Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional football club in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since 1995. The club played at Ayresome Park for 92 years, from 1903 to 1995.

Middlesbrough were one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992 and became one of the first clubs to be relegated from it following the 1992–93 season. The club came close to folding in 1986 after experiencing severe financial difficulties before it was saved by a consortium led by then board member and later chairman Steve Gibson. During the early Gibson years in the Premier League the club signed several high-profile players, although this did not translate into success and in 1997 the club suffered two lost cup finals and a relegation in the same year. The club's main rivals are Sunderland, Newcastle United and Leeds United.

The club's achievements include winning the League Cup in 2004, their first and to date only major trophy, and they also reached the 2006 UEFA Cup Final, losing to Spanish club Sevilla. Their highest league finish to date was third place in the top flight in the 1913–14 season and the club have only spent two seasons outside the top two divisions of English football. The League Cup win and the UEFA Cup run was part of an 11-year consecutive stay in the Premier League, before a relegation in 2009. Although the club returned in 2016, instant relegation followed, and the club has not returned to the Premier League since.

The club's traditional kit is red with white detailing. The home shorts and sock colours have interchangeably been shifted between red and white, complementing the red shirt that was adopted in 1899. The various crests throughout the club's history, the most recent of which was adopted in 2007, incorporate a lion rampant.

History

Formation and early years (1876–1914)

Middlesbrough were formed in 1876, and won the FA Amateur Cup in 1895 and again in 1898. The club turned professional in 1889, but reverted to amateur status in 1892. They turned professional permanently in 1899. After three seasons, they won promotion to the First Division, where they would remain for the next .

In 1903, the club moved to Ayresome Park, their home for the next . In 1905, the club sanctioned the transfer of Alf Common for £1,000, a record fee. Over the next few years, their form fluctuated greatly, rising to sixth in 1907–08 before dropping to 17th two seasons later. The club rose to their highest league finish to date, third, in 1913–14. World War I soon intervened and football was suspended.

Ups and downs (1914–1966)

Before league football resumed, Middlesbrough won the Northern Victory League, but the team were unable to maintain their previous form and finished the 1919–20 season in mid-table. They remained in the First Division for the next few seasons, but were relegated in 1923–24 after finishing bottom, 10 points adrift of their nearest rivals. Three seasons later, they won the Division Two title. During that season, debutant George Camsell, who had signed from Third Division North side Durham City the previous season, finished with a record 59 league goals, which included nine hat-tricks. He would continue as top scorer for each of the next 10 seasons. Their tenure back in the top flight lasted only one season, and the club were relegated. They were promoted at the first attempt in 1928–29, winning another Second Division title. The club remained in the First Division until 1954.

The decade before the war saw the emergence of Wilf Mannion and George Hardwick, both of whom would go on to become England internationals in the years ahead. Middlesbrough climbed to fourth in the last full season before World War II and were expected to challenge for the title next season, but the war intervened. After the war, the club was unable to recover the form of the previous seasons and hovered around mid-table and exited in the early rounds of the FA Cup. Soon afterwards, the team began to falter, eventually suffering relegation in 1953–54. This was the start of a 20-year spell outside the top division, but saw the emergence of one of the club's top goalscorers, Brian Clough, who scored 204 goals in 222 games, before he left for Sunderland. Over that period, Middlesbrough maintained reasonable progress in the Second Division but were never serious contenders for promotion. After a fourth-place finish in 1962–63, the club endured a steady decline and were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history in 1966.

Resurgence and financial crisis (1966–1994)

New manager Stan Anderson returned the club to the second flight at the first attempt. Middlesbrough would not finish below ninth during the next eight seasons. By 1974, Jack Charlton had taken over as manager and guided the team back to the top flight. They ensured promotion as early as 23 March, and with eight games of the season left, they became runaway champions, finishing with a record 65 points. Middlesbrough won their first silverware as a professional side in the 1975–76 season, lifting the Anglo-Scottish Cup in its inaugural season after a two-legged final win over Fulham.

