2003–04 Middlesbrough F.C. season

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Middlesbrough
2003-04 season
Chairman Steve Gibson
Manager Steve McClaren
FA Premier League 11th
FA Cup Fourth round
League Cup Winners
Top goalscorer League: Juninho, Szilárd Németh (8)
All: Juninho (9)
Highest home attendance 34,738 (vs. Manchester United, Premier League)
Away: 67,346 (vs. Manchester United, Premier League)
Lowest home attendance 10,435 (vs. Brighton, League Cup)
Away: 8,046 (vs. Wigan Athletic, League Cup)
Home colours
Away colours
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

During the 2003-04 season, Middlesbrough participated in the FA Premier League.

Team kit and sponsors

Middlesbrough were sponsored by Dial-a-Phone, the team's kit was produced by Errea. The home shirt consisted of a plain red shirt, red shorts and red socks with white trim. The away strip was mainly navy blue with maroon shoulders, navy shorts and navy socks, with maroon detailing.[1]

Season review

League review

Middlesbrough had an appalling start to their season, losing four of their first five games (their worst start since the 1984–85 season) and taking only one point. This set the foundations for a very patchy season.

Middlesbrough hovered around the relegation spots for the first third of the season. However, they eventually found some form through November and December and went unbeaten for eight games which took them away from the relegation zone.

Middlesbrough's form was again inconsistent after Christmas, but they managed to pick up enough points to finish in a mediocre 11th place.

Domestic cup review

The league cup campaign was the highlight of the season for Middlesbrough. It was one that would bring them their first major trophy in their 128-year history.

It started in late September with a home match against Brighton and Hove Albion and Boro low down in the league due to a terrible start. Middlesbrough made hard work of it against lower league opposition, but managed to scrape through with a 94th minute extra-time goal from Malcolm Christie.

The next round saw Boro comfortably beat Wigan Athletic 2-1 away with goals from Maccarone and Mendieta to set up a fourth round home match against Everton.

The match against Everton was a closely contested affair, which ended 0-0 after extra time - penalties were needed to decide the winner. Middlesbrough won the shoot-out 5-4, with Mark Schwarzer saving from Leon Osman and Mendieta converting the winning penalty.

The quarter finals saw Middlesbrough face Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. Spurs led most of the match through a first-minute Darren Anderton goal. It took an 86th-minute equaliser from Michael Ricketts to send the game into extra time. No goals were scored in extra time, meaning Boro had a penalty shoot out for the second successive round. The shoot out went into sudden death, but after Mauricio Taricco's penalty hit the post, Franck Queudrue converted his penalty to win the game.

Boro's semi final was a two legged match against a youthful Arsenal team. The first leg went Middlesbrough's way with them taking a 1-0 lead thanks to a Juninho goal. Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger chose a few more experienced players for the vital second leg, but to no avail: Boro won 2-1 on the night for a 3-1 aggregate win.

The final was on 29 February 2004 against Bolton Wanderers at the Millennium Stadium. The game started in the best way possible for Boro, with goals from Joseph Desire-Job and Bolo Zenden giving them an early 2-0 lead. A mistake from Mark Schwarzer let Kevin Davies get one back, and the score remained 2-1 at half time. Both teams had chances to score in the second half, but the score stayed the same, giving Boro their first ever major trophy.

The FA Cup campaign wasn't as successful. After a comfortable 2-0 win at home to Notts County, Boro were drawn against Arsenal in the fourth round. They lost the match 4-1 sending them out of the competition.

Squad

Senior squad

[2][3] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Australia GK Mark Schwarzer
2 Scotland DF Robbie Stockdale
3 France DF Franck Queudrue
4 England DF Ugo Ehiogu
5 England DF Chris Riggott
6 England DF Gareth Southgate (captain)
7 Netherlands MF George Boateng
8 Slovakia FW Szilárd Németh
9 Italy FW Massimo Maccarone
10 Brazil MF Juninho
11 England FW Malcolm Christie
12 England GK Carlo Nash
14 Spain MF Gaizka Mendieta (on loan from Lazio)
15 England DF Danny Mills (on loan from Leeds United)
16 Cameroon FW Joseph Desire-Job
17 England FW Michael Ricketts
18 England MF Mark Wilson
19 England MF Stewart Downing
No. Position Player
20 Brazil MF Doriva
21 England DF Stuart Parnaby
24 England DF Andrew Davies
25 England GK Carlo Nash
27 Netherlands MF Boudewijn Zenden (on loan from Chelsea)
28 England DF Colin Cooper
31 England DF Andrew Taylor
32 Scotland MF Allan Johnston
33 England DF David Murphy
34 England MF James Morrison[4]
35 Australia GK Brad Jones
36 England GK Ross Turnbull
37 England DF Matthew Bates
39 England MF Craig Dove
Republic of Ireland FW Gerard Robinson
England GK Sam Russell
England DF Phil Gulliver

