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

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 respectable 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.

Final league table
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[lower-alpha 1]
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

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. 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[4]
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

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

In
Date Player Previous club Cost
1 July 2003 Doriva Celta VigoFree[5]
4 August 2003 Alan WrightUnattachedFree[6]
24 August 2003 Danny MillsLeeds UnitedLoan[7]
28 August 2003 Gaizka Mendieta LazioLoan (signed at end of season)[8]
30 August 2003 Boudewijn ZendenChelseaLoan[9]
2 February 2004 Ricardinho São PauloFree[10]

Out
Date Player New club Cost
5 August 2003 Noel WhelanMillwallFree[11]
13 August 2003 Mark CrossleyFulhamUndisclosed[12]
14 November 2003 Carlos MarinelliReleasedFree[13]
31 October 2003 Alan WrightSheffield UnitedLoan (made permanent on 12 January 2004)[14]
30 April 2004 RicardinhoReleasedFree

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.

Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA
ResultLLDLLWWLLDWWDWDDDLWLDWLWLLWLWDWDWLLLWL
Position1319181919171417181714121310111111151214131213131311121011111191112121111
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
116 August 2003AFulham2–314,546Marinelli 10', Németh 81'
224 August 2003HArsenal0–429,450
326 August 2003ALeicester City0–030,823Davies
430 August 2003HLeeds United2–330,414Németh 60', Juninho 63'Mendieta
513 September 2003ABolton Wanderers0–226,419
621 September 2003HEverton1–028,113Job 6'
727 September 2003ASouthampton1–030,772Christie 13'
85 October 2003HChelsea1–229,170Németh 46'
918 October 2003HNewcastle United0–134,081
1026 October 2003ATottenham Hotspur0–032,643
111 November 2003HWolverhampton Wanderers2–030,305Mendieta 73', Juninho 83'
128 November 2003AAston Villa2–029,898Zenden 30', Ricketts 49'(pen)
1322 November 2003HLiverpool0–034,268
1429 November 2003AManchester City1–046,824Sun Jihai (o.g.)
156 December 2003HPortsmouth0–028031
1613 December 2003HCharlton Athletic0–026,721
1726 December 2003ABlackburn Rovers2–225,452Juninho 31', 51'
1828 December 2003HManchester United0–134,738
197 January 2004HFulham2–127,869Job 15', Németh 67'
2010 January 2004AArsenal1–438,117Maccarone 89' (pen)
2120 January 2004HLeicester City3–327,125Juninho 8', Maccarone 90', Curtis 90' (o.g.)
2231 January 2004ALeeds United3–035,970Zenden 53', Job 77', Ricketts 89'(pen)
237 February 2004HBlackburn Rovers0–128,307
2411 February 2004AManchester United3–267,346Juninho 34', 38', Job 80'
2521 February 2004ANewcastle United1–252,156Zenden 33'
263 March 2004ABirmingham City1–329,369Németh 75'
279 March 2004HTottenham Hotspur1–031,789Németh 73'
2813 March 2004ACharlton Athletic0–126,270
2920 March 2004HBirmingham City5–330,244Mendieta 5', Maccarone 21', 45', Southgate 30', Németh 90'
3027 March 2004AEverton1–138,210Job 83'
313 April 2004HBolton Wanderers2–030,107Nolan 8' (o.g.), Greening 51'
3210 April 2004AChelsea0–040,873
3312 April 2004HSouthampton3–130,768Juninho 23', Németh 32', Maccarone 49'
3417 April 2004AWolverhampton Wanderers0–227,975
3524 April 2004HAston Villa1–231,322Job 41'
362 May 2004ALiverpool0–242,031
378 May 2004HManchester City2–134,734Maccarone 8', Németh 32'
3815 May 2004APortsmouth1–520,134Zenden 27'

Cup results

League Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
224 September 2003BrightonHome1-0 (a.e.t.) 10,435Christie
329 October 2003WiganAway2-1 8,046Maccarone, Mendieta
43 December 2003EvertonHome0-0 (5-4 pens) 18,568
517 December 2003TottenhamAway1-1 (5-4 pens) 25,307Ricketts
SF Leg 120 January 2004ArsenalAway1-0 31,070Juninho
SF Leg 23 February 2004ArsenalHome2-1 (3-1 agg.) 28,046Zenden, Reyes og
Final29 February 2004BoltonMillennium Stadium2-1 72,634Job, Zenden (pen)

FA Cup
RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
33 January 2004Notts CountyHome2-0 15,061Richardson og, Zenden
424 January 2004ArsenalAway1-4 37,256Job

Player statistics

Goalscorers

Goalscoring statistics for 2003-04.[15]

NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupTotal
Juninho8019
Németh8008
Job6118
Zenden5128
Maccarone6017
Mendieta2013
Ricketts2013
Christie1012
Marinelli1001
Greening1001
Southgate1001
Own Goals3115

Appearances / Discipline

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

NameAppearancesYellow cardsRed cards
Schwarzer4400
Jones200
Nash100
Parnaby9+720
Queudrue4070
Ehiogu1930
Riggott19+530
Southgate3410
Mills37100
Wright200
Davies8+200
Stockdale0+200
Cooper19+230
Mendieta37+130
Boateng4381
Juninho31+730
Downing10+1400
Morrison0+200
Greening21+850
Doriva23+360
Marinelli100
Zenden38+151
Maccarone18+1220
Ricketts12+1840
Németh20+1820
Job22+710

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". 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. 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. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. http://www.mfc.co.uk/page/matches/stats/appearances/0,,1~20031,00.html%5B%5D
  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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