The club experienced severe financial difficulties during the mid-1980s. Middlesbrough were dropping down the table, and finished 19th in the 1984–85 season. In April 1986, the club had to borrow £30,000 from the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to pay wages. The final game of the season saw Middlesbrough relegated to the Third Division again. That summer, the club called in the Provisional Liquidator and shortly afterwards, the club was wound up and the gates to Ayresome Park were padlocked. Without the £350,000 capital required for Football League registration, a new rule, it seemed inevitable that the club would fold permanently. Steve Gibson, however, a member of the board at the time, brought together a consortium, and with 10 minutes to spare before the deadline they completed their registration with the Football League for the 1986–87 season. Following the registration came both a change of club crest and a change of the official company name to Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Club (1986) Ltd.

Over the next two seasons, Middlesbrough gained successive promotions into Division Two and then into Division One. The next season, however, they came straight back down to Division Two, and with it came the then British transfer record move of Gary Pallister to Manchester United for £2.3 million. Despite constant promotion and relegation, Middlesbrough were founding members of the FA Premier League for the 1992–93 season.

The Bryan Robson years (1994–2001)

Player-manager Bryan Robson, from Manchester United, took charge in 1994 and Middlesbrough were brought back into national attention. Following promotion to the Premier League and high-profile purchases like Brazilian international Juninho, many considered Middlesbrough to be on the rise. A difficult 1996–97 season, however, was compounded by a deduction of three points imposed just after Christmas as punishment for the club's failure to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn Rovers, which ultimately resulted in relegation. Without the points deduction imposed by the FA Premier League despite the club having taken advice from the Premier League themselves prior to calling off the match, the club would have had enough points to avoid the drop. At the same time, the club managed to reach both the League and FA Cups finals for the first time, but lost out in both. Despite being in the second tier, they were again runners-up in the League Cup final the next year.

Despite losing high-profile players Fabrizio Ravanelli and Juninho due to relegation, Middlesbrough were promoted back to the Premier League at the first attempt, in 1998. The following season saw them settle well and they enjoyed a 12-game unbeaten run midway through 1998–99, including a 3–2 win at Old Trafford in January during which they took a 3–0 lead; it was Manchester United's only home defeat during their treble-winning season. Middlesbrough continued to stay secure in mid-table the following season, thanks mainly to the goals of Hamilton Ricard and the signings of big name players such as Paul Ince and Christian Ziege. In 2000–01, they had a brief relegation scare that was solved with the arrival of Terry Venables as co-manager, and a 3–0 win away at Arsenal in April was the team's best result. The trend of buying European stars continued with the acquisitions of Christian Karembeu and Alen Bokšić. Bryan Robson left the club before the start of 2001–02 season, having served as manager for seven years.

Return to top flight and venture into Europe (2001–2009)

Robson was replaced by Manchester United assistant coach Steve McClaren. The following seasons saw Premier League security maintained as Middlesbrough slowly improved and were seen as a tough side to beat when playing at the Riverside Stadium. During McClaren's reign, Middlesbrough achieved their highest Premier League placing, finishing seventh in 2004–05.

The 2003–04 season was the most successful in the club's history as they finally won a major trophy after beating Bolton Wanderers 2–1 in the League Cup final under McClaren. This success also ensured that Middlesbrough would qualify for Europe – the UEFA Cup – for the first time, ultimately reaching the last 16 in the competition. UEFA Cup qualification was achieved for the second consecutive year after a dramatic 1–1 away draw with Manchester City thanks to a late penalty save from Mark Schwarzer in the final game of the season.

A notable event in the 2005-06 season was the final Premier League game against Fulham, where 15 of the 16 squad members were from the local area (the exception being Malcolm Christie). When Josh Walker replaced Malcolm Christie after 62 minutes the 11 players on the field were all born within 30 miles of Middlesbrough and all graduates of the club's academy. It was also the first all English starting line up in the Premier League since Bradford City in 1999, the first all English match squad since Aston Villa in 1998 and the youngest starting line-up in Premier League history.

Middlesbrough reached the 2006 UEFA Cup Final in Eindhoven

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