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
22 England DF Alan Wright (to Sheffield United)
23 Argentina MF Carlos Marinelli (released)
26 England FW Noel Whelan (to Millwall)
29 Brazil MF Ricardinho (released)
No. Position Player
37 Republic of Ireland DF Brian Close (to Darlington)
41 England FW Jamie Cade (to Colchester United)
Northern Ireland MF Chris Brunt (to Sheffield Wednesday)

Transfers

In

Date Player Previous club Cost
1 July 2003 Brazil Doriva Spain Celta Vigo Free[5]
4 August 2003 England Alan Wright Unattached Free[6]
24 August 2003 England Danny Mills Leeds United Loan[7]
28 August 2003 Spain Gaizka Mendieta Italy Lazio Loan (signed at end of season)[8]
30 August 2003 Netherlands Boudewijn Zenden Chelsea Loan[9]
2 February 2004 Brazil Ricardinho Brazil São Paulo Free[10]

Out

Date Player New club Cost
5 August 2003 England Noel Whelan Millwall Free[11]
13 August 2003 Wales Mark Crossley Fulham Undisclosed[12]
14 November 2003 Argentina Carlos Marinelli Released Free[13]
31 October 2003 England Alan Wright Sheffield United Loan (made permanent on 12 January 2004)[14]
30 April 2004 Brazil Ricardinho Released Free

Premier League results

      Win       Draw       Loss

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 2003 A Fulham 2–3 14,546 Marinelli 10', Németh 81'
2 24 August 2003 H Arsenal 0–4 29,450
3 26 August 2003 A Leicester City 0–0 30,823 Davies
4 30 August 2003 H Leeds United 2–3 30,414 Németh 60', Juninho 63' Mendieta
5 13 September 2003 A Bolton Wanderers 0–2 26,419
6 21 September 2003 H Everton 1–0 28,113 Job 6'
7 27 September 2003 A Southampton 1–0 30,772 Christie 13'
8 5 October 2003 H Chelsea 1–2 29,170 Németh 46'
9 18 October 2003 H Newcastle United 0–1 34,081
10 26 October 2003 A Tottenham Hotspur 0–0 32,643
11 1 November 2003 H Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–0 30,305 Mendieta 73', Juninho 83'
12 8 November 2003 A Aston Villa 2–0 29,898 Zenden 30', Ricketts 49'(pen)
13 22 November 2003 H Liverpool 0–0 34,268
14 29 November 2003 A Manchester City 1–0 46,824 Sun Jihai (o.g.)
15 6 December 2003 H Portsmouth 0–0 28031
16 13 December 2003 H Charlton Athletic 0–0 26,721
17 26 December 2003 A Blackburn Rovers 2–2 25,452 Juninho 31', 51'
18 28 December 2003 H Manchester United 0–1 34,738
19 7 January 2004 H Fulham 2–1 27,869 Job 15', Németh 67'
20 10 January 2004 A Arsenal 1–4 38,117 Maccarone 89' (pen)
21 20 January 2004 H Leicester City 3–3 27,125 Juninho 8', Maccarone 90', Curtis 90' (o.g.)
22 31 January 2004 A Leeds United 3–0 35,970 Zenden 53', Job 77', Ricketts 89'(pen)
23 7 February 2004 H Blackburn Rovers 0–1 28,307
24 11 February 2004 A Manchester United 3–2 67,346 Juninho 34', 38', Job 80'
25 21 February 2004 A Newcastle United 1–2 52,156 Zenden 33'
26 3 March 2004 A Birmingham City 1–3 29,369 Németh 75'
27 9 March 2004 H Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 31,789 Németh 73'
28 13 March 2004 A Charlton Athletic 0–1 26,270
29 20 March 2004 H Birmingham City 5–3 30,244 Mendieta 5', Maccarone 21', 45', Southgate 30', Németh 90'
30 27 March 2004 A Everton 1–1 38,210 Job 83'
31 3 April 2004 H Bolton Wanderers 2–0 30,107 Nolan 8' (o.g.), Greening 51'
32 10 April 2004 A Chelsea 0–0 40,873
33 12 April 2004 H Southampton 3–1 30,768 Juninho 23', Németh 32', Maccarone 49'
34 17 April 2004 A Wolverhampton Wanderers 0–2 27,975
35 24 April 2004 H Aston Villa 1–2 31,322 Job 41'
36 2 May 2004 A Liverpool 0–2 42,031
37 8 May 2004 H Manchester City 2–1 34,734 Maccarone 8', Németh 32'
38 15 May 2004 A Portsmouth 1–5 20,134 Zenden 27'

Cup results

League Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
2 24 September 2003 Brighton Home 1-0 (a.e.t.) 10,435 Christie
3 29 October 2003 Wigan Away 2-1 8,046 Maccarone, Mendieta
4 3 December 2003 Everton Home 0-0 (5-4 pens) 18,568
5 17 December 2003 Tottenham Away 1-1 (5-4 pens) 25,307 Ricketts
SF Leg 1 January 20, 2004 Arsenal Away 1-0 31,070 Juninho
SF Leg 2 3 February 2004 Arsenal Home 2-1 (3-1 agg.) 28,046 Zenden, Reyes og
Final 29 February 2004 Bolton Millennium Stadium 2-1 72,634 Job, Zenden (pen)

FA Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
3 3 January 2004 Notts County Home 2-0 15,061 Richardson og, Zenden
4 24 January 2004 Arsenal Away 4-1 37,256 Job

Player statistics

Goalscorers

Goalscoring statistics for 2003-04.[15]

Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
Brazil Juninho 8 0 1 9
Slovakia Németh 8 0 0 8
Cameroon Job 6 1 1 8
Netherlands Zenden 5 1 2 8
Italy Maccarone 6 0 1 7
Spain Mendieta 2 0 1 3
England Ricketts 2 0 1 3
England Christie 1 0 1 2
Argentina Marinelli 1 0 0 1
England Greening 1 0 0 1
England Southgate 1 0 0 1
Own Goals 3 1 1 5

Appearances / Discipline

Appearance and disciplinary records for 2003-04 league and cup matches.[16]

Name Appearances Yellow cards Red cards
Australia Schwarzer 44 0 0
Australia Jones 2 0 0
England Nash 1 0 0
England Parnaby 9+7 2 0
France Queudrue 40 7 0
England Ehiogu 19 3 0
England Riggott 19+5 3 0
England Southgate 34 1 0
England Mills 37 10 0
England Wright 2 0 0
England Davies 8+2 0 0
Scotland Stockdale 0+2 0 0
England Cooper 19+2 3 0
Spain Mendieta 37+1 3 0
Netherlands Boateng 43 8 1
Brazil Juninho 31+7 3 0
England Downing 10+14 0 0
England Morrison 0+2 0 0
England Greening 21+8 5 0
Brazil Doriva 23+3 6 0
Argentina Marinelli 1 0 0
Netherlands Zenden 38+1 5 1
Italy Maccarone 18+12 2 0
England Ricketts 12+18 4 0
Slovakia Németh 20+18 2 0
Cameroon Job 22+7 1 0

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions[17]
Considering a 4-4-2 formation[18]

References and notes

  1. ↑ http://www.kitclassics.co.uk/kits/Middlesbro.png
  2. ↑ ESPNsoccernet: Middlesbrough Squad Statistics
  3. ↑ Middlesbrough FC 2004-05
  4. ↑ Morrison was born in Darlington, England, and has represented England internationally at youth level, but also qualified to represent Scotland and made his full international debut for Scotland in May 2008
  5. ↑ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Middlesbrough | Doriva signs new contract at Boro
  6. ↑ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Middlesbrough | Wright joins Boro
  7. ↑ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Leeds United | Mills in dark about future
  8. ↑ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Middlesbrough | McClaren hails Mendieta
  9. ↑ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Middlesbrough | Zenden aims high for Boro
  10. ↑ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Middlesbrough | Ricardinho arrives at Boro
  11. ↑ www.soccerbase.com - The Internet Soccer Database
  12. ↑ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Fulham | Crossley joins Fulham
  13. ↑ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Middlesbrough | Marinelli leaves Boro
  14. ↑ OCTOBER TRANSFERS | The Football League | News | Transfers | Transfers
  15. ↑ http://www.boroscoreforecast.co.uk/200405.htm
  16. ↑ http://www.mfc.co.uk/page/matches/stats/appearances/0,,1~20031,00.html
  17. ↑ http://www.11v11.com/teams/middlesbrough/tab/players/season/2004
  18. ↑ http://www.football-lineups.com/team/Middlesbrough/FA_Premier_League_2003-2004/Fixture/
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