2004–05 Middlesbrough F.C. season

Middlesbrough
2004-05 season
Chairman Steve Gibson
Manager Steve McClaren
FA Premier League 7th
FA Cup Fourth Round
League Cup Fourth Round
UEFA Cup Round of 16
Top goalscorer League: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (13)
All: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (16)
Highest home attendance 34,836 v Norwich (Premier League)
Away: 67,988 v Manchester United (Premier League)
Lowest home attendance 29,603 v Charlton Athletic (Premier League)
Away: 17,759 v Fulham (Premier League)
Home colours
Away colours

During the 2004-05 season, Middlesbrough participated in the FA Premier League.

Kit

During this season, Middlesbrough had a new sponsor, 888.com. The team's kit was produced by Errea. The home shirt included a white band on it for the first time since the 2000-01 season. The away strip was mainly white with maroon sleeves, navy blue shorts and white socks. Away to Southampton, white shorts and navy socks were worn with the away shirt.

Season review

After the triumph in the League Cup final the previous season and a solid 11th-place finish in the league, Boro fans were optimistic that this season would be a success. Steve McClaren signed Boudewijn Zenden and Doriva on permanent deals following their loan spells, as well as adding high-profile signings Ray Parlour, Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Michael Reiziger to the squad. With these new additions, the supporters felt that, come the end of the season, Boro would be pushing for a league place good enough to qualify for Europe.

The season started well and Middlesbrough found themselves in fourth position following only one loss in the first 5 games. Despite a slight drop in their form, Boro kept in and around the top four until mid-November.

However, the UEFA Cup took its toll on the small Boro squad and their form stuttered towards Christmas. The team seemed to consist of more and more young players who were deputising for more senior players such as Gaizka Mendieta and Malcolm Christie who were ruled out for the season with injuries.

Following a 2-0 win at home to Norwich City on 28 December, Boro were in fifth place. However, after only one win in the next ten games the team found themselves in ninth and seemed to have undone their good work at the start of the season.

Things did finally pick up and, following only three losses in the final 12 games of the season, they found themselves up against Manchester City in the final game of the season. Both teams were in direct contest for the seventh place that Boro occupied, and a win for either side would mean qualification for the UEFA Cup. A last-minute penalty save by Mark Schwarzer gave Boro a 1-1 draw and the all important seventh-placed finish. For the first time in their history, Middlesbrough had qualified for Europe through the league.

The season was full of highs and lows for the Boro fans. The disappointment of losing their early strong position due to the injury crisis was offset against the emergence of several promising youngsters such as Stewart Downing, James Morrison and Anthony McMahon.

Both domestic cups were disappointing for the Boro team and the draws weren't favourable towards them. They only lasted two rounds in each competition, going out in the fourth round of both cups, to Manchester United in the FA Cup and to a young Liverpool side in the League Cup. The UEFA Cup run - Middlesbrough's first foray into Europe, having won the first major trophy of their history, the League Cup, the previous season - held greater joy. The first round was a two-legged knockout match against Baník Ostrava - Boro's first ever European match, with the first leg was at home. With a fantastic atmosphere at the Riverside, Middlesbrough cruised through the first leg 3-0; with a comfortable 1-1 draw in the away leg, they had qualified for the group stages and were guaranteed another 4 matches.

Middlesbrough were drawn in Group D, along with Villarreal, Lazio, Egaleo and Partizan Belgrade. The fans were confident that the team could earn at least a third-place finish in the group and therefore qualify for the knockout stages.

Boro went on to exceed all expectations, beating Egalio and Partizan Belgrade as expected and also achieving a fantastic 2-0 victory over Lazio - the only blot being a 2-0 away loss to Villarreal. This was enough to earn them a second-place finish and qualification for the next round, where Middlesbrough were drawn against Grazer AK. Middlesbrough managed a 2-2 draw against the then Austrian champions in the first leg, away. The team duly built on this in the return leg and progressed to the next round following a 2-1 win.

The round of 16 saw Boro face Sporting Lisbon for a place in the quarter finals. However, luck wasn't with Middlesbrough and they found themselves in the middle of an injury crisis. The first leg was at home and remained goalless at half time. Sporting then proceed to show their class and scored 3 in a thirty-minute spell after the break. Boro looked like they were to exit the competition, but a spectacular overhead scissor kick from Joseph Desire-Job and a late Chris Riggott goal gave a weakened Boro team a fairly respectable 3-2 loss. The second leg didn't go to plan though; despite fantastic support from 3,000 travelling fans, Middlesbrough went down 1-0, losing 4-2 on aggregate. The Boro fans took the defeat in good heart, however, and partied late into the night in Lisbon.

Middlesbrough's UEFA Cup run was seen as a huge success by the fans, and expectations were high for the following year's campaign.

First-team squad

The following are all the players who were involved the Middlesbrough F.C. first team at some point during the 2004-05 season.[1][2] 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 Netherlands DF Michael Reiziger
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
11 England FW Malcolm Christie
12 England GK Carlo Nash
14 Spain MF Gaizka Mendieta
15 England MF Ray Parlour
16 Cameroon FW Joseph-Desire Job
17 England MF Mark Wilson
18 Netherlands FW Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
19 England MF Stewart Downing
20 Brazil MF Doriva
No. Position Player
21 England DF Stuart Parnaby
22 Australia GK Brad Jones
23 England DF Colin Cooper
24 England DF Andrew Davies
25 England MF James Morrison[3]
26 England DF Matthew Bates
27 England GK Ross Turnbull
28 England DF Andrew Taylor
29 England DF Anthony McMahon
30 England FW Danny Graham
31 England DF David Wheater
32 Netherlands MF Boudewijn Zenden
33 England MF Anthony Peacock
34 England MF Jason Kennedy
35 England GK David Knight
36 Australia FW Mark Viduka
37 England MF Adam Johnson
38 England GK Chris Pennock

Transfers

In

Date Player Previous club Cost
6 July 2004 Netherlands Michael ReizigerSpain BarcelonaFree[4]
8 July 2004 Australia Mark VidukaLeeds United£4,500,000[5]
9 July 2004 Netherlands Jimmy Floyd HasselbainkChelseaFree[5]
23 July 2004 England Ray ParlourArsenalFree[5]
3 August 2004 Netherlands Boudewijn ZendenChelseaFree[6]

Out

Date Player Buying club Cost
22 April 2004Brazil RicardinhoReleasedFree[7]
23 June 2004England Michael RickettsLeeds UnitedFree[8]
23 June 2004England Robbie StockdaleRotherham UnitedNominal[9]
29 June 2004England Jonathan GreeningWest Bromwich Albion£1,250,000[10]
25 August 2004Brazil JuninhoScotland CelticFree[11]
23 March 2005England Carlo NashPreston North End£175,000[11]

Results

Premier League

  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
FA
Attendance Boro goalscorers Man of the match
114 August 2004HNewcastle United2–234,268Downing 73', Hasselbaink 90'Reiziger
222 August 2004AArsenal3–537,415Job 43', Hasselbaink 50', Queudrue 53'Queudrue
325 August 2004AFulham2–017,759Viduka 54', Németh 79'Parlour
428 August 2004HCrystal Palace2–131,560Popovic (o.g.) 61', Hasselbaink 78'Mendieta
511 September 2004HBirmingham City2–130,252Viduka (2) 27', 48'Boateng
616 September 2004AEverton0–134,078 Schwarzer
719 September 2004HChelsea0–132,341 Schwarzer
83 October 2004AManchester United1–167,988Downing 33'Southgate
916 October 2004ABlackburn Rovers4–020,385Hasselbaink (3) 46', 57', 90', Boateng 50'Hasselbaink
1024 October 2004HPortsmouth1–130,964Downing 74'Parlour
1130 October 2004ACharlton Athletic2–126,031El Karkouri (o.g.) 21', Zenden 58'Zenden
127 November 2004HBolton Wanderers1–129,656Boateng 90'Boateng
1314 November 2004AWest Bromwich Albion2–124,008Purse (o.g.) 32', Zenden 52'Schwarzer
1420 November 2004HLiverpool2–034,751Riggott 36', Zenden 62'Parlour
1528 November 2004ATottenham Hotspur0–235,772Riggott
166 December 2004HManchester City3–229,787Viduka (2) 9', 54', Hasselbaink 65'Viduka
1711 December 2004ASouthampton2–229,018Higginbotham (o.g.) 89', Downing 90'Downing
1818 December 2004HAston Villa3–031,338Hasselbaink 20', Job 68', Reiziger 88'McMahon
1926 December 2004ABirmingham City0–229,082 Reiziger
2028 December 2004HNorwich City2–034,836Job (2) 52', 54'Downing
211 January 2005HManchester United0–234,199 Downing
224 January 2005AChelsea0–240,982 Parlour
2316 January 2005HEverton1–131,794Zenden 26'Zenden
2422 January 2005ANorwich City4–424,547Hasselbaink (2) 34', 78', Queudrue (2) 49', 55'Downing
251 February 2005APortsmouth1–219,620Christie 35'Parlour
265 February 2005HBlackburn Rovers1–030,564Queudrue 35'Zenden
2712 February 2005ABolton Wanderers0–024,322 Schwarzer
2827 February 2005HCharlton Athletic2–229,603Riggott 74', Graham 86'Riggott
295 March 2005AAston Villa0–234,201 Parnaby
3020 March 2005HSouthampton1–330,082Hasselbaink 41'Doriva
312 April 2005ACrystal Palace1–024,274Queudrue 35'Queudrue
329 April 2005HArsenal0–133,874 Boateng
3319 April 2005HFulham1–130,650Zenden (pen.) 90'Queudrue
3423 April 2005HWest Bromwich Albion4–032,951Németh (2) 27', 37', Hasselbaink 33', Downing 90'+3 Németh
3527 April 2005ANewcastle United0–052,047 Jones
3630 April 2005ALiverpool1–143,250Németh 4'Southgate
377 May 2005HTottenham Hotspur1–034,766Boateng 11'Boateng
3815 May 2005AManchester City1–147,221Hasselbaink 23'Southgate

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
327 October 2004Coventry CityHome3-0 11,833Nemeth, Morrison, Graham
410 November 2004LiverpoolAway2-0 28, 176

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
38 January 2005Notts CountyAway2-1 13,671Doriva, Job
429 January 2005Manchester UnitedAway3-0 67,251

UEFA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
1 Leg 116 September 2004Czech Republic Baník OstravaHome3-0 29,746Hasselbaink, Viduka (2)
1 Leg 230 September 2004Czech Republic Baník OstravaAway1-1 (3-1 agg) 15,351Morrison
Grp E21 October 2004Greece EgaleoAway1-0 4,000Downing
Grp E4 November 2004Italy LazioHome2-0 33,991Zenden (2)
Grp E25 November 2004Spain VillarrealAway2-0 14,250
Grp E15 December 2004Serbia PartizanHome3-0 20,856Nemeth, Job, Morrison
3 Leg 117 February 2005Austria Grazer AKAway2-2 13,000Zenden, Hasselbaink
3 Leg 224 February 2005Austria Grazer AKHome2-1 (4-3 agg) 20,371Morrison, Hasselbaink
4 Leg 110 March 2005Portugal SportingHome2-3 23,739Job, Riggott
4 Leg 217 March 2005Portugal SportingAway1-0 (4-2 agg) 21,217

Player statistics

Goalscorers

Goalscoring statistics for 2004-05.[12]

NameLeagueFA CupLeague CupEuropeTotal
Netherlands Hasselbaink1300316
Cameroon Job51028
Australia Viduka50027
Netherlands Zenden40037
England Downing50016
Slovakia Németh40116
France Queudrue50005
England Morrison00134
Netherlands Boateng30003
England Riggott20013
England Graham10102
Netherlands Reiziger10001
England Christie10001
Brazil Doriva01001
Own Goals40004

Appearances and discipline

Appearance and disciplinary records for 2004-05 league and cup matches.[1]

NameAppearancesYellow cardsRed cards
Australia Schwarzer4300
Australia Jones500
England Nash400
England Parnaby20+410
France Queudrue4382
England Ehiogu11+110
England Riggott31+140
England Southgate4760
Netherlands Reiziger21+410
England Bates0+200
England Davies4+100
England McMahon16+330
England Cooper17+400
England Wheater0+100
Spain Mendieta7+110
Netherlands Boateng2980
England Wilson100
England Downing40+810
England Morrison12+1120
England Johnson0+100
Brazil Doriva26+1260
England Parlour40+1131
Netherlands Zenden48+190
England Kennedy0+100
Australia Viduka19+200
England Christie2+100
Netherlands Hasselbaink43+230
England Graham1+1600
Slovakia Németh25+1510
Cameroon Job17+1600

References and notes

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.