reasons for submitting his transfer request, stating that "when he signed his new contract [in February 2008] he was assured that there would be significant investment in the squad", arguing this had not happened.

Reiterating their position that they would not be letting any senior players leave the club during January, the club rejected a £4.5 million offer from Portsmouth

Portsmouth F.C.

Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...

to take Gary O'Neil

Gary O'Neil

Gary Paul O'Neil is an English footballer who currently plays for West Ham United.-Portsmouth:Tony Pulis gave O'Neil his Portsmouth debut as a 16-year-old on 29 January 2000 at home to Barnsley in the First Division, but kept him out of the spotlight for the rest of the season...

back to his former club.

With the club falling into the relegation zone and a number of players ruled out through injury and suspension, Middlesbrough eventually moved into the transfer market on 22 January, with their first move bringing in striker Marlon King

Marlon King

Marlon Francis King is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Birmingham City. After starting his career in non-League football with Dulwich Hamlet, he played for Barnet, Gillingham, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest before moving to Watford in 2005...

on loan from Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

until the end of the season. King had been on loan at Hull City but his time there was cut short after he fell out with their manager. A day later, Mido made a move in the opposite direction, also on a loan until the end of the season.

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace F.C.

Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...

midfielder Ben Watson

Ben Watson (footballer)

Benjamin "Ben" Watson is an English footballer who currently plays as a central midfielder for Wigan Athletic.-Crystal Palace:...

underwent a medical at Middlesbrough, after the two clubs agreed a £2 million fee. However, Wigan's bid for the player was also accepted and Watson decided to move there instead.

Following a successful loan spell, Academy graduate Tom Craddock

Tom Craddock

Thomas "Tom" Craddock is an English footballer who plays for Oxford United as a striker.-Middlesbrough:Born in Darlington, County Durham, Craddock came through the youth system at Middlesbrough, and was a member of their FA Youth Cup winning side in 2003–04...

made a permanent move to Luton Town

Luton Town F.C.

Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...

. The striker started only one game during his time on Teesside before completing his £80,000 move.

End of season

Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...

left the club at the end of the season on a free transfer, to join Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

, after rejecting several contract offers, citing that he wanted to play regular first team football. The goalkeeper played less than 30 first team games for Middlesbrough and had been dropped earlier in the season in favour of team-mate Brad Jones. David Knight

David Knight (footballer)

also left at the end of the year, to join Darlington

Darlington F.C.

Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...

.

Out of contract winger Graeme Owens

Graeme Owens

Graeme Adam Owens is an English footballer who is currently playing with Airdrie United in the Scottish Second Division.-Career:Owens can play on either wing but prefers to play on the right...

left the club to join Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

side Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock F.C.

Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...

In

Date	Player	Previous Club	Fee
4 July 2008	Marvin Emnes Marvin Emnes Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:...	Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior and Feyenoord , the latter playing in the Eredivisie.-History:Sparta was first founded in 1887....	£3.2 million
4 July 2008	Didier Digard Didier Digard Didier Digard is a French footballer who plays for Nice as a midfielder.-Le Havre AC:Digard started his career with Le Havre, and spent eight years at the club. He played over 70 league games for the club.-PSG:...	Paris Saint-German	£4 million
16 August 2008	Justin Hoyte Justin Hoyte Justin Raymond Hoyte is an English footballer who plays for Middlesbrough. His younger brother, Gavin Hoyte, plays for Arsenal in the reserve team. His mother is the British sprinter, Wendy Hoyte.-Arsenal:...	Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...	£3 million
4 November 2008	David Knight David Knight (footballer) David Sean Knight is an English footballer who plays for Histon as a goalkeeper.-Club career:Born in Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, Knight began his career with the Middlesbrough youth system at the age of 11 after he was spotted by a scout playing for his local team Hetton Juniors...	Mansfield Town Mansfield Town F.C. Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club from the former mining town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The club was formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans and changed its name to Mansfield Wesley in 1906 before settling on Mansfield Town in 1910...	Free
November 2008	Onisiforos Roushias	Enosis Neon Paralimni Enosis Neon Paralimni FC Enosis Neon Paralimni is a Cypriot football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the first division, it holds home games at the Paralimni Municipal Stadium "Tasos Marcou", which holds 5,800 people.-History:...

Roushias made his under-18 debut on 15 November 2008. He was not present in the start-of-season squad list so joined between these two dates.

Loans in

Date	Player	On Loan From	Period	Ref
4 January 2009	Peter Gál-Andrezly Peter Gál-Andrezly Peter Gál-Andrezly is a Slovak footballer who is currently playing for the Slovak Corgoň Liga club MFK Košice.-Career:The Slovak Gal-Andrezly began his career with MFK Kosice and was in 2007 promoted to the seniorside of the Corgoň Liga....	MFK Košice MFK Košice MFK Košice is a professional Slovak first division football club based in Košice. The club, founded in 1952, won the Slovak League twice, the Slovak Cup four times and the Czechoslovak Cup once. The most successful era of the club has been in 70's and 90's years of past century which they have...	Until end of season
22 January 2009	Marlon King Marlon King Marlon Francis King is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Birmingham City. After starting his career in non-League football with Dulwich Hamlet, he played for Barnet, Gillingham, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest before moving to Watford in 2005...	Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic F.C. Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...	Until end of season

Trials in

Date	Player	On Trial From	Period
29 July 2008	Tony Lochhead Tony Lochhead Tony James Lochhead is a New Zealander football defender who currently plays for Wellington Phoenix of the A-League.-Club career:Lochhead went to America to play college soccer for UC Santa Barbara in 2001...	Wellington Phoenix	1 week
1 December 2008	Nemanja Matić Nemanja Matic Nemanja Matić is a Serbian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Benfica. He also has 2 caps for the Serbian national side.-Career:...	MFK Košice MFK Košice MFK Košice is a professional Slovak first division football club based in Košice. The club, founded in 1952, won the Slovak League twice, the Slovak Cup four times and the Czechoslovak Cup once. The most successful era of the club has been in 70's and 90's years of past century which they have...	2 days
1 December 2008	Juraj Hovančík	MFK Košice MFK Košice MFK Košice is a professional Slovak first division football club based in Košice. The club, founded in 1952, won the Slovak League twice, the Slovak Cup four times and the Czechoslovak Cup once. The most successful era of the club has been in 70's and 90's years of past century which they have...	1 week
13 February 2009	Dimitris Moulazimis	Enosis Neon Paralimni Enosis Neon Paralimni FC Enosis Neon Paralimni is a Cypriot football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the first division, it holds home games at the Paralimni Municipal Stadium "Tasos Marcou", which holds 5,800 people.-History:...

Matić's trial was initially intended to last for 1 week but was cut short by an international call-up.

Out

For departures of players out of contract at the end of see 2007-08 Middlesbrough F.C. season.

Date	Player	New club	Fee
16 July 2008	George Boateng George Boateng George Boateng is a Dutch footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nottingham Forest in The Championship.-Club career:...	Hull City Hull City A.F.C. Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...	£1 million
29 July 2008	Lee Cattermole Lee Cattermole Lee Barry Cattermole is an English professional footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League. His preferred position is in central midfield in front of the back four and he is known for his tough-tackling midfield play.-Early life:Cattermole was...	Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic F.C. Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...	£3.5 million
7 August 2008	Hérold Goulon Hérold Goulon Darryl Hérold Goulon , or Hérold Goulon as he is commonly known, is a French footballer who plays for Doncaster Rovers on loan from Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. Goulon can play as a Defensive Midfielder or as a Central Midfielder.Goulon is well known for his strength and aggression,solid...	–	Released
7 August 2008	Luke Young	Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...	£5.5 million
30 January 2009	Tom Craddock Tom Craddock Thomas "Tom" Craddock is an English footballer who plays for Oxford United as a striker.-Middlesbrough:Born in Darlington, County Durham, Craddock came through the youth system at Middlesbrough, and was a member of their FA Youth Cup winning side in 2003–04...	Luton Town Luton Town F.C. Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...	£80,000
16 June 2009	Graeme Owens Graeme Owens Graeme Adam Owens is an English footballer who is currently playing with Airdrie United in the Scottish Second Division.-Career:Owens can play on either wing but prefers to play on the right...	Kilmarnock Kilmarnock F.C. Kilmarnock Football Club is a Scottish football team based in the town of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire. Founded in 1869, "Killie" is the oldest club currently in the Scottish Premier League. Home matches are played at Rugby Park...	Out of contract
2 July 2009	Ross Turnbull Ross Turnbull Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...	Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...	Out of contract
3 July 2009	David Knight David Knight (footballer) David Sean Knight is an English footballer who plays for Histon as a goalkeeper.-Club career:Born in Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear, Knight began his career with the Middlesbrough youth system at the age of 11 after he was spotted by a scout playing for his local team Hetton Juniors...	Darlington Darlington F.C. Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...	Out of contract

Cattermole's transfer fee is £3.5 million rising to £4 million based on appearances.

Young's transfer fee is £5.5 million rising by £250,000 after 30 appearances, and a further £250,000 after 60 appearances.

Loans out

Date	Player	Club at	Period
21 August 2008	Tony McMahon	Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...	To 24 October 2008
1 September 2008	Jonathan Grounds Jonathan Grounds Jonathan Martin Grounds is a professional footballer currently playing for Chesterfield on loan from Middlesbrough.- Career :...	Norwich City Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...	To 2 October 2008
17 October 2008	Tom Craddock Tom Craddock Thomas "Tom" Craddock is an English footballer who plays for Oxford United as a striker.-Middlesbrough:Born in Darlington, County Durham, Craddock came through the youth system at Middlesbrough, and was a member of their FA Youth Cup winning side in 2003–04...	Luton Town Luton Town F.C. Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...	To 17 January 2009
3 November 2008	Tony McMahon	Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...	1 month
25 November 2008	John Johnson John Johnson (footballer) John James Johnson is an English footballer who plays for Northampton Town as a defender.-Career:Born in Middlesbrough, Johnson made his first team debut for Middlesbrough on 18 October 2008 in a home 5–0 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League, coming on as a substitute for Jonathan Grounds in...	Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers F.C. Tranmere Rovers Football Club are an English team based in Birkenhead, Wirral. The club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system...	To 31 December 2008
6 January 2009	Seb Hines Seb Hines Sebastian Tony "Seb" Hines is an English footballer. He plays as a central defender or holding midfielder currently playing for Npower Championship side Middlesbrough.- Club career :...	Derby County Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...	1 month
6 January 2009	Jonathan Grounds Jonathan Grounds Jonathan Martin Grounds is a professional footballer currently playing for Chesterfield on loan from Middlesbrough.- Career :...	Norwich City Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...	2 months
7 January 2009	Graeme Owens Graeme Owens Graeme Adam Owens is an English footballer who is currently playing with Airdrie United in the Scottish Second Division.-Career:Owens can play on either wing but prefers to play on the right...	Blackpool Blackpool F.C. Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...	2 months
23 January 2009	Mido	Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic F.C. Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...	To end of season
30 January 2009	Rhys Williams Rhys Williams (footballer) Rhys Williams is an Australian professional football player currently playing for Middlesbrough in the English Football League Championship and the Australia national football team...	Burnley Burnley F.C. Burnley Football Club are a professional English Football League club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Nicknamed the Clarets, due to the dominant colour of their home shirts, they were founder members of the Football League in 1888...	3 months
13 February 2009	Seb Hines Seb Hines Sebastian Tony "Seb" Hines is an English footballer. He plays as a central defender or holding midfielder currently playing for Npower Championship side Middlesbrough.- Club career :...	Oldham Athletic	1 month

McMahon's loan was extended from an initial period of 1 month, but then cut short when he was recalled by Middlesbrough.

