Middlesbrough F.C. season 2003-04

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Middlesbrough
Season 2003-04
League FA Premier League
Manager Steve McClaren
Chairman Steve Gibson
League position 11th
Top goalscorer League: Juninho, Szilard Nemeth (8)
All: Juninho (9)
Highest attendance Home: 34,738 v Manchester United (Premier League)
Away: 67,346 v Manchester United(Premier League)
Lowest attendance Home: 10,435 v Brighton (League Cup)
Away: 8,046 v Wigan (League Cup)
FA Cup Fourth Round
League Cup Winners

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

Contents

[edit] Team Kit and Sponsors

Middlesbrough were sponsored by Dial-A-Phone for the second season in a row, the team's strip 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]

Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away colours

[edit] Season review

[edit] League review

Middlesbrough had an appalling start to their season - losing 4 of their first 5 games (their worst start since the 1984/85 season) taking only 1 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 8 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 fairly disappointing 11th place.

[edit] 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 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 2-1 away (with goals from Maccarone and Mendieta) and set up a 4th round home match against Everton.

The match against Everton was a closely contested affair, which ended 0-0 after extra time - therefore 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 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 when Mauricio Taricco 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 to the return leg thanks to a Juninho goal. Arsenal boss Arsene 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 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.

[edit] Squad

[edit] Senior squad

The following are all the players who were involved the Middlesbrough F.C. first team at some point during the 2003-04 season.[2][3]

No. Position Player
1 Flag of Australia GK Mark Schwarzer
2 Flag of England DF Robbie Stockdale
3 Flag of France DF Franck Queudrue
4 Flag of England DF Ugo Ehiogu
5 Flag of England DF Chris Riggott
6 Flag of England DF Gareth Southgate (captain)
7 Flag of the Netherlands MF George Boateng
8 Flag of Slovakia FW Szilard Nemeth
9 Flag of Italy FW Massimo Maccarone
10 Flag of Brazil MF Juninho
11 Flag of England FW Malcolm Christie
12 Flag of England GK Carlo Nash
14 Flag of Spain MF Gaizka Mendieta
15 Flag of England DF Danny Mills
16 Flag of Cameroon FW Joseph Desire-Job
No. Position Player
17 Flag of England FW Michael Ricketts
20 Flag of Brazil MF Doriva
21 Flag of England DF Stuart Parnaby
24 Flag of England DF Andrew Davies
27 Flag of the Netherlands MF Boudewijn Zenden
28 Flag of England DF Colin Cooper
29 Flag of Brazil MF Ricardinho
32 Flag of Scotland MF Allan Johnston
33 Flag of England DF David Murphy
34 Flag of England GK Sam Russell
37 Flag of Ireland DF Brian Close
39 Flag of England MF Craig Dove
41 Flag of England FW Jamie Cade
Flag of Ireland FW Gerard Robinson

[edit] Transfers

[edit] In

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

[edit] Out

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

[edit] 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', Nemeth 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 2–3 30,414 Nemeth 60', Juninho 63' Mendieta
5 13 September 2003 A Bolton 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 Nemeth 46'
9 18 October 2003 H Newcastle 0–1 34,081
10 26 October 2003 A Tottenham Hotspur 0–0 32,643
11 1 November 2003 H Wolves 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 Own Goal
15 6 December 2003 H Portsmouth 0–0 28031
16 13 December 2003 H Charlton 0–0 26,721
17 26 December 2003 A Blackburn 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', Nemeth 67'
20 10 January 2004 A Arsenal 1–4 38,117 Maccarone 89'(pen)
21 20 January 2004 H Leicester 3–3 27,125 Juninho 8', Maccarone 90', Own Goal 90'
22 31 January 2004 A Leeds 3–0 35,970 Zenden 53', Job 77', Ricketts 89'(pen)
23 7 February 2004 H Blackburn 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 1–2 52,156 Zenden 33'
26 3 March 2004 A Birmingham 1–3 29,369 Nemeth 75'
27 9 March 2004 H Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 31,789 Nemeth 73'
28 13 March 2004 A Charlton 0–1 26,270
29 20 March 2004 H Birmingham 5–3 30,244 Mendieta 5', Maccarone 21', 45', Southgate 30', Nemeth 90'
30 27 March 2004 A Everton 1–1 38,210 Joseph-Desire Job 83'
31 3 April 2004 H Bolton 2–0 30,107 Own Goal 8', Greening 51'
32 10 April 2004 A Chelsea 0–0 40,873
33 12 April 2004 H Southampton 3–1 30,768 Juninho 23', Nemeth 32', Maccarone 49'
34 17 April 2004 A Wolves 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', Nemeth 32'
38 15 May 2004 A Portsmouth 1–5 20,134 Zenden 27'

[edit] Cup Results

[edit] Carling Cup

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

[edit] FA Cup

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

[edit] Player statistics

[edit] Goalscorers

Goalscoring statistics for 2003-04.[14]

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

[edit] Appearances / Discipline

Appearance and disciplinary records for 2003-04 league and cup matches.[2]

Name Appearances Yellow cards Red cards
Flag of Australia Schwarzer 44 0 0
Flag of Australia Jones 1 0 0
Flag of England Nash 1 0 0
Flag of England Parnaby 16 2 0
Flag of France Queudrue 40 7 0
Flag of England Ehiogu 19 3 0
Flag of England Riggott 24 3 0
Flag of England Southgate 34 1 0
Flag of England Mills 37 10 0
Flag of England Wright 2 0 0
Flag of England Davies 10 0 0
Flag of England Stockdale 2 0 0
Flag of England Cooper 21 3 0
Flag of Spain Mendieta 38 3 0
Flag of the Netherlands Boateng 43 8 1
Flag of Brazil Juninho 38 3 0
Flag of England Downing 24 0 0
Flag of England Morrison 2 0 0
Flag of England Greening 29 5 0
Flag of Brazil Doriva 26 6 0
Flag of Argentina Marinelli 1 0 0
Flag of the Netherlands Zenden 39 5 1
Flag of Australia Viduka 21 0 0
Flag of Italy Maccarone 30 2 0
Flag of England Ricketts 30 4 0
Flag of Slovakia Nemeth 38 2 0
Flag of Cameroon Job 29 1 0

[edit] References and Notes