During the 2007–08 season,

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

participated in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. The season saw them play their 4000th league game, versus

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

on 1 March 2008. They reached the third round of the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, where they were knocked out by eventual winners

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, while in their

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

campaign they were knocked out by

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cup w ...

continued as manager under chairman Steve Gibson.

George Boateng George Antwi Boateng (born 5 September 1975) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is Assistant Coach of the Ghana national team. Born in Ghana, raised in Holland and he represented the Netherlands interna ...

retained the captaincy from the previous season, until being replaced at the beginning of 2008 by

Julio Arca Julio Andrés Arca (born 31 January 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer, who played as a left-back or central midfielder. Arca spent the majority of his career in the North East of England, firstly for Sunderland from 2000 to 200 ...

. Arca's poor form saw him dropped in March, and

Emanuel Pogatetz Emanuel Pogatetz (born 16 January 1983) is an Austrian former professional footballer who is an assistant coach for SKN St. Pölten. At club level, has previously played for FC Kärnten, Bayer Leverkusen II, FC Aarau, Spartak Moscow, Middlesbro ...

was handed the captaincy in his absence, and later retained it upon Arca's return to the side, though any permanent decision was put off until the following season. January saw Middlesbrough smash their transfer record to pay a fee of around £12 million for Brazilian striker

Afonso Alves Afonso Alves Martins Júnior (born 30 January 1981), better known as Afonso Alves, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He represented Atlético Mineiro, Örgryte, Malmö FF, Heerenveen, Middlesbrough, Al-Sadd ...

Team kit and sponsors

During this season, Middlesbrough's kits were produced by

Erreà Erreà () is an Italian sports equipment company supplier. Erreà was the first Italian sportswear company to be accredited with the Oeko-tex standard certification, which assures that garments textiles are free from harmful chemicals. Backgrou ...

888.com 888 Holdings PLC, () known commonly as 888, is a public company which owns several popular gambling brands and websites, including 888sport, 888casino and 888poker. 888 is based in Gibraltar. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a con ...

's contract with the club expired, and after prolonged negotiations leading to a delay in the release of the new kit, Middlesbrough announced that the new sponsors would be

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

manufacturer

Garmin Garmin Ltd. (shortened to Garmin, stylized as GARMIN, and formerly known as ProNav) is an American, Swiss-domiciled multinational technology company founded in 1989 by Gary Burrell and Min Kao in Lenexa, Kansas, United States, with headquart ...

on 20 July 2007. On 16 July 2007, the club announced that the new home shirt would be predominantly red with white trim. The away shirt was revealed on 20 July 2007 as being predominantly white with gold trim.

Transfers

Summer transfer window

Early pre-season was dominated by the protracted contract talks involving

Mark Viduka Mark Antony Viduka ( ; born 9 October 1975) is an Australian retired football player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australia national team to the Round of 16 at the 2006 FIFA World Cup which remains their best ever performance ...

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, and

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

were rumoured destinations for the Boro striker, before he eventually decided to move on a Bosman free transfer to

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. This meant Boro had only two strikers remaining in

Yakubu Yakubu is an English transliteration of a West African name and is a cognate of Jacob and James. Notable people with the name include: ;Given name * Yakubu (born 1982 as Yakubu Ayegbeni), Nigerian footballer * Yakubu (Gobir ruler), historical ruler ...

and

Lee Dong-Gook Lee Dong-gook (, ; born 29 April 1979) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a record scorer in the K League 1, and had brief spells in Europe with Werder Bremen and Middlesbrough. He also played for ...

having also released

Malcolm Christie Malcolm Neil Christie (born 11 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Initially playing at non-league level for Deeping Rangers and Nuneaton Borough, he went on to play in the Premier League for bo ...

and

Danny Graham Daniel Graham (born 1978) is an American football player. Daniel Graham may also refer to: * Bob Graham (born 1936), Daniel Robert Graham, American politician *Daniel O. Graham (1926–1995), American general and political activist *Danny Graham ( ...

at the ends of their contracts.

Jérémie Aliadière Jérémie Aliadière (born 30 March 1983) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. As a graduate of the elite INF Clairefontaine, Clairefontaine academy, he signed ...

from

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

Tuncay Tuncay (; ''toonj-eye'') is a Turkish given name for males and a surname. People named Tuncay include: Given name * Tuncay Güney (born 1972), Turkish spy * Tuncay Karakaya (born 1989), Turkish Paralympian goalball player * Tuncay Mataracı (b ...

from Fenerbahçe were brought in as replacements. Right back Luke Young was also brought in on 26 July 2007 for £2.5 million from relegated

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...

following the departures of

Abel Xavier Abel Luís da Silva Costa Xavier (; born 30 November 1972) is a Portuguese football manager and former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Xavier played for clubs in Portugal, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, England, Turkey and G ...

and

Stuart Parnaby Stuart Parnaby (born 19 July 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right-back in the Football League and Premier League for Halifax Town, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and Hartlepool United. He was most recently th ...

on free transfers. After just short of a hundred appearances, youth academy graduate James Morrison moved on to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

for an initial £1.75 million. Two games into the league season,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian striker Mido was brought in from

for £6 million in order to improve the team's attacking options, beating off competition from

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

and Birmingham City. Following Mido's arrival, speculation intensified regarding Yakubu, who had been linked with moves to

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, and Birmingham City before Boro announced a fee was agreed with Everton. The move was completed on 29 August for £11.25 million, an Everton record and Boro's second highest fee ever received (behind Juninho's £12 million fee in 1997) and meant the club's five main strikers from twelve months earlier had all left the club. Mido's fellow Egyptian international teammate

Mohamed Shawky Mohamed Ali Abu El Yazid Shawky ( ar, محمد شوقي; born 5 October 1981) is an Egyptian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Between 2001 and 2012, he made 65 appearances scoring 5 goals for the Egypt national ...

was set to undergo for three-day trial along with teammate

Emad Moteab Emad Mohamed Abdelnaby Ibrahim Moteab ( ar, عماد محمد عبد النبي إبراهيم متعب; born 20 February 1983) is an Egyptian semi-retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Career statistics International :Sourc ...

, however Middlesbrough decided on only pursuing their interest in Shawky, who signed on transfer deadline day for £650,000 on a three-year contract. At the same time,

Jason Euell Jason Joseph Euell (born 6 February 1977) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as either a Forward (association football), forward or a midfielder. He spent much of his career playing in the Premier League, with ...

moved to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

on a free transfer after having his contract cancelled, and

David Knight David or Dave Knight may refer to: *David Knight (American football) (born 1951), former American football player *David Knight (CND), chair for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament 1996–2001 *David Knight (cricketer) (born 1956), Australian cric ...

was released to join

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

. With less than an hour remaining before the transfer deadline, Boro completed a £5 million move for Portsmouth's

Gary O'Neil Gary Paul O'Neil (born 18 May 1983) is an English former professional football midfielder and the current manager of Premier League club AFC Bournemouth. O'Neil has previously played for Portsmouth (where he was the Player of the Season in 2 ...

January transfer window

The early part of the transfer window saw prolonged and widespread reports linking Boro with Brazilian strikers

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

and

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, interest which was later confirmed by

. Any move for Alves was delayed by a contractual dispute.

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and ho ...

claimed they had signed a pre-contract agreement with Alves, though the Dutch FA ruled against them, while Southgate said a move for Fred was looking "complicated" and "unlikely". The move was completed in the final hour of the window for an undisclosed Middlesbrough record fee. In December it was reported that Barcelona midfielder

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. Wide ...

was a £10m target for the club. These rumours died down and the Brazilian moved to

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

in the summer. The first move however, saw

Academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

product Andrew Davies leave the club for

for an undisclosed fee, following a successful three-month loan spell.

Stewart Downing Stewart Downing (born 22 July 1984) is an English former professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, Ameri ...

was once again linked with a move to

at the start of the window. Those reports died away, but widespread media reports emerged at the start of the final week of the window that both Tottenham and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

had come to an agreement with Boro over a fee for fellow home-town star

Jonathan Woodgate Jonathan Simon Woodgate (born 22 January 1980) is an English football manager and former player who is currently the First Team Coach at EFL Championship club, Middlesbrough. Woodgate began his career at Middlesbrough but moved to Leeds United ...

(only signed in the summer from

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

for £7 million) and the player had been allowed to speak with them. It was confirmed on 28 January that Woodgate had signed for Tottenham for an undisclosed fee. Meanwhile,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

signed a pre-contract agreement with Middlesbrough's young striker Ben Hutchinson after the club failed to agree a new contract with the 20-year-old. Boro were due compensation for the move. Celtic later agreed to pay Middlesbrough a compensation fee (reported to be around £250,000) to allow Hutchinson to leave before the end of the window.

End of season

At the end of the season, Gareth Southgate confirmed that

Fábio Rochemback Fábio Rochemback (born 10 December 1981) is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. At different ends of his career, he represented both ''Grenal'' rivals of his home state of Rio Grande do ...

Gaizka Mendieta Gaizka Mendieta Zabala (, ; born 27 March 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A versatile player, with good technique, offensive capabilities and tackling skills, who was capable of creating goals both ...

and

would all be leaving the club once their contracts finished at the end of June. Later the same day it was announced Rochemback was returning to his former club

Sporting Lisbon Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

signed youngster Steve Thompson after he impressed for them in two reserve team games. Mark Schwarzer rejected a new two-year deal from Middlesbrough and signed a contract with Fulham at the end of the season, ending his 11-year spell on Teesside that put him 8th in the all-time Middlesbrough appearance records. Out of contract Jason Kennedy left to join

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

, where he had ended the season on loan.

Summary

In

''For 2007–08 Academy recruits see Academy squad.''

Out

''For departures of players out of contract at the end of 2006–07 see

2006–07 Middlesbrough F.C. season During the 2006–07 season, Middlesbrough participated in the Premier League. Team kit and sponsors Middlesbrough's kits were once again produced by Errea, and sponsored by 888.com for the third season running. The club retained the white band ...

.''

Loans out

Notes

: Aliadière was purchased for an initial fee of £2 million. : O'Neil was purchased for an initial fee £2.5 million. The fee could rise to slightly more than £5 million based on appearances. : Alves' fee was confirmed to be a Middlesbrough transfer record. Manager Gareth Southgate verbally implied the fee was £12 million. : Filler was signed for an upfront fee, with further amounts tied into his future progress. : Morrison was sold for an initial fee of £1.5 million. The fee could rise to £2.2 million based on appearances. Middlesbrough are also due 15% of any sell on fee. : Davies' fee was reported to be around £1 million. : Woodgate's fee was reported to be around £7–8 million. : Hutchinson signed a pre-contract agreement with Celtic around 26 January 2008, with the move due to take place once out of contract at the end of June. Middlesbrough were due compensation for the player leaving due to him being younger than 24 years of age, but an earlier move was agreed for a fee reported to be around £250,000. : Turnbull's loan period was initially intended to last the full season, but he returned early following injuries to Middlesbrough's first team squad. : Johnson's loan to Watford was initially intended to last three months, but he was recalled early. : Bates' loan to Norwich was initially intended to last three months, but he returned early following a knee injury. : Riggott's loan to Stoke City was initially intended to last until the end of the season, however he was recalled early.

Squad

Senior squad

Appearances and goals

''Appearance and goalscoring records for all the players who were in the Middlesbrough F.C. first team squad during the 2007–08 season.''

Discipline

Middlesbrough finished the season with the worst disciplinary record in the

and were subsequently fined £20,000 and a suspended £30,000.
''Disciplinary records for 2007–08 league and cup matches. Players with 1 card or more included only.''

Reserve squad

''Reserve players for 2007–08 season. Senior squad and Academy players are eligible to play for the Reserves. Those listed here agreed professional contracts and had no squad number during this season.''

Academy squad

''Academy players for 2007–08 season.'' , , 1 , - , , , DF , , align="left", Theo Furness , , 1 , - , , , MF , , align="left", Jonathan Harris , , 1 , - , , , FW , , align="left", Gary Martin , , 1 , - , , , DF , , align="left", Jordan Robinson , , 1 , - , , , MF , , align="left", Richard Smallwood , , 1 , - , , , FW , , align="left", Jason White , , 1 , - , , , GK , , align="left", Matthew Atkinson , , 2 , - , , , DF , , align="left", , , 2 , - , , , MF , , align="left", David Hillerby , , 2 , - , , , DF , , align="left", Lewis McCardle , , 2 , - , , , FW , , align="left", , , 2 , - , , , MF , , align="left", Shaun Saiko , , 2 , - , , , DF , , align="left", Lewis Smith , , 2 , - , , , DF , , align="left", , , 3 , - , , , FW , , align="left", , , 3

Preseason

Results

''Note: Results are given with Middlesbrough score listed first. Man of the Match is according t
mfc.co.uk
''

Premier League

August

Nearing the start of the season, the first team was dealing with injuries to five of the club's

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

s: Woodgate, Huth,

Bates Bates may refer to: Places * Bates, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bates, Illinois. an unincorporated community in Sangamon County * Bates, Michigan, a community in Grand Traverse County * Bates, New York, a hamlet in the town of Elli ...

, Pogatetz and Riggott, leaving the prospect of a shortage of players available for the first game of the season. Chris Riggott returned from injury for Middlesbrough's first game of the season, but

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

missed the game with a slight groin problem, leaving Boro starting with far from their first choice defence. However, Boro were more focused on attack and for the second season running

scored Boro's first goal of the season to give Boro a 1–0 lead, before – also for the second season running – their opponents came from behind to win, this time

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

1–2. The situation didn't improve in the next game as they went down to a poor 0–1 defeat away at

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

. Despite lacking match fitness, Mido was included in place of

who was dropped from the squad for the game at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

. The first substitution of the game came after just eight minutes as referee

Lee Mason Lee Mason (born 29 October 1971)
and biography:

Andy D'Urso Andrew Paul D'Urso (born 30 November 1963) is an English former football referee in the Football League. D'Urso is based in Billericay, Essex and is a member of the ''Barking & Dagenham Referees Society''. He retired at the end of the 2014–15 ...

. Middlesbrough came from behind as Mido scored a debut goal, and

Lee Cattermole Lee Barry Cattermole (born 21 March 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. An England youth product, Cattermole has earned a reputation as a tough-tackling midfielder due to his lengthy disciplin ...

the second as Boro secured their first points with a controversial 2–1 win, as replays appeared to show Fulham were denied a legitimate goal towards the end. Woodgate, Rochemback and Young were thrust back into action for the

Tyne–Tees derby The Tyne–Tees derby is a term used by some for a football match between Newcastle United and Middlesbrough. There is a distance of 42 miles between both teams. The fixture had increased importance in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as the onl ...

, which ended in a 2–2 draw. Viduka scored on his

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

return, with Arca and Mido scoring for Middlesbrough. The game was suffered from allegations of abusive chants towards Mido by Newcastle United fans, prompting an inquiry into the incident by the FA.

September

Middlesbrough followed their midweek cup win with a 2–0 victory over Birmingham. Despite a good performance away at

, Middlesbrough went down to a 0–3 defeat. A week later, Boro played Sunderland in the seventh match of the season. Sunderland took the lead in the second minute, but Julio Arca scored against his former club (his second in as many north east derbies this season) to bring the teams level. Stewart Downing scored from 25 yards in the second half, only for Sunderland to level the scores to 2–2 in the last minutes of the game. The game was marred by injuries to Tuncay, Arca and Mido. Middlesbrough, still struggling with injuries, made it almost a month without a win when they lost 0–2 to Everton, Yakubu playing but not scoring in the victory over his former side.

October

At the

City of Manchester Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...

, Middlesbrough went down to a 1–3 defeat versus

, with Ben Hutchinson scoring a consolation goal on his debut. Following the international break, Middlesbrough were back at home for the first time in almost a month, aiming to beat

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

at home for the third time in a row, but they could not repeat the feat, resulting in a 0–2 defeat as Boro's run was stretched to six games in all competitions without a win. Things didn't get any easier in their next game, away versus

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Wheater, Cattermole and Aliadière returned to the starting lineup, but the match began the same way as Middlesbrough's previous four: conceding a goal within the opening ten minutes. However, Aliadière soon equalised with his first Boro goal, and the first home league goal United had conceded that season. A Downing error gifted Manchester United their second, and Tevez added two more goals in the second half. The 1–4 defeat meant Middlesbrough had then conceded sixteen goals in six league games, while scoring only four.

November

The team's run of losses finally ended, coming from behind to claim a 1–1 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur; Luke Young denying his former team the victory. Emanuel Pogatetz returned to the squad for the game away at

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

, and after thirty minutes he was called into action to replace the injured

Andrew Taylor Andrew or Andy Taylor may refer to: Sport * Andrew Taylor (footballer, born 1986), English footballer * Andy Taylor (footballer, born 1986), English footballer * Andy Taylor (footballer, born 1988), English footballer * Andrew Taylor (Australian ...

, helping Boro to a 0–0 draw, their second clean sheet of the season and first draw on the road. Adam Johnson was recalled from his successful loan spell at

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

(where he scored 5 goals in 11 games) in time for the home game versus

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. He was immediately restored to the starting line-up, beginning the game on the left with Downing moving up front. Boro started well but conceded just before half time, and again just after the break, with the third going in ten minutes later. Astonishingly despite the 0–3 defeat, Middlesbrough avoided dropping into the bottom three: Bolton won versus Manchester United and moved out of the drop zone, but Sunderland's 1–7 defeat at Everton dropped them below the Boro on goal difference.

December

News arrived before the away game at

that Mido would be out until the 2008 at least, while Andrew Taylor and Mark Schwarzer would be missing for around three weeks. On match day,

Ross Turnbull Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

started in goal with England U-17 keeper Jason Steele making the bench. While Boro started well, for the twelfth time in fifteen games they conceded the first goal of the game, eight minutes into the second half. Robert Huth made his first appearance of the season, replacing Woodgate after seventy minutes, while Tuncay replaced Dong-Gook Lee. The substitution worked as Tuncay finally grabbed his first Boro goal and it ended 1–1. Sunderland's victory against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

however, meant Boro dropped into the relegation zone. The visit from league leaders

was likely to be a tough game, but Boro were awarded a penalty after four minutes (the first penalty in a Middlesbrough game this season), which Downing converted for his fourth goal of the season. Tuncay scored his second in two games to increase the lead, before

Tomáš Rosický Tomáš Rosický (; born 4 October 1980) is a Czech former professional footballer who was the captain of the Czech Republic national team for a ten-year period. He played club football for Sparta Prague, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal. He s ...

scored in the final seconds of the game. The 2–1 win subjected Arsenal to their first defeat of the season, while Middlesbrough ended their run of eleven games without a win. Tuncay made it three goals in three in the 1–0 victory at Derby. Julio Arca made his first start since September following his return from injury, replacing Rochemback who was suspended after picking up five yellow cards. David Wheater put Boro into the lead after 40 minutes, but West Ham replied with two goals. The 1–2 scoreline gave the away side their first win at the Riverside Stadium. The festive programme continued badly with a 0–3 defeat away at Birmingham City, Downing opening the scoring with an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

, giving the hosts their first home win under new manager

Alex McLeish Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps for ...

. It was 31 October 1953 when Middlesbrough last won a top flight game at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

, and 1990 saw their last victory there at all levels. Tuncay gave Boro the lead against a Portsmouth side that hadn't scored at home since September, and it was enough to give them their third away victory of the season, their second 1–0. The game also saw Mark Schwarzer surpass

Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English former professional footballer who is currently the manager of Sunderland. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a defender. He began his coaching career with Ip ...

and

Stephen Pears Stephen Pears (born 22 January 1962) is an English former footballer. Born in Brandon, County Durham, he played as a goalkeeper for Manchester United, Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Hartlepool United in a career spanning 20 years. Career Stephen ...

' totals to move into ninth in the all-time Middlesbrough appearance records, after playing his 425th game for the club. The result also saw Schwarzer overtake

Dennis Bergkamp Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (; born 10 May 1969) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. Originally a wide midfielder, Bergkamp was moved to main striker and then to second striker, where he remained throughout his playing ...

as the foreign player with the most Premier League appearances for one club.

January

Boro didn't begin the new year the way they had hoped in their game versus Everton at home, failing to take their chances and succumbing to a 0–2 defeat.

Reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

captain

Jonathan Grounds Jonathan Martin Grