Wikipedia

2003–04 Middlesbrough F.C. season

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

Middlesbrough
2003–04 season
ChairmanSteve Gibson
ManagerSteve McClaren
FA Premier League11th
FA CupFourth round
League CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague: Juninho, Németh (8)
All: Juninho (9)
Highest home attendance34,738 (vs. Manchester United, Premier League)
Away: 67,346 (vs. Manchester United, Premier League)
Lowest home attendance10,435 (vs. Brighton, League Cup)
Away: 8,046 (vs. Wigan Athletic, League Cup)
Average home league attendance30,977

Team kit and sponsors edit

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 edit

League review edit

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 respectable 11th place.

Domestic cup review edit

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.

Final league table edit

Main article: 2003–04 FA Premier League
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
9 Fulham 38 14 10 14 52 46 +6 52
10 Birmingham City 38 12 14 12 43 48 −5 50
11 Middlesbrough 38 13 9 16 44 52 −8 48 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
12 Southampton 38 12 11 15 44 45 −1 47
13 Portsmouth 38 12 9 17 47 54 −7 45
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Middlesbrough qualified as the 2003–04 Football League Cup winners.

Squad edit

Senior squad edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   AUS Mark Schwarzer
2 DF   SCO Robbie Stockdale
3 DF   FRA Franck Queudrue
4 DF   ENG Ugo Ehiogu
5 DF   ENG Chris Riggott
6 DF   ENG Gareth Southgate (captain)
7 MF   NED George Boateng
8 FW   SVK Szilárd Németh
9 FW   ITA Massimo Maccarone
10 MF   BRA Juninho
11 FW   ENG Malcolm Christie
12 MF   ENG Jonathan Greening
14 MF   ESP Gaizka Mendieta (on loan from Lazio)
15 DF   ENG Danny Mills (on loan from Leeds United)
16 FW   CMR Joseph Desire-Job
17 FW   ENG Michael Ricketts
18 MF   ENG Mark Wilson
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 MF   ENG Stewart Downing
20 MF   BRA Doriva
21 DF   ENG Stuart Parnaby
24 DF   ENG Andrew Davies
25 GK   ENG Carlo Nash
27 MF   NED Boudewijn Zenden (on loan from Chelsea)
28 DF   ENG Colin Cooper
31 DF   ENG Andrew Taylor
32 MF   SCO Allan Johnston
33 DF   ENG David Murphy
34 MF   ENG James Morrison[note 1]
35 GK   AUS Brad Jones
36 GK   ENG Ross Turnbull
37 DF   ENG Matthew Bates
39 MF   ENG Craig Dove
— GK   ENG Sam Russell
— DF   ENG Phil Gulliver

Left club during season edit

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF   ENG Alan Wright (to Sheffield United)
23 MF   ARG Carlos Marinelli (released)
26 FW   ENG Noel Whelan (to Millwall)
29 MF   BRA Ricardinho (released)
No. Pos. Nation Player
37 DF   NIR Brian Close (to Darlington)
41 FW   ENG Jamie Cade (to Colchester United)
— MF   NIR Chris Brunt (to Sheffield Wednesday)

Transfers edit

In edit

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

Out edit

Date Player New club Cost
5 August 2003   Noel Whelan Millwall Free[10]
13 August 2003   Mark Crossley Fulham Undisclosed[11]
14 November 2003   Carlos Marinelli Released Free[12]
31 October 2003   Alan Wright Sheffield United Loan (made permanent on 12 January 2004)[13]
30 April 2004   Ricardinho Released Free

Premier League results edit

  Win   Draw   Loss

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

Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA
ResultLLDLLWWLLDWWDWDDDLWLDWLWLLWLWDWDWLLLWL
Position131918191917141718171412131011111115121413121313131112101111119111212111111
Source: WorldFootball.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
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 edit

League Cup edit

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 20 January 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 edit

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 1-4 37,256 Job

Player statistics edit

Goalscorers edit

Goalscoring statistics for 2003-04.[14]

Name League FA Cup League Cup Total
  Juninho 8 0 1 9
  Németh 8 0 0 8
  Job 6 1 1 8
  Zenden 5 1 2 8
  Maccarone 6 0 1 7
  Mendieta 2 0 1 3
  Ricketts 2 0 1 3
  Christie 1 0 1 2
  Marinelli 1 0 0 1
  Greening 1 0 0 1
  Southgate 1 0 0 1
Own Goals 3 1 1 5

Appearances / Discipline edit

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

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

Starting 11 edit

Considering starts in all competitions[15]
Considering a 4-4-2 formation[16]

Notes edit

  1. ^ 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

References and notes edit

  1. ^ "1980-2006- Kits". kitclassics.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010.
  2. ^ "ESPNsoccernet: Middlesbrough Squad Statistics". Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
  3. ^ "Middlesbrough FC 2004-05". Archived from the original on 31 August 2004. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
  4. ^ "Doriva signs new contract at Boro". BBC Sport. 4 July 2005. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Wright joins Boro". BBC Sport. 4 August 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Mills in dark about future". BBC Sport. 14 April 2004. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  7. ^ "McClaren hails Mendieta". BBC Sport. 22 August 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Zenden aims high for Boro". BBC Sport. 18 September 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  9. ^ "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Middlesbrough | Ricardinho arrives at Boro". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Players - Noel Whelan". soccerbase.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2004. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Crossley joins Fulham". BBC Sport. 13 August 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Marinelli leaves Boro". BBC Sport. 14 November 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  13. ^ "October Transfers". football-league.premiumtv.co.uk. 31 October 2003. Archived from the original on 19 February 2004. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  14. ^ "BORO 2004-05 Premiership". boroscoreforecast.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
  15. ^ "All Middlesbrough players: 2004". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Middlesbrough in FA Premier League 2003/2004 fixture". Football-Lineups. Retrieved 30 March 2021.


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