Grounds' loan was initially intended to last three months, but was cut short when he was recalled. He returned for a further two months later in January.

Craddock's loan was extended from one month, to two months, and then to three.

Owens' loan was extended from one month to two months.

Senior squad

Squad numbers for the 2008–09 season were announced on 23 July 2008. Changes saw Julio Arca

Julio Arca

Julio Andrés Arca is an Argentine footballer, he currently plays for Middlesbrough. Arca is also a former Argentina Under-20 captain. He is a left back or midfielder...

move from 3 to 20, with Andrew Taylor

Andrew Taylor (footballer born 1986)

Andrew Derek Taylor is an English footballer who plays for Cardiff City as a left wingback. He has previously played for Middlesbrough, Bradford City and Watford on loan.-Club career:Taylor was born in Hartlepool, County Durham...

moving from 33 to 3. Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:...

took the number 11 shirt, vacated by Jérémie Aliadière

Jérémie Aliadière

Jérémie Aliadière is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Lorient.As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal aged 16. After making his Premier League debut in the 2001–02 season, he ultimately had limited opportunities, partly due to injury...

's move to number 10. Didier Digard

Didier Digard

received the vacant number 8 shirt. Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...

and Brad Jones stayed at 21 and 22 respectively, leaving the number 1 shirt empty. Before they left, Luke Young, Lee Cattermole

Lee Cattermole

and Hérold Goulon

Hérold Goulon

were given numbers 2, 27 and 37 respectively. Justin Hoyte

Justin Hoyte

became the new number 2 upon his arrival, while Nathan Porritt

Nathan Porritt

Nathan John Porritt is an English footballer, who currently plays for Stokesley Sports Club F.C.. He started his career with his hometown club Middlesbrough where he attracted interest from Chelsea despite never featuring for the first-team.-Early life:Porritt was born in Middlesbrough, North...

was given number 33 before the away match at Portsmouth

Portsmouth F.C.

. Franks was given the number 37 shirt before the away match at Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

Appearances and goals

Appearance and goalscoring records for all the players who were in the Middlesbrough F.C. first team squad during the 2008–09 season.

|}

Discipline

Disciplinary records for 2008–09 league and cup matches. Only players with one or more cards are included.

No.	Player	Yellow cards	Red cards
3		3	0
4		11	0
5		3	0
6		4	1
8		4	1
9	align="left"\|	3	0
10		1	0
12		2	0
14		5	0
15		3	0
16		2	0
17	align="left"\|	4	0
20		5	0
26		3	1
28		2	0
29		3	0
31		2	1

First XI

The following players were named in the most Premier League starting line-ups during the 2008–09 season. This line-up may differ from the list of players with most appearances.

No.	Position	Name	Starts
21	GK	Ross Turnbull Ross Turnbull Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...	22
2	DF	Justin Hoyte Justin Hoyte Justin Raymond Hoyte is an English footballer who plays for Middlesbrough. His younger brother, Gavin Hoyte, plays for Arsenal in the reserve team. His mother is the British sprinter, Wendy Hoyte.-Arsenal:...	17
14	DF	Robert Huth Robert Huth Robert Huth is a German footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Stoke City.Huth was signed for Chelsea from the youth system of German club Union Berlin in 2001 by then Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri. He joined Middlesbrough in 2006 and spent three years at the Riverside...	23
31	DF	David Wheater David Wheater David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...	31
6	DF	Emanuel Pogatetz Emanuel Pogatetz Emanuel Pogatetz is an Austrian footballer who currently plays for Hannover 96 as a defender.- Club career :Pogatetz's career started at Sturm Graz before going to Kärnten and later to Bayer Leverkusen...	27
10	MF	Jeremie Aliadiere Jérémie Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Lorient.As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal aged 16. After making his Premier League debut in the 2001–02 season, he ultimately had limited opportunities, partly due to injury...	27
4	MF	Gary O'Neil Gary O'Neil Gary Paul O'Neil is an English footballer who currently plays for West Ham United.-Portsmouth:Tony Pulis gave O'Neil his Portsmouth debut as a 16-year-old on 29 January 2000 at home to Barnsley in the First Division, but kept him out of the spotlight for the rest of the season...	28
8	MF	Didier Digard Didier Digard Didier Digard is a French footballer who plays for Nice as a midfielder.-Le Havre AC:Digard started his career with Le Havre, and spent eight years at the club. He played over 70 league games for the club.-PSG:...	21
19	MF	Stewart Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...	37
17	FW	Tuncay Şanlı Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team...	30
12	FW	Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career during his time in Heerenveen in the Dutch league, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game...	24

Pre-season

Top scorers
Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career during his time in Heerenveen in the Dutch league, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game...	4
Jérémie Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Lorient.As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal aged 16. After making his Premier League debut in the 2001–02 season, he ultimately had limited opportunities, partly due to injury...	3
David Wheater David Wheater David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...	2
Adam Johnson	2

The first game saw Boro visit the KitKat Crescent to play York City

York City F.C.

York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...

. The visitors fielded different outfield sides in both halves, with Brad Jones the only player to appear in both halves. Jonathan Franks

Jonathan Franks

Jonathan Ian Franks is an English footballer, currently playing for Middlesbrough.-Career:Franks has represented England at all levels from under-16 through to under-19, the highlight of which was playing for England under-17s against Wales in Telford when he found the back of the net...

put Middlesbrough ahead in the second half, before York scored two goals to take the lead. David Wheater

David Wheater

David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...

scored a late equaliser to leave the score tied at 2–2.

Next up came a trip to Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

for the Algarve Challenge Cup. The mini-league format would see 3 points awarded for a win and 1 for a draw, with an extra point for every goal scored. Boro's first game was against Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

champions Celtic

Celtic F.C.

Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...

. The first half finished goalless, and the manager again elected to make many changes, with only Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...

and Josh Walker

Josh Walker

Joshua "Josh" Walker is an English footballer. He currently plays as a midfielder for Championship side Watford....

remaining on the field. Jérémie Aliadière

Jérémie Aliadière

put Boro ahead late in the second half after the Celtic goalkeeper's clearance rebounded back off of the Boro forward. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink

Jan Johannes Vennegoor of Hesselink is a Dutch footballer, currently playing for PSV Eindhoven. He formerly played for the Netherlands national team as a striker...

leveled the game during stoppage time to end the game at 1–1.

It was a similar scenario in the next game, versus Vitoria Guimaraes. Nine changes at half time saw only Turnbull and Adam Johnson retain their places. Boro conceded another late goal to lose the game 0–1. Boro ended the competition with two points – one for a draw, and one for their solitary goal.

Boro picked up their first pre-season win with victory over Carlisle United

Carlisle United F.C.

Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....

. French pair Jérémie Aliadière and Didier Digard

Didier Digard

scored Boro's goals. Aliadière scored within a minute of the second half starting, before Carlisle levelled almost instantly. Digard struck a great shot to win Boro the game.

A trip to Scotland for a second year running saw a remarkable comeback versus Hibernian

Hibernian F.C.

Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...

. Hibs took a two goal lead thanks to Steven Fletcher

Steven Fletcher (footballer)

Steven Kenneth Fletcher is a Scottish international footballer who plays as a striker. He is currently signed to English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers....

's goals in either half. Afonso Alves

Afonso Alves

, on as a substitute, put Boro back in the game with a goal within a minute of coming on. Wheater's header levelled the game before Alves got his second goal to win the game 3–2 for Boro. There was bad news however as Julio Arca

Julio Arca

Julio Andrés Arca is an Argentine footballer, he currently plays for Middlesbrough. Arca is also a former Argentina Under-20 captain. He is a left back or midfielder...

was injured and ruled out for six weeks.

A young Boro side cruised to a comfortable victory over Darlington

Darlington F.C.

in the next friendly. Adam Johnson opened the scoring by converting a penalty, with Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:...

scoring his first goal for the club to leave the visitors two-up at the break. A Lewis Hardman

Lewis Hardman

Lewis Hardman is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bishop Auckland.Born in Middlesbrough, England, Hardman made one league debut as a substitute for Darlington. During his second season at Darlington in 2007 he went on loan to clubs Whitby Town and Shildon...

own goal and a goal from Tony McMahon put Boro further in front, before Johnson scored his second of the game to complete a comfortable 5–0 victory.

Pre-season finished in fantastic fashion, albeit their final game didn't start off in the best way. Sparta Rotterdam

Sparta Rotterdam

Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior and Feyenoord , the latter playing in the Eredivisie.-History:Sparta was first founded in 1887....

opened the scoring after just two minutes, but then Boro took charge. Alves scored three minutes later to level the game. A further three minutes down the line, Aliadière put Boro in front. Josh Walker got the third on thirteen minutes, and Alves got his second two minutes later. Stewart Downing

Stewart Downing

made it five for the visitors just after the half-hour mark, while Rhys Williams

Rhys Williams (footballer)

Rhys Williams is an Australian professional football player currently playing for Middlesbrough in the English Football League Championship and the Australia national football team...

added another shortly after half-time. No further goals were forthcoming and the game finished 6–1.

Results

Note: Results are given with Middlesbrough score listed first. Man of the Match is according to mfc.co.uk.

Game	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result F–A	Attendance	Boro Goalscorers	Man/Men of the Match
1	18 July 2008	A	York City York City F.C. York City Football Club is an English football club based in York, North Yorkshire. The club participates in the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. Founded in 1922, they joined the Football League in 1929, and have spent most of their history in the lower divisions...	2–2	3,177	Franks Jonathan Franks Jonathan Ian Franks is an English footballer, currently playing for Middlesbrough.-Career:Franks has represented England at all levels from under-16 through to under-19, the highlight of which was playing for England under-17s against Wales in Telford when he found the back of the net... , Wheater David Wheater David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...	Bennett Joe Bennett (footballer) Joseph "Joe" Bennett is an English footballer who plays for Middlesbrough. Born and brought up in Rochdale, Bennett signed his first professional contract with the club prior to the 2008-09 season and is comfortable playing anywhere on the left, although he usually operates as a left-back... (1st half), Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:... (2nd half)
2	22 July 2008	N	Celtic Celtic F.C. Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...	1–1	1,500	Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Lorient.As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal aged 16. After making his Premier League debut in the 2001–02 season, he ultimately had limited opportunities, partly due to injury...	Emnes Marvin Emnes Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:... (1st half), O'Neil Gary O'Neil Gary Paul O'Neil is an English footballer who currently plays for West Ham United.-Portsmouth:Tony Pulis gave O'Neil his Portsmouth debut as a 16-year-old on 29 January 2000 at home to Barnsley in the First Division, but kept him out of the spotlight for the rest of the season... (2nd half)
3	24 July 2008	N	Vitoria Guimaraes	0–1	400		A. Johnson (1st half), Bennett Joe Bennett (footballer) Joseph "Joe" Bennett is an English footballer who plays for Middlesbrough. Born and brought up in Rochdale, Bennett signed his first professional contract with the club prior to the 2008-09 season and is comfortable playing anywhere on the left, although he usually operates as a left-back... (2nd half)
4	29 July 2008	A	Carlisle United Carlisle United F.C. Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....	2–1	3,281	Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Lorient.As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal aged 16. After making his Premier League debut in the 2001–02 season, he ultimately had limited opportunities, partly due to injury... , Digard Didier Digard Didier Digard is a French footballer who plays for Nice as a midfielder.-Le Havre AC:Digard started his career with Le Havre, and spent eight years at the club. He played over 70 league games for the club.-PSG:...	Digard Didier Digard Didier Digard is a French footballer who plays for Nice as a midfielder.-Le Havre AC:Digard started his career with Le Havre, and spent eight years at the club. He played over 70 league games for the club.-PSG:... and A. Johnson
5	2 August 2008	A	Hibernian Hibernian F.C. Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...	3–2	6,325	Alves Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career during his time in Heerenveen in the Dutch league, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game... (2), Wheater David Wheater David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...	O'Neil Gary O'Neil Gary Paul O'Neil is an English footballer who currently plays for West Ham United.-Portsmouth:Tony Pulis gave O'Neil his Portsmouth debut as a 16-year-old on 29 January 2000 at home to Barnsley in the First Division, but kept him out of the spotlight for the rest of the season...
6	5 August 2008	A	Darlington Darlington F.C. Darlington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, currently playing in the Conference National. The club was founded in 1883, and originally played its games at Feethams, before moving to the Darlington Arena in 2003...	5–0	5,811	A.Johnson (2,1 pen Penalty kick A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play... ), Emnes Marvin Emnes Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:... , Hardman Lewis Hardman Lewis Hardman is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bishop Auckland.Born in Middlesbrough, England, Hardman made one league debut as a substitute for Darlington. During his second season at Darlington in 2007 he went on loan to clubs Whitby Town and Shildon... (o.g. Own goal An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents.... ), McMahon	Williams Rhys Williams (footballer) Rhys Williams is an Australian professional football player currently playing for Middlesbrough in the English Football League Championship and the Australia national football team...
7	8 August 2008	A	Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands, established on April 1, 1888. Sparta is one of three professional football clubs from Rotterdam, the others being Excelsior and Feyenoord , the latter playing in the Eredivisie.-History:Sparta was first founded in 1887....	6–1		Alves Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career during his time in Heerenveen in the Dutch league, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game... (2), Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Lorient.As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal aged 16. After making his Premier League debut in the 2001–02 season, he ultimately had limited opportunities, partly due to injury... , Walker Josh Walker Joshua "Josh" Walker is an English footballer. He currently plays as a midfielder for Championship side Watford.... , Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:... , Williams Rhys Williams (footballer) Rhys Williams is an Australian professional football player currently playing for Middlesbrough in the English Football League Championship and the Australia national football team...	Digard Didier Digard Didier Digard is a French footballer who plays for Nice as a midfielder.-Le Havre AC:Digard started his career with Le Havre, and spent eight years at the club. He played over 70 league games for the club.-PSG:...

August

Middlesbrough began their season with a victory for the first time in eight years with a 2–1 win over Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....

. Brad Jones was named as Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate

's new number 1, but there was no place in the starting line-up for any of the club's summer signings, with Didier Digard

Didier Digard

and Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:...

on the bench, while Justin Hoyte

Justin Hoyte

, only signed on the day, was ineligible. An early chance for David Wheater

David Wheater

David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...

was controversially ruled out for a foul, but he converted again in the second half for Boro's first goal of the season. Mido, on as a substitute, converted a cross/shot from fellow substitute Digard to put the home side two goals up, before Robert Huth

Robert Huth

Robert Huth is a German footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Stoke City.Huth was signed for Chelsea from the youth system of German club Union Berlin in 2001 by then Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri. He joined Middlesbrough in 2006 and spent three years at the Riverside...

conceded an own goal

Own goal

An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....

late in stoppage time.

There was heartbreak for Middlesbrough at Anfield

Anfield

Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...

, as late goals from Liverpool

Liverpool F.C.

saw them come from behind to win 2–1. Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...

started in goal after Brad Jones dislocated a finger during the warm-up, but the side were otherwise unchanged. It was goalless until Mido, again on as a substitute, put the visitors ahead after seventy minutes. Meanwhile, Justin Hoyte made his debut as a substitute for the injured Andrew Taylor

Andrew Taylor (footballer born 1986)

. Boro looked set to record their first win at Anfield for thirty-two years until Jamie Carragher

Jamie Carragher

James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...

's shot deflected off Emanuel Pogatetz

Emanuel Pogatetz

for an own goal with five minutes to go. Steven Gerrard

Steven Gerrard

Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...

's goal four minutes into stoppage time completed the comeback.

Stoke City

Stoke City F.C.

Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

were Middlesbrough's next opponents when they came to the Riverside

Riverside Stadium

The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough F.C. since it opened in 1995...

. The visitors frustrated the home side until Amdy Faye was sent off for a two-footed tackle on Mohamed Shawky

Mohamed Shawky

Mohamed Ali Abu El Yazid Shawky is an Egyptian footballer. He plays the Defensive midfielder position for Egyptian Premier League side Al-Ahly as well as the Egypt's national football team...

; Afonso Alves

Afonso Alves

converted the resulting direct free kick

Direct free kick

A direct free kick is a method of restarting play in a game of association football following a foul. Unlike an indirect free kick, a goal may be scored directly against the opposing side without the ball having first touched another player.-Award:...

. Stewart Downing

Stewart Downing

missed the chance to extend Boro's lead when his penalty kick

Penalty kick

A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play...

struck the bar, before for the third time in three league games, Middlesbrough conceded an own goal, this time courtesy of Justin Hoyte. Five minutes from the end, the home side's lead was restored with Tuncay Şanlı

Tuncay Sanli

Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team...

's first goal of the season. The 2–1 victory extended Boro's home record to five wins from the last five home games in all competitions. It also gave the club its best Premier League start in nine years.

Gareth Southgate picked up the Premier League Manager of the Month award for August, becoming only the second person after Stuart Pearce

Stuart Pearce

Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...

to pick up both the Player

Premier League Player of the Month

The Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Premier League player each month of the season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the League's sponsor, and announced alongside the Manager of the Month on the first or second Friday of the following month...

and Manager of the Month awards, and the first Middlesbrough manager to win the award since Terry Venables

Terry Venables

Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England...

in January 2001.

September

The internataional break left Middlesbrough without Tuncay and Shawky after both picked up injuries, while David Wheater could only make the bench after suffering from tonsillitis

Tonsillitis

Tonsillitis is an inflammation of the tonsils most commonly caused by viral or bacterial infection. Symptoms of tonsillitis include sore throat and fever. While no treatment has been found to shorten the duration of viral tonsillitis, bacterial causes are treatable with antibiotics...

, so Digard, Riggott

Chris Riggott

Christopher Mark "Chris" Riggott is an English footballer. He is a defender and has recently re-signed for his first professional club Derby County after spending the 2011-2012 pre-season with the squad....

and Mido came in. Nathan Porritt

Nathan Porritt

was named as a substitute for the first time on an all-Academy

Middlesbrough F.C. Reserves and Academy

bench. Portsmouth

Portsmouth F.C.

were the more dominant side throughout the match, however it was Boro who took the lead after Mido's fourth goal of the season. Jermain Defoe

Jermain Defoe

Jermain Colin Defoe is an English footballer who plays as a striker for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, and the England national football team....

scored a brace for the home side in the second half to give them a 2–1 win. Digard picked up an injury and had to be taken off while Boro thought they should have had a penalty after Downing was brought down in the box.

Middlesbrough were on top for much of the game at Sunderland

Sunderland A.F.C.

Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

's Stadium of Light

Stadium of Light

The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light has the fifth-largest capacity of any English football stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. matches...

, but ultimately came away with nothing from the 2–0 defeat. Mido was set to start, but was injured in the warm-up and was replaced by the initially-benched Alves. Downing and Alves created a host of good chances but none were converted. With sixteen minutes to go before the final whistle, Aliadière

Jérémie Aliadière

was brought down in the penalty area, but Downing sent his penalty kick flying over the bar for his second penalty miss of the season. The visitors were punished for their inability to score when Michael Chopra

Michael Chopra

Rocky Michael Chopra is an English footballer who plays for Football League Championship side Ipswich Town. He is of mixed Indian and British descent....

scored two goals in the final ten minutes.

Gareth Southgate's 100th game in charge, which saw Stewart Downing named captain for the first time in Emanuel Pogatetz' absence was a frustrating one. They saw two chances cleared off the line by former Middlesbrough player James Morrison

James Morrison (footballer)

James Clark Morrison is a Scottish international footballer who currently plays for West Bromwich Albion. His ability to run with the ball at pace makes him an effective option through the middle, as an attacking midfielder, or more often as a right winger...

, a shot hit the bar, and a penalty shout turned down as they squandered plenty of chances to beat Tony Mowbray

Tony Mowbray

Anthony Mark "Tony" Mowbray is an English former professional football player, who is currently the manager of Middlesbrough...

's West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion F.C.

West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...

. Instead, they were left to pick up the pieces after a 1–0 defeat courtesy of Jonas Olsson

Jonas Olsson (born 1983)

Jonas Olsson is a Swedish footballer who plays for West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League and for the Sweden national football team as a centre-back.-Club career:...

October

After going through September with four defeats from four games in all competitions, Middlesbrough picked up their first away win of 2008 against Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic F.C.

. Grounds

Jonathan Grounds

Jonathan Martin Grounds is a professional footballer currently playing for Chesterfield on loan from Middlesbrough.- Career :...

and Riggott came into the side as Taylor and Huth were out injured, and the weakened defence earned Boro their first clean sheet of the season. Aliadière picked up his first Premier League goal of the season in the dying minutes – Boro's 600th in the Premier League – to snatch a 1–0 victory.

Following another international break, Middlesbrough's next game was at home to Chelsea

Chelsea F.C.

. Both sides were missing first-team players, but the quality of Chelsea's reserves showed as they outclassed Boro and ran out 5–0 victors. Hoyte was ruled out injured before the game and so Grounds covered at right-back, while Alves started the game on the bench. The home side were just a goal behind going into half-time, but four goals in twenty-two minutes after the break left Boro dejected, including an own goal from Wheater that was originally credited to Salomon Kalou

Salomon Kalou

Salomon Armand Magloire Kalou is an Ivorian footballer who plays as a striker for Chelsea in the Premier League.He is often used on the wings at Chelsea. He has a preference for playing on the left wing as this gives him opportunities to cut inside and take shots with his favoured right foot...

. John Johnson

John Johnson (footballer)

John James Johnson is an English footballer who plays for Northampton Town as a defender.-Career:Born in Middlesbrough, Johnson made his first team debut for Middlesbrough on 18 October 2008 in a home 5–0 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League, coming on as a substitute for Jonathan Grounds in...

came on to make his debut as a substitute for Grounds around the hour mark on a "horrendous day" for his club.

Middlesbrough next travelled to Ewood Park

Ewood Park

Ewood Park is a football stadium in the English town of Blackburn, Lancashire, and is the home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club — one of the founder members of the Football League and Premier League. Rovers have played there since they moved from Leamington Street in the summer of 1890. The...

, looking for their second away win in a row. The away side were boosted by the return of Pogatetz and Tuncay from suspension and injury respectively, although Mido picked up an injury on the morning of the game. Although Blackburn

Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....

had plenty of chances, the first fell to Boro's Aliadière, who hit the bar early on, while Tuncay had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside. Afonso Alves smashed the ball past Paul Robinson

Paul Robinson (goalkeeper)

Paul William Robinson is an English footballer who plays for Blackburn Rovers as a goalkeeper in the Premier League. He had also been an England international and he earned 41 caps between 2003 and 2007 before his retirement from international football in August 2010.He joined Leeds United at 16...

on 74 minutes, while Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:...

finally made his Premier League debut after 84. Once again though, Boro conceded a late goal as the home side levelled the game at 1–1 three minutes into injury time.

Looking for a much improved performance after their last home game, the midweek game versus Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

provided the response that both fans and manager were looking for. City had plenty of possession and chances but Ross Turnbull kept his first home clean sheet of the season. Afonso Alves made it two goals in two games after converting a penalty – Boro's 6000th league goal. There was also a welcome surprise in stoppage time as Boro made it 2–0 with a late goal courtesy of Gary O'Neil

Gary O'Neil

– his first for the club.

November

Middlesbrough came back from a goal down against West Ham United

West Ham United F.C.

West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...

in their next game to draw the game at 1–1. West Ham dominated much of the game before tactical substitutions from manager Gareth Southgate improved the home side's performance and lead to substitute Mido getting Boro's goal – his fifth of the season – late in the second half.

An Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

side looking to move into the Champions League

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

spots on their home ground were Middlesbrough's next opponents. Boro were gifted two goals through defensive mistakes, with Tuncay converting them both, but they weren't the only chances they had, as Alves missed a sitter from three yards out. Villa levelled the game three minutes after Boro's first goal but the visitors won it 2–1 two minutes from the end of normal time.

Both Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

and Middlesbrough went into the next match on the back of a four-game unbeaten run, and both sides came out of it with their unbeaten runs intact after a 1–1 draw at Goodison Park

Goodison Park

Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...

. Gary O'Neil got his second goal of the season after just eight minutes to put the visitors ahead, but Boro old-boy Yakubu

Yakubu Aiyegbeni

Yakubu Aiyegbeni , generally known simply as Yakubu, is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Blackburn Rovers and the Nigerian national football team. His nickname is "The Yak".-Early career:...

brought Everton level mid-way through the second half.

The club's unbeaten run came to a disappointing end after a poor home display against Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers F.C.

Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....

. Middlesbrough found themselves two goals down after ten minutes, but had a number of chances to try to get back into the game. Pogatetz got a goal back for the home side after 77 minutes, but just 63 seconds later, Bolton scored their third to wrap up a 3–1 win. When Taylor was substituted during the game, he and a supporter got into an angry exchange of words, a situation for which Taylor later apologised.

Next up came the Tyne-Tees derby

Tyne-Tees derby

The Tyne–Tees derby is a term which is often applied to matches between Newcastle United and Middlesbrough. The derby is more of a regional derby between these two clubs who have played each other more often over the last ten years than both these clubs have played their nearest rivals Sunderland...

match at home to Newcastle United

Newcastle United F.C.

Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

. Both sides had chances to win the entertaining match but neither one took them, as the game ended in a 0–0 draw. The match was marred for the second year running by islamophobic

Islamophobia

Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....

chanting aimed at Boro striker Mido. Two men were later arrested after being identified by CCTV

Closed-circuit television

Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....

cameras. One man pleaded guilty to the offence and was fined, while another pleaded not guilty and is awaiting a hearing. Both Middlesbrough and The FA were disappointed by the decision not to issue a banning order, though the club did ban the individual from the ground.

December

Nick Barmby

Nicholas Jon "Nick" Barmby is an English footballer who plays for Hull City as a midfielder, where he is also caretaker manager. At his peak he earned a total of 23 caps for England between 1995 and 2001...

marked his 500th career appearance against one of his former clubs as Middlesbrough visited Hull City

Hull City A.F.C.

for the first ever top-flight match between the two sides. Hull lined up with former Boro captain George Boateng

George Boateng

George Boateng is a Dutch footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nottingham Forest in The Championship.-Club career:...

in midfield after his departure during the summer. The previous four league meetings between the two sides had all ended in 0–0 draws, and it looked like the match was heading for another until Tuncay opened the scoring on 79 minutes. Boro's lead didn't last long however, as Bernard Mendy

Bernard Mendy

Bernard Mendy is a French footballer of Senegalese origin who plays for Danish club Odense Boldklub. He is a right back/right wing-back who is known for his blistering pace and constant overlapping runs.-Career:...

's shot hit the post and rebounded off of goalkeeper Ross Turnbull to go down as an own goal. It got worse for the visitors as just a few minutes later, Hull were awarded a soft penalty when Wheater tangled with Geovanni – a challenge which also saw the Middlesbrough defender receive a red card. TV replays showed that Geovanni was offside when the ball was played to him, but nothing was awarded by the assistant referee. Marlon King

Marlon King

converted the penalty to give Hull a 2–1 victory.

With Wheater suspended, and both Taylor and Hoyte out injured, Middlesbrough had to field a patched-up back four for their home game versus Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

, with Tony McMahon returning to the starting line-up after a long time out with injuries, alongside Huth and Riggott, both of whom were returning from injury. There was also a start for Adam Johnson on the right hand side of midfield, as Alves was dropped to the bench. Emmanuel Adebayor

Emmanuel Adebayor

Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a Togolese footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur as a striker on loan from Manchester City. He plays in the same position for the Togo national team. Adebayor previously played for Metz, Monaco and Arsenal and was voted African Footballer of the Year for 2008...

put Arsenal into the lead after quarter of an hour, but Aliadière got on the end of a wonderful cross from Tuncay to head home the equaliser twelve minutes later. The home side were then denied a penalty when Johnson was brought down in the box, but the referee didn't award anything. Both sides had further chances but the game ended 1–1.

Middlesbrough produced their worst away performance of the season thus far against Fulham

Fulham F.C.

, as they slumped to a 3–0 defeat. Julio Arca was lucky not to be red-carded for a late over-the-top challenge on Andy Johnson, earning only a yellow card. Jimmy Bullard

Jimmy Bullard

James Richard "Jimmy" Bullard is a footballer who currently plays for Ipswich Town. He played youth football at West Ham before moving to Gravesend & Northfleet in 1998...

got the opening goal after Turnbull could only parry Bobby Zamora

Bobby Zamora

Robert Lester "Bobby" Zamora is an English footballer who plays for Fulham and the England national football team. Zamora began his career at Football League club Bristol Rovers, but was soon signed by Brighton & Hove Albion, where he found first team success...

's shot. Next, for the third time in three games, a penalty decision went against Boro, as Tony McMahon was adjudged to have handled the ball after the ball struck his arm from close range. Turnbull guessed the right way but was unable to save Danny Murphy's penalty kick. Clint Dempsey

Clint Dempsey

Clinton Drew "Clint" Dempsey is an American soccer player who plays for Fulham and the United States national team. Dempsey usually plays as either an attacking midfielder, or a striker....

got the third to round off Fulham's win.

An improved performance was expected but didn't come on Boxing Day

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...

, when Everton visited the Riverside Stadium. Middlesbrough rarely troubled the visitors, but striker-less Everton could still only manage a 1–0 win.

The performance finally improved but the result stayed the same when Middlesbrough went to Old Trafford

Old Trafford

Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...

, where Matthew Bates

Matthew Bates

Matthew David Bates is an English professional football player and captain of Middlesbrough. He plays in central defence, however is equally adept at playing right-back or defensive midfield.-Career:...

started a Middlesbrough game for the first time since the end of the 2005–06 season

Middlesbrough F.C. season 2005-06

Middlesbrough participated in the Premier League during the 2005–06 English football season, where they finished in 14th place.Middlesbrough had qualified for the UEFA Cup via the league the previous season, and this season saw them make a dramatic run all the way to the final where they lost...

. Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

boss Alex Ferguson

Alex Ferguson

Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...

had spoken before the game, hoping to banish the rift that existed between the two clubs. Things probably weren't helped when Pogatetz, defending a corner, put his hands around the back of Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro, OIH, , commonly known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese footballer who plays as a winger or striker for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team...

's neck a corner and the United player went down, claiming a penalty. The spat continued when the players walked off the pitch for half time. Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov is a Bulgarian footballer who plays as a forward for Manchester United. He captained the Bulgarian national team from 2006 to 2010, and is its all-time leading goalscorer and has also won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year a record seven times, surpassing the number of...

's goal was the decisive moment in the game when he fired home to give his side a 1–0 victory, and left Middlesbrough hovering above the relegation zone on goal difference and without a win in eight games.

January

When league football returned to the Riverside for the derby clash with Sunderland, a lot had happened in the interim. The club had recorded an overdue victory – against Barrow in the FA Cup

FA Cup

(see FA Cup section), with Afonso Alves getting back amongst the goals, while the transfer window had seen Stewart Downing's transfer request rejected along with offers from Tottenham, while Portsmouth's moves for Gary O'Neil had all been rebuffed. Josh Walker

Josh Walker

Joshua "Josh" Walker is an English footballer. He currently plays as a midfielder for Championship side Watford....

made his full league debut, starting in central midfield – more than two years after his substitute appearance in the last game of 2005–06, and Downing played centrally, supporting Alves. Downing and Alves linked up well to put Boro ahead before half time. The central midfield partnership of Walker and Digard were both forced off with injuries picked up from opposition challenges, meaning Matthew Bates was pushed into an unfamiliar central midfield role. Sunderland pressed more and more in the second half, and got their equaliser courtesy of Kenwyne Jones

Kenwyne Jones

Kenwyne Joel Jones is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City and the Trinidad and Tobago national team. He previously played for Sunderland, Southampton, Stoke City, Sheffield Wednesday, W Connection and Joe Public.He began his football...

. The visitors could have gone on to win the game but Adam Johnson made a backheeled clearance off the goal line, and McMahon won a last-ditch tackle on Djibril Cissé

Djibril Cissé

Djibril Aruun Cissé is a French international footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Lazio as a striker. He is noted particularly for his speed and acceleration. Since 2005, he has held the title of Lord of the Manor of Frodsham....

after he was put through on goal on the stroke of full time. The 1–1 draw extended Boro's winless run to nine games.

The winless run entered double figures when Middlesbrough went down 3–0 away to West Bromwich Albion. Injuries to Pogatetz and Walker meant a reshuffle in both defense and midfield, and after just four minutes Boro were behind. The defense appealed in vain for offside as Chris Brunt

Chris Brunt

Christopher Brunt is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for English Premier League side West Bromwich Albion. He plays as a left winger and more recently an attacking midfield position. He is also the Albion captain....

fired home a heavily deflected shot. Another deflection saw Robert Koren

Robert Koren

Robert Koren is a Slovenian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hull City and as the captain for the Slovenian national team.-Early career:...

's strike roll past Ross Turnbull to put the home side two goals up early in the second half. It got worse for the visitors had Didier Digard sent off for appearing to jump into a challenge on Borja Valero

Borja Valero

Borja Valero Iglesias is a Spanish footballer who plays for Villarreal CF in La Liga, as a central midfielder.-Real Madrid:...

. Koren got his second goal not long after to add to Boro's misery. West Brom's win over Boro, added to their win earlier in the season, meant they completed their first ever Premier League double. The Middlesbrough players reaction to Digard's sending off lead to The FA charging the club with failing to control their players. A handful of Boro players surrounded referee Mark Halsey

Mark Halsey

Mark R. Halsey is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League. He was formerly based in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, currently in Bolton, Lancashire....

to protest as he tried to push Digard off of the pitch, with Halsey dropping one of his cards as a result. Middlesbrough finally dropped into the relegation zone following Tottenham's victory over Portsmouth the following day.

Middlesbrough went into their next game following a cup win away at Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...

, but that didn't signal a change in fortunes in the league. Set pieces were once again the side's undoing. Away at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge

Stamford Bridge (stadium)

Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...

, Middlesbrough started with new loan signing Marlon King

Marlon King

as sole striker, with five men in midfield. Boro held out until 58 minutes into the game, when Salomon Kalou put his side ahead. He got his second on 81 minutes, condemning Middlesbrough to a 2–0 defeat.

Gareth Southgate elected to make changes for the home tie versus relegation rivals Blackburn Rovers. Brad Jones returned for his first league start since the opening day of the season as Ross Turnbull was dropped to the bench, while the side featured five centre backs – Wheater, Huth, Riggott and Pogatetz at the back, while Matthew Bates once again operating in central midfield alongside the quickly-recovered Josh Walker. The set-up allowed Middlesbrough to gain their first clean sheet for two months, but limited themselves to a solitary shot on target over the course of the game. The 0–0 draw earned Boro a point but they fell to 19th in the table, with Blackburn joining them in the relegation zone in 18th, following Stoke's victory over Manchester City.

February

A trip to the City of Manchester Stadium

City of Manchester Stadium

The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England – also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship purposes– is the home ground of...

for Saturday's early kick-off was next on Middlesbrough's agenda. Manchester City's new signing Shay Given

Shay Given

Séamus John James "Shay" Given is an Irish footballer who plays for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national team as a goalkeeper. He won the PFA's Player of the Year in 2002....

made a solid debut, denying Afonso Alves with four fine saves. Both sides had chances throughout the game but City were the only one to convert – Craig Bellamy

Craig Bellamy

Craig Douglas Bellamy is a Welsh footballer who plays as a striker for Liverpool and the Welsh national team. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy was the captain of the Welsh national side for four years after taking over from Ryan Giggs in 2007, but stood down in January 2011 due to constant injuries...

's shot across goal went between Robert Huth's legs and beyond the reach of Brad Jones into the corner of the net.

Boro's defense remained solid when Wigan came to the Riverside Stadium, but continued to struggle in attack. An line-up unchanged from the midweek FA Cup draw with West Ham was forced into a change mid-way through the first half. Summer departure Lee Cattermole

Lee Cattermole

's strong-but-fair challenge on Didier Digard forced the midfielder off with injuries to both legs that would likely rule him out for the remainder of the season. Neither side could muster enough chances for a goal and the game ended 0–0. Middlesbrough's dire run stretched to fourteen games without a win, with only one goal in nine games. A letter from the club's Safety Officer, Sue Watson, was handed out to supporters in block 53A. It was intended to ask supporters to refrain from constantly standing and to stop banging on the plastic sheeting on the back of the stand, but its bad wording caused much anger among fans who interpreted it as asking them to sit down and be quiet. The club was forced to apologise to the fans and clarify the confusion.

A victory in their FA Cup fifth-round replay sent Middlesbrough into the home match with Liverpool with optimism that their disastrous run of form in the league would finally come to an end, and their hopes came true. Liverpool were riding high in second place, while Boro began the day in second bottom. A stroke of luck put the home side ahead as Xabi Alonso

Xabi Alonso

Xabier "Xabi" Alonso Olano is a Spanish World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Real Madrid as a midfielder.Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home region Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar he returned to Sociedad where then manager John Toshack appointed...

diverted the ball into his own net from a corner. Tuncay doubled the advantage in the second half, and they could have had more as the visitors left themselves open at the back as they tried to find a way back. Brad Jones kept a fourth consecutive home clean sheet and Boro moved out of the relegation zone with their 2–0 win, while Liverpool had now failed to win at the Riverside for seven seasons.

March

Middlesbrough were brought back down to Earth with a big loss away to Tottenham Hotspur. The home side came into the game on the back of a Carling Cup final defeat, while Boro remained unchanged. The mood was set within the first fifteen minutes as Robbie Keane

Robbie Keane

Robert David "Robbie" Keane is an Irish association football player who plays as a striker for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer and captains the Irish national football team....

and Roman Pavlyuchenko

Roman Pavlyuchenko

Roman Anatolyevich Pavlyuchenko is an footballer who currently plays as a centre forward for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and for the Russian national team.-Spartak Moscow:...

gave the home side an early two goal lead, while Aaron Lennon

Aaron Lennon

Aaron Justin Lennon is an English footballer who plays as a right winger for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and the England national team.-Early life:...

made it three five minutes before half time. Tuncay twice had the ball in the back of the net but both times he was caught narrowly offside. Lennon got his second goal of the game late in the second half to condemn Boro to a heavy 4–0 defeat.

Fellow relegation-battlers Portsmouth were next up as they visited the Riverside Stadium. Middlesbrough were caught napping at a corner on the half-hour mark and Peter Crouch

Peter Crouch

Peter James Crouch is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Stoke City and the England national team.Crouch started his career as a trainee with Tottenham Hotspur...

put the visitors ahead. The second half saw Boro dominate the game but once more spurned plenty of chances. Things got worse as Matthew Bates was sent off after picking up a second yellow card when he was adjudged to have dived in the penalty area. Four minutes into injury time, Marlon King grabbed his first Middlesbrough goal as volleyed in from close range. Alves had a chance to hand Boro a win with the last kick of the game as he was through on goal but David James

David James (footballer)

David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...

saved his shot and the game ended 1–1. Towards the end of the game, before the equaliser, some fans began to chant "we've only got one player", referring to Tuncay's efforts compared to his teammates. Southgate came out to say he was unhappy with the chant, calling it "disrespectful" and saying "we survive as a club and as a town by everyone pulling together."

Middlesbrough next visited Stoke City's Britannia Stadium

Britannia Stadium

The Britannia Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, England and the home of Premier League club Stoke City Football Club. With space for 27,598 spectators . The name is taken from the sponsors of the Stadium the Britannia Co-operative Bank...

in another important game. Like much of the season, the team once again failed to score. As expected, Rory Delap

Rory Delap

Rory John Delap is an English born Irish footballer who plays for Stoke City. He has played eleven times for the Republic of Ireland national football team....

's throw-in's were Stoke's main offensive weapon. Although they dealt with most of them well, Ryan Shawcross

Ryan Shawcross

Ryan James Shawcross is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Stoke City.He previously was on the books of Manchester United, and had loan spells at Royal Antwerp and Stoke City respectively, before joining the latter permanently during January 2008. He was appointed as Stoke's captain...

headed one home on 84 minutes, giving them a vital 1–0 win over their relegation rivals. The loss left Middlesbrough four points from safety, with the battle against relegation taking its toll on the club's morale.

April

April began as March had ended with a defeat, this time at the hands of Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium

Reebok Stadium

The Reebok Stadium is the home stadium of English Premier League football club Bolton Wanderers, and is located on the Middlebrook Retail Park in Horwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. It is commonly known as 'The Reebok'...

. Middlesbrough's Gary O'Neil had cancelled out Bolton's opener to make the scores 1–1 but bad defending saw the home side score three more. The 4–1 defeat left Boro languishing in 19th place, five points from safety.

The home tie against Hull was labelled as a "must-win" tie as they battled to avoid relegation. Middlesbrough got off to a perfect start as Tuncay opened the scoring after just three minutes, but Hull quickly hit back through Manucho

Manucho

Mateus Alberto Contreiras Gonçalves , better known as Manucho, is an Angolan footballer who currently plays for Real Valladolid.He moved from Petro Atletico to Manchester United in January 2008...

. Boro regained the lead after Matthew Bates

Matthew Bates

scored his first ever goal for the club, stabbing home from a corner. All three vital points were secured after a defensive slip by former Boro captain George Boateng let Marlon King

Marlon King

in to make the score 3–1. Results later that day left Boro in 19th place but they were now only two points from safety.

Another home tie followed a week later, and Boro did everything but score against a Fulham side featuring former Boro keeper Mark Schwarzer

Mark Schwarzer

in goal. The keeper kept out several good efforts but his side's steady defence frustrated the home side and meant the game ended 0–0.

Middlesbrough's dire away form continued at the Emirates Stadium

Emirates Stadium

Ashburton Grove, currently known as the Emirates Stadium, is a UEFA elite football stadium which is home to Arsenal FC, where they moved from Highbury in 2006. It has an current capacity of 60,361, and there have been rumours of an expansion...

as a Cesc Fàbregas

Cesc Fàbregas

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club FC Barcelona.Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Premier League side Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16...

double condemned them to a 2–0 defeat, a club record tenth straight away loss. Boro had reason to complain about the opening goal when an offside player was interfering with the goalkeeper's view, but the visitors failed to really test the opposition goal.

May

Despite Middlesbrough's placing in the relegation zone, they went into the home tie against Manchester United unbeaten at home in 2009. Jérémie Aliadière had an early low shot saved by Ben Foster

Ben Foster (footballer)

Benjamin Anthony "Ben" Foster is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for West Bromwich Albion, on loan from Birmingham City, and internationally for the England national team.-Stoke City:...

, but other than that failed to threaten a United side who rested several key players in preparation for their upcoming UEFA Champions League

UEFA Champions League

match. Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-Sung

Park Ji-Sung

Park Ji-Sung is a South Korean footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United. He was also the captain of the South Korean national team until his retirement from international football...

scored the visitors' goals and left Boro still entrenched in the relegation battle.

The "must-win" game at relegation rivals Newcastle's St James' Park was likely to determine both sides' chances of avoiding the drop. Tuncay's early shot rebounded off of the Newcastle keeper and then off Habib Beye

Habib Beye

Habib Beye is a French born Senegalese footballer who plays for Doncaster Rovers on loan from Aston Villa and for the Senegal national team...

, who put the ball into his own net for an own goal, giving the visitors the lead after just three minutes. Steven Taylor

Steven Taylor (footballer)

Steven Vincent Taylor is an English footballer, currently playing for Premier League club Newcastle United. He is a versatile central defender who can play at right back or, on rare occasions, at left back...

brought the scores level six minutes later as Boro conceded another poorly defended corner. The game was close, with both sides having several good opportunities, before substitute Obafemi Martins

Obafemi Martins

Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball....

scored for Newcastle straight after coming on. Peter Løvenkrands

Peter Løvenkrands

Peter Rosenkrands Løvenkrands is a Danish footballer who plays for Newcastle United in the Premier League, and for the Danish national team. He is a striker who can also play as a left winger and is known for his pace....

settled the game as he put in his side's third goal. The 3–1 win was Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

's first as Newcastle manager and Middlesbrough's eleventh away defeat in a row. With Middlesbrough three points from safety, and a considerable inferior goal difference with just two games to go, relegation looked even more likely.

A great escape looked on the cards when Middlesbrough went a goal up at home to Aston Villa in their penultimate game of the season, courtesy of an overhead kick from Tuncay. Boro were dealt a huge blow however, when Stewart Downing was brought down under a challenge from Stiliyan Petrov

Stiliyan Petrov

Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov is a Bulgarian footballer who captains Aston Villa in the Premier League and the Bulgarian national team. He won the Bulgarian Footballer of the Year award in 2003 when he was playing for Celtic...

, and needed treatment. He was able to briefly continue before needing to be substituted. John Carew

John Carew

John Alieu Carew , is a Norwegian professional association football player who plays for West Ham United and the Norwegian national team. His father is Gambian and his mother is Norwegian; he was born and raised in Norway.-Vålerenga:John Alieu Carew began his career with his local club Lørenskog,...

brought Villa level when Boro failed to get started again in the second half. The visitors looked most likely to score again as they continued to press forward, while Boro needed to get forward themselves in their relegation fight. The game eventually ended in a 1–1 draw, with Boro needing a miracle in the final game to avoid the drop.

In order to stay in the top flight, Middlesbrough needed relegation rivals Newcastle and Hull City to lose, while they needed a five goal swing to Hull in goal difference. Stewart Downing's injury kept him out of a Premier League game for the first time since November 2006, also throwing doubt on a possible summer transfer, and Tuncay captained the side. Boro had to go for it, but instead they fell behind. Gary O'Neil temporarily brought his side level, but they again conceded and lost 2–1. With Newcastle and Hull both losing, the opportunity to escape was there for Middlesbrough, but they had failed to take it. Their twelfth consecutive away defeat extended the club record, and equalled a Premier League one, and saw their eleven-year run in the top flight ended, with the club needing to prepare for the next season in the Football League Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

Results

Note: Results are given with Middlesbrough score listed first. Man of the Match is according to mfc.co.uk.

Game	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result F–A	Attendance	Boro Goalscorers	Man of the Match
1	16 August 2008	H	Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....	2–1	32,623	Wheater David Wheater David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:... 71', Mido 86'	Wheater David Wheater David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...
2	23 August 2008	A	Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...	1–2	43,168	Mido 70'	O'Neil Gary O'Neil Gary Paul O'Neil is an English footballer who currently plays for West Ham United.-Portsmouth:Tony Pulis gave O'Neil his Portsmouth debut as a 16-year-old on 29 January 2000 at home to Barnsley in the First Division, but kept him out of the spotlight for the rest of the season...
3	30 August 2008	H	Stoke City Stoke City F.C. Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...	2–1	27,627	Alves Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career during his time in Heerenveen in the Dutch league, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game... 37', Tuncay Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team... 85'	Huth Robert Huth Robert Huth is a German footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Stoke City.Huth was signed for Chelsea from the youth system of German club Union Berlin in 2001 by then Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri. He joined Middlesbrough in 2006 and spent three years at the Riverside...
4	13 September 2008	A	Portsmouth Portsmouth F.C. Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...	1–2	19,425	Mido 24'	Turnbull Ross Turnbull Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...
5	20 September 2008	A	Sunderland Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...	0–2	38,388		Turnbull Ross Turnbull Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...
6	27 September 2008	H	West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion F.C. West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...	0–1	26,248		Huth Robert Huth Robert Huth is a German footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Stoke City.Huth was signed for Chelsea from the youth system of German club Union Berlin in 2001 by then Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri. He joined Middlesbrough in 2006 and spent three years at the Riverside...
7	4 October 2008	A	Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic F.C. Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...	1–0	16,806	Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Lorient.As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal aged 16. After making his Premier League debut in the 2001–02 season, he ultimately had limited opportunities, partly due to injury... 89'	Riggott Chris Riggott Christopher Mark "Chris" Riggott is an English footballer. He is a defender and has recently re-signed for his first professional club Derby County after spending the 2011-2012 pre-season with the squad....
8	18 October 2008	H	Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...	0–5	29,221		Not awarded
9	25 October 2008	A	Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....	1–1	17,606	Alves Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career during his time in Heerenveen in the Dutch league, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game... 74'	Pogatetz Emanuel Pogatetz Emanuel Pogatetz is an Austrian footballer who currently plays for Hannover 96 as a defender.- Club career :Pogatetz's career started at Sturm Graz before going to Kärnten and later to Bayer Leverkusen...
10	29 October 2008	H	Manchester City Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...	2–0	25,731	Alves Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career during his time in Heerenveen in the Dutch league, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game... 53' (pen. Penalty kick A penalty kick is a type of direct free kick in association football, taken from twelve yards out from goal and with only the goalkeeper of the defending team between the penalty taker and the goal.Penalty kicks are performed during normal play... ), O'Neil Gary O'Neil Gary Paul O'Neil is an English footballer who currently plays for West Ham United.-Portsmouth:Tony Pulis gave O'Neil his Portsmouth debut as a 16-year-old on 29 January 2000 at home to Barnsley in the First Division, but kept him out of the spotlight for the rest of the season... 90+4'	Turnbull Ross Turnbull Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...
11	1 November 2008	H	West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...	1–1	25,164	Mido 82'	Riggott Chris Riggott Christopher Mark "Chris" Riggott is an English footballer. He is a defender and has recently re-signed for his first professional club Derby County after spending the 2011-2012 pre-season with the squad....
12	9 November 2008	A	Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...	2–1	36,672	Tuncay Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team... 34', 88'	Tuncay Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team...
13	16 November 2008	A	Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...	1–1	31,063	O'Neil Gary O'Neil Gary Paul O'Neil is an English footballer who currently plays for West Ham United.-Portsmouth:Tony Pulis gave O'Neil his Portsmouth debut as a 16-year-old on 29 January 2000 at home to Barnsley in the First Division, but kept him out of the spotlight for the rest of the season... 8'	Digard Didier Digard Didier Digard is a French footballer who plays for Nice as a midfielder.-Le Havre AC:Digard started his career with Le Havre, and spent eight years at the club. He played over 70 league games for the club.-PSG:...
14	22 November 2008	H	Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....	1–3	24,487	Pogatetz Emanuel Pogatetz Emanuel Pogatetz is an Austrian footballer who currently plays for Hannover 96 as a defender.- Club career :Pogatetz's career started at Sturm Graz before going to Kärnten and later to Bayer Leverkusen... 77'	Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...
15	29 November 2008	H	Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...	0–0	32,160		Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...
16	6 December 2008	A	Hull City Hull City A.F.C. Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...	1–2	24,912	Tuncay Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team... 79'	Pogatetz Emanuel Pogatetz Emanuel Pogatetz is an Austrian footballer who currently plays for Hannover 96 as a defender.- Club career :Pogatetz's career started at Sturm Graz before going to Kärnten and later to Bayer Leverkusen...
17	13 December 2008	H	Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...	1–1	27,320	Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Lorient.As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal aged 16. After making his Premier League debut in the 2001–02 season, he ultimately had limited opportunities, partly due to injury... 29'	Turnbull Ross Turnbull Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...
18	20 December 2008	A	Fulham Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...	0–3	23,722		Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...
19	26 December 2008	H	Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...	0–1	30,253		Riggott Chris Riggott Christopher Mark "Chris" Riggott is an English footballer. He is a defender and has recently re-signed for his first professional club Derby County after spending the 2011-2012 pre-season with the squad....
20	29 December 2008	A	Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...	0–1	75,294		Bates Matthew Bates Matthew David Bates is an English professional football player and captain of Middlesbrough. He plays in central defence, however is equally adept at playing right-back or defensive midfield.-Career:...
21	10 January 2009	H	Sunderland Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...	1–1	29,310	Alves Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career during his time in Heerenveen in the Dutch league, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game... 45'	Wheater David Wheater David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...
22	17 January 2009	A	West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion F.C. West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...	0–3	25,557		Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...
23	28 January 2009	A	Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...	0–2	40,280		Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...
24	31 January 2009	H	Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....	0–0	24,303		Jones
25	7 February 2009	A	Manchester City Manchester City F.C. Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...	0–1	40,558		Jones
26	21 February 2009	H	Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic F.C. Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...	0–0	24,020		Wheater David Wheater David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...
27	28 February 2009	H	Liverpool Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...	2–0	33,724	Alonso Xabi Alonso Xabier "Xabi" Alonso Olano is a Spanish World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Real Madrid as a midfielder.Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home region Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar he returned to Sociedad where then manager John Toshack appointed... (o.g. Own goal An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents.... ) 32', Tuncay Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team... 63'	The whole team
28	4 March 2009	A	Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....	0–4	35,761		Wheater David Wheater David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...
29	14 March 2009	H	Portsmouth Portsmouth F.C. Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...	1–1	24,281	King Marlon King Marlon Francis King is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Birmingham City. After starting his career in non-League football with Dulwich Hamlet, he played for Barnet, Gillingham, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest before moving to Watford in 2005... 90+4'	Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...
30	21 March 2009	A	Stoke City Stoke City F.C. Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...	0–1	26,440		Huth Robert Huth Robert Huth is a German footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Stoke City.Huth was signed for Chelsea from the youth system of German club Union Berlin in 2001 by then Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri. He joined Middlesbrough in 2006 and spent three years at the Riverside...
31	4 April 2009	A	Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....	1–4	20,819	O'Neill Gary O'Neill Gary O'Neill is an Irish footballer who currently plays for Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland.O'Neill, a striker, received his footballing education at Tolka Rovers, before entering the professional ranks with Bohemian F.C... 38'	Tuncay Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team...
32	11 April 2009	H	Hull City Hull City A.F.C. Hull City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, founded in 1904. The club participates in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football...	3–1	32,255	Tuncay Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team... 3', Bates Matthew Bates Matthew David Bates is an English professional football player and captain of Middlesbrough. He plays in central defence, however is equally adept at playing right-back or defensive midfield.-Career:... 29', King Marlon King Marlon Francis King is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Birmingham City. After starting his career in non-League football with Dulwich Hamlet, he played for Barnet, Gillingham, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest before moving to Watford in 2005... 90'	Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...
33	18 April 2009	H	Fulham Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...	0–0	30,389		Tuncay Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team...
34	26 April 2009	A	Arsenal Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...	0–2	60,089		Wheater David Wheater David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...
35	2 May 2009	H	Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...	0–2	33,767		Huth Robert Huth Robert Huth is a German footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Stoke City.Huth was signed for Chelsea from the youth system of German club Union Berlin in 2001 by then Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri. He joined Middlesbrough in 2006 and spent three years at the Riverside...
36	11 May 2009	A	Newcastle United Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...	1–3	51,252	Beye Habib Beye Habib Beye is a French born Senegalese footballer who plays for Doncaster Rovers on loan from Aston Villa and for the Senegal national team... (o.g. Own goal An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents.... ) 3'	O'Neil Gary O'Neil Gary Paul O'Neil is an English footballer who currently plays for West Ham United.-Portsmouth:Tony Pulis gave O'Neil his Portsmouth debut as a 16-year-old on 29 January 2000 at home to Barnsley in the First Division, but kept him out of the spotlight for the rest of the season...
37	16 May 2009	H	Aston Villa Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...	1–1	27,261	Tuncay Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team... 14'	Tuncay Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team...
38	24 May 2009	A	West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...	1–2	34,007	O'Neil Gary O'Neil Gary Paul O'Neil is an English footballer who currently plays for West Ham United.-Portsmouth:Tony Pulis gave O'Neil his Portsmouth debut as a 16-year-old on 29 January 2000 at home to Barnsley in the First Division, but kept him out of the spotlight for the rest of the season... 50'	Not awarded

League Cup

The draw for the second round of the League Cup

Football League Cup

saw Middlesbrough handed a historic game versus League One

Football League One

Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....

side Yeovil Town

Yeovil Town F.C.

Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...

– the game being the first ever competitive meeting between the two clubs. It turned out to be a comfortable victory for the home side. Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate

fielded a slightly weakened side, though handed Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:...

his debut, along with first starts for Justin Hoyte

Justin Hoyte

and Didier Digard

Didier Digard

. Mido made his record three goals in three games after he opened the scoring, before Digard got his first goal for the club. Jérémie Aliadière

Jérémie Aliadière

added the third before Gavin Tomlin

Gavin Tomlin

Gavin Glenrick Tomlin is a professional footballer who plays for Dagenham & Redbridge. Tomlin is a versatile player who can play on both left and right wings, attacking midfield and as a striker.-Career:...

pulled one back for Yeovil. Emnes got a goal on his debut just after half-time, then Adam Johnson got the final goal to make it 5–1. Meanwhile, there was a full debut for Rhys Williams

Rhys Williams (footballer)

Rhys Williams is an Australian professional football player currently playing for Middlesbrough in the English Football League Championship and the Australia national football team...

and a home debut for Josh Walker

Josh Walker

Joshua "Josh" Walker is an English footballer. He currently plays as a midfielder for Championship side Watford....

as they both came on as substitutes.

Middlesbrough were handed a tough away tie against Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

for the third round. Brad Jones started in goal in place of Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull is an English footballer who is currently playing his club football for Chelsea as a goalkeeper in the Barclays Premier League.-Early life:...

, while Robert Huth

Robert Huth

was rested. Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo

was making his first start of the season for United, and marked it with the opening goal. Substitute Adam Johnson put Boro level, before Emanuel Pogatetz

Emanuel Pogatetz

was sent off for a rash challenge on Rodrigo Possebon

Rodrigo Possebon

Rodrigo Pereira Possebon is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Santos and, by virtue of his ancestry, the Italian U-20 national team. He signed for Santos from Manchester United on 20 August 2010...

. Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs

Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...

and Nani

Nani (footballer)

Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha , commonly known as Nani, is a Portuguese footballer currently playing as a winger for English club Manchester United in the Premier League and the Portugal national team...

made it a 3–1 win for the home side.

Results

Note: Results are given with Middlesbrough score listed first. Man of the Match is according to mfc.co.uk.

Round	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result F–A	Attendance	Boro Goalscorers	Man of the Match
2	26 August 2008	H	Yeovil Town Yeovil Town F.C. Yeovil Town F.C. are an English association football team based in Yeovil, Somerset. The club play in League One after having won the League Two championship in 2004–05...	5–1	15,651	Mido 11', Digard Didier Digard Didier Digard is a French footballer who plays for Nice as a midfielder.-Le Havre AC:Digard started his career with Le Havre, and spent eight years at the club. He played over 70 league games for the club.-PSG:... 23', Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Lorient.As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal aged 16. After making his Premier League debut in the 2001–02 season, he ultimately had limited opportunities, partly due to injury... 32', Emnes Marvin Emnes Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:... 47', A.Johnson 66'	Digard Didier Digard Didier Digard is a French footballer who plays for Nice as a midfielder.-Le Havre AC:Digard started his career with Le Havre, and spent eight years at the club. He played over 70 league games for the club.-PSG:...
3	23 September 2008	A	Manchester United Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...	1–3	53,729	A.Johnson 56'	Jones

FA Cup

Middlesbrough were drawn at home to non-league Barrow

Barrow A.F.C.

Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have...

in the third-round of the FA Cup

FA Cup

. Middlesbrough went into the game without a win in eight league games. They named a strong line-up while giving Josh Walker

Josh Walker

Joshua "Josh" Walker is an English footballer. He currently plays as a midfielder for Championship side Watford....

his first Boro start as he lined up in the centre of midfield. The game saw Middlesbrough dominate in chances, but poor finishing meant they only won 2–1, with both of the home side's goals coming from Afonso Alves

Afonso Alves

– his first goals for over two months – and both assisted by Stewart Downing

Stewart Downing

. Middlesbrough's failures in front of goal meant they got a late scare as Barrow pulled a goal back after more bad defending at a set piece, but they failed to take a chance to level the game late on. A sour moment of the game saw Jérémie Aliadière

Jérémie Aliadière

injured and ruled out for two months.

Boro still hadn't registered a league win by the time their fourth round tie came around, while their opponents Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.

sat top of the Football League Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

. Considering the two sides' recent form and with Middlesbrough playing away from home, many pundits were predicting a home win. It was more of a shock then that Middlesbrough were the side to advance through to the fifth round courtesy of a 2–1 victory. Boro winger Adam Johnson spurned several chances before Afonso Alves chipped the goalkeeper on the stroke of half-time. Wolves headed home an equaliser in the second half, but substitute Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes

Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:...

fired in off the post seven minutes from time.

Middlesbrough faced an away tie with West Ham United

West Ham United F.C.

in the fifth round. Stewart Downing's first goal of the season put the visitors ahead midway through the first half, while Afonso Alves spurned several chances to extend their lead. Once again, a set piece was Middlesbrough's downfall, as Hérita Ilunga

Hérita Ilunga

Hérita N'Kongolo Ilunga is a Congolese footballer who plays for Doncaster Rovers in the Npower Championship, on loan from West Ham United.-Early career:...

headed in the home side's equaliser after 83 minutes. The 1–1 draw meant a replay would be played at the Riverside Stadium

Riverside Stadium

The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough F.C. since it opened in 1995...

.

The replay was played in front of a small but very vocal Boro crowd who were fired up by an unfortunately worded letter from the club seemingly asking them to sit down and be quiet in their last home game. The fans didn't have to wait long for a goal as in the fifth minute Stewart Downing curled an unstoppable free-kick over the wall and into the top-right hand corner of the net. Tuncay doubled the lead with a volley as West Ham's defense failed to clear the ball. The visitors dominated the possession but could not convert it to goals, and with Middlesbrough threatening on the counter attack, they couldn't afford to neglect their defensive duties. In the end, the 2–0 was enough to see Middlesbrough through to the last eight for the fourth consecutive season.

Middlesbrough faced Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

in the sixth round. Boro were unchanged for a fourth successive game coming into the match and were the better side in the first half. David Wheater

David Wheater

David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:...

rose to head home a Matthew Bates

Matthew Bates

cross on the stroke of half time to send them in at half time as the happier side. Everton's assistant manager, and former Middlesbrough coach, Steve Round

Steve Round

Steve Round is an English football coach and ex-player, currently on the coaching staff of Everton.-Career:...

gave an angry team-talk to his side at half time which fired his side into a much better second half performance. It took only five minutes for Everton to get an equaliser – Marouane Fellaini

Marouane Fellaini

Marouane Fellaini-Bakkioui is a Belgian footballer who plays for Everton and the Belgium national football team. Fellaini is of Moroccan descent.-Early career:...

heading home over a stranded Brad Jones. Six minutes later, Louis Saha

Louis Saha

Louis Laurent Saha is a French footballer of Guadelupian origin who currently plays as a forward for Everton FC in the Premier League and the France national team. A former scholar at the Clairefontaine football academy, he started his career at Metz before playing on loan at Newcastle United...

scored Everton's second. Middlesbrough did little to threaten for the rest of the tie. The 2–1 defeat left Gareth Southgate

Gareth Southgate

lamenting his side's inability to see matches out.

Results

Note: Results are given with Middlesbrough score listed first. Man of the Match is according to mfc.co.uk.

Round	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result F–A	Attendance	Boro Goalscorers	Man of the Match
3	3 January 2009	H	Barrow Barrow A.F.C. Barrow A.F.C. are an English football club founded in 1901 based in the town of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. Following promotion at the end of the 2007–08 season, they currently play in the Conference National. The club spent over fifty years in the Football League between 1921 and 1972, and have...	2–1	25,132	Alves Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career during his time in Heerenveen in the Dutch league, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game... (2) 23', 62'	Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...
4	24 January 2009	A	Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...	2–1	18,013	Alves Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior is a Brazilian footballer who plays for the Qatari club Al Rayyan Sports Club as a striker. He enjoyed the most successful period of his career during his time in Heerenveen in the Dutch league, where his goal-to-game ratio was higher than a goal a game... 44', Emnes Marvin Emnes Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:... 83'	Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...
5	14 February 2009	A	West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...	1–1	33,658	Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:... 22'	Digard Didier Digard Didier Digard is a French footballer who plays for Nice as a midfielder.-Le Havre AC:Digard started his career with Le Havre, and spent eight years at the club. He played over 70 league games for the club.-PSG:...
5R	25 February 2009	H	West Ham United West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...	2–0	15,602	Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:... 5', Tuncay Tuncay Sanli Tuncay Şanlı , or simply Tuncay, is a Turkish footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg.His natural position is as a striker, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or on either wing. Tuncay captains the Turkish national team... 20'	Downing Stewart Downing Stewart Downing is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team. Primarily a winger, Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland.-Middlesbrough:...
6	8 March 2009	A	Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...	1–2	37,856	Wheater David Wheater David James Wheater is an English footballer who plays for Bolton Wanderers. He is a centre back, although he is capable of playing at right back as well.-Middlesbrough:... 44'	Bates Matthew Bates Matthew David Bates is an English professional football player and captain of Middlesbrough. He plays in central defence, however is equally adept at playing right-back or defensive midfield.-Career:...

Reserves

The Middlesbrough Reserves

Middlesbrough F.C. Reserves and Academy

are competing in the 11-team 2008–09 Premier Reserve League

Premier Reserve League 2008-09

The 2008–09 Premier Reserve League is the tenth season since the establishment of the Premier Reserve League...

Northern division, as well as the Central League Cup.

Appearances and goals

Appearance and goalscoring records for all the players who played in Middlesbrough F.C. reserve team fixtures during the 2008–09 season.

|}

Premier Reserve League results

Note: Results are given with Middlesbrough score listed first. Man of the Match is according to mfc.co.uk.

Game	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result F–A	Attendance	Boro Goalscorers	Man of the Match
1	2 September 2008	H	Liverpool Reserves	0–1			Riggott Chris Riggott Christopher Mark "Chris" Riggott is an English footballer. He is a defender and has recently re-signed for his first professional club Derby County after spending the 2011-2012 pre-season with the squad....
2	16 September 2008	H	Hull City Reserves Hull City A.F.C. Reserves and Academy Teams affiliated with Hull City A.F.C. include Hull City A.F.C. Juniors and Hull City A.F.C. Reserves.The team plays home fixtures at the Church Road Ground, home of North Ferriby United....	2–2		Craddock Tom Craddock Thomas "Tom" Craddock is an English footballer who plays for Oxford United as a striker.-Middlesbrough:Born in Darlington, County Durham, Craddock came through the youth system at Middlesbrough, and was a member of their FA Youth Cup winning side in 2003–04... (2)	J.Johnson John Johnson (footballer) John James Johnson is an English footballer who plays for Northampton Town as a defender.-Career:Born in Middlesbrough, Johnson made his first team debut for Middlesbrough on 18 October 2008 in a home 5–0 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League, coming on as a substitute for Jonathan Grounds in...
3	30 September 2008	H	Sunderland Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League... Reserves	4–2	646	Hartley Peter Hartley (footballer) Peter Hartley is a football defender, currently playing for Hartlepool United.Born in Hartlepool, Hartley joined Sunderland on a youth contract in 2000, and was promoted from the youth academy in 2006.... (o.g. Own goal An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents.... ), Craddock Tom Craddock Thomas "Tom" Craddock is an English footballer who plays for Oxford United as a striker.-Middlesbrough:Born in Darlington, County Durham, Craddock came through the youth system at Middlesbrough, and was a member of their FA Youth Cup winning side in 2003–04... (3)	Craddock Tom Craddock Thomas "Tom" Craddock is an English footballer who plays for Oxford United as a striker.-Middlesbrough:Born in Darlington, County Durham, Craddock came through the youth system at Middlesbrough, and was a member of their FA Youth Cup winning side in 2003–04...
4	7 October 2008	A	Everton Everton F.C. Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football... Reserves	2–2		Craddock Tom Craddock Thomas "Tom" Craddock is an English footballer who plays for Oxford United as a striker.-Middlesbrough:Born in Darlington, County Durham, Craddock came through the youth system at Middlesbrough, and was a member of their FA Youth Cup winning side in 2003–04... (2)	Bennett Joe Bennett (footballer) Joseph "Joe" Bennett is an English footballer who plays for Middlesbrough. Born and brought up in Rochdale, Bennett signed his first professional contract with the club prior to the 2008-09 season and is comfortable playing anywhere on the left, although he usually operates as a left-back...
5	21 October 2008	H	Newcastle United Reserves	1–4		Smallwood Richard Smallwood (footballer) Richard Smallwood is an English footballer who plays as a central midfielder for English Championship club Middlesbrough.- Club career :...	Bennett Joe Bennett (footballer) Joseph "Joe" Bennett is an English footballer who plays for Middlesbrough. Born and brought up in Rochdale, Bennett signed his first professional contract with the club prior to the 2008-09 season and is comfortable playing anywhere on the left, although he usually operates as a left-back...
6	4 November 2008	A	Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic F.C. Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW... Reserves	1–2		Martin	Smallwood Richard Smallwood (footballer) Richard Smallwood is an English footballer who plays as a central midfielder for English Championship club Middlesbrough.- Club career :...
7	9 December 2008	A	Manchester City Reserves Manchester City F.C. Reserves and Academy Manchester City is represented at Reserve level by the Elite Development Squad, also referred to as just the Elite Squad, or EDS, a predominantly 'Under-21' side that replaced the previous Reserve team in a move to focus on youth development post-academy...	1–3		Mee Ben Mee Benjamin Thomas Mee is an English footballer, who currently plays for as a defender on loan from Manchester City-Manchester City:... (o.g. Own goal An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents.... )	Bates Matthew Bates Matthew David Bates is an English professional football player and captain of Middlesbrough. He plays in central defence, however is equally adept at playing right-back or defensive midfield.-Career:...
8	16 December 2008	H	Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football.... Reserves	1–0	266	Porritt Nathan Porritt Nathan John Porritt is an English footballer, who currently plays for Stokesley Sports Club F.C.. He started his career with his hometown club Middlesbrough where he attracted interest from Chelsea despite never featuring for the first-team.-Early life:Porritt was born in Middlesbrough, North...	Porritt Nathan Porritt Nathan John Porritt is an English footballer, who currently plays for Stokesley Sports Club F.C.. He started his career with his hometown club Middlesbrough where he attracted interest from Chelsea despite never featuring for the first-team.-Early life:Porritt was born in Middlesbrough, North...

Central League Cup results

Despite competing in the Premier Reserve League, Middlesbrough entered the Central League Cup (known as the Totesportcasino.com League Cup for sponsorship

English football sponsorship

Corporate sponsorship of major English football competitions dates back to the early 1980s, although minor competitions such as the Watney Cup and Texaco Cup were sponsored during the early 1970s....

reasons) for extra games.

Note: Results are given with Middlesbrough score listed first. Man of the Match is according to mfc.co.uk.

Round	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result F–A	Attendance	Boro Goalscorers	Man of the Match
Group 2	11 November 2008	H	Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the... Reserves	5–0	253	Franks Jonathan Franks Jonathan Ian Franks is an English footballer, currently playing for Middlesbrough.-Career:Franks has represented England at all levels from under-16 through to under-19, the highlight of which was playing for England under-17s against Wales in Telford when he found the back of the net... (2), Emnes Marvin Emnes Marvin Emnes is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for English team Middlesbrough.-Early life:... , Saiko Shaun Saiko Shaun Saiko is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for FC Edmonton in the North American Soccer League.-Club:... , Bennett Joe Bennett (footballer) Joseph "Joe" Bennett is an English footballer who plays for Middlesbrough. Born and brought up in Rochdale, Bennett signed his first professional contract with the club prior to the 2008-09 season and is comfortable playing anywhere on the left, although he usually operates as a left-back...	Bennett Joe Bennett (footballer) Joseph "Joe" Bennett is an English footballer who plays for Middlesbrough. Born and brought up in Rochdale, Bennett signed his first professional contract with the club prior to the 2008-09 season and is comfortable playing anywhere on the left, although he usually operates as a left-back...
Group 2	18 November 2008	A	Bradford City Bradford City A.F.C. Bradford City Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, playing in League Two.... Reserves	1–1		Furness	Walker Josh Walker Joshua "Josh" Walker is an English footballer. He currently plays as a midfielder for Championship side Watford....

Staff

Prior to the season, a shake-up in the medical department saw Scotsman Frank Nuttall, previously of Rangers

Rangers F.C.

Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...

and England

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

, arrive as the new head of physical development, allowing Nick Allamby to leave his previous post of sports therapist and become a full-time conditioning coach.

First team coach Steve Harrison left the club in early July following seven years at the club. Steve Agnew

Steve Agnew

Stephen Mark "Steve" Agnew is a retired English footballer and current first team coach of Middlesbrough.-Club career:...

stepped up from being Reserve team coach to replace Harrison, while Academy coach Martin Scott took over as new Reserve team coach.

Former midfielder Mark Proctor

Mark Proctor (footballer)

Mark Proctor is an English former footballer and former football manager. He is currently first team coach of Middlesbrough.-Playing career:...

, who had also had prior spells as a Reserve and youth coach with the club, returned to Middlesbrough as under-18 coach during mid-September.

Key:

EWLINE

Executive members
Role	\|Person
Chairman	Steve Gibson Steve Gibson (chairman) Steve Gibson is an entrepreneur and the chairman and owner of Middlesbrough Football Club. He is acclaimed in Middlesbrough for being a local working class man who made good...
Chief Executive	Keith Lamb
Chief Operating Officer	Neil Bausor
Chief Financial Officer	Alan Bage

Senior team management
Role	\|Person
Manager	Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate in Crawley, West Sussex is a retired English footballer and ex-manager. He is known as the "Penalty Misser of '96." He served as manager of Middlesbrough from June 2006, until he was dismissed in October 2009...
Assistant manager	Malcolm Crosby Malcolm Crosby Malcolm Crosby is an English former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Born in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, Crosby played his football for Aldershot, making 258 appearances between 1971 and 1980 and netting 21 goals. In an exchange deal involving Ian MacDonald he moved to York City and was a...
First team coach	Colin Cooper Colin Cooper Colin Terence Cooper is an English former footballer, who spent most of his career at Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest. Cooper is part of the Middlesbrough coaching staff after leaving his role of assistant manager at Bradford City.-Playing career:He played as a centre back, but was equally...
First team coach	Steve Agnew Steve Agnew Stephen Mark "Steve" Agnew is a retired English footballer and current first team coach of Middlesbrough.-Club career:...
Reserve team coach	Martin Scott
Goalkeeping coach	Stephen Pears Stephen Pears Stephen Pears is an English former footballer. Born in Brandon, County Durham, he played as a goalkeeper for Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Hartlepool United in a career spanning 20 years...

Academy team management
Role	\|Person
Academy manager	Dave Parnaby Dave Parnaby Dave Parnaby is an English football coach and head of the Middlesbrough youth academy.Parnaby is from County Durham. He was a teacher for 22 years, teaching physical education at Longfield Comprehensive School, in Darlington...
Academy coach	Mark Proctor Mark Proctor (footballer) Mark Proctor is an English former footballer and former football manager. He is currently first team coach of Middlesbrough.-Playing career:...
Academy coach	Craig Hignett Craig Hignett Craig Hignett, , is an English former professional footballer who now works as an agent and a commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live...
Academy coach	Kevin Scott Kevin Scott (footballer) Kevin Watson Scott is an English former football defender. He played over 300 games in the Football League for six different clubs....

EWLINE

Medical
Role	\|Person
Head of medical	Grant Downie
Head of sports science	Chris Barnes
Head of physical development	Frank Nuttall
Conditioning coach	Nick Allamby
Senior physiotherapist	Chris Moseley

Recruitment
Role	\|Person
Head of senior recruitment	Dave Leadbeater
First team scout	Gordon McQueen Gordon McQueen Gordon McQueen is a former Scottish football player, who played as a central defender for Leeds United, Manchester United and Scotland.-Early career:...
First team scout	David Mills David Mills (footballer) David Mills is an English former footballer most notable for his career with Middlesbrough and becoming Britain's first half-million pound footballer.-Middlesbrough:...
Head of Academy recruitment	Ron Bone

Compensation case

On 11 August 2008 it was announced that former Manchester United

Manchester United F.C.

youngster Ben Collett

Ben Collett

Benjamin "Ben" Collett is an English former association footballer who played as a central midfielder for Manchester United, New Zealand Knights and AGOVV Apeldoorn...

, who five years earlier had a "career-ending" injury as a result of a tackle in a game versus Middlesbrough's reserves

Middlesbrough F.C. Reserves and Academy

, had been awarded more than £4.5 million in compensation. The fee would be paid by Middlesbrough's insurers. An appeal against the ruling, heard in June, failed.

Debt reduction

Middlesbrough's debts, reported to be around £85–90 million, were cut by two thirds over the summer following relegation. The reduction would leave the club in a healthier financial position and better placed for the Football League Championship

Football League Championship

The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

, though Steve Gibson announced the debt reduction before relegation was confirmed and denied relegation was part of a cost-cutting plan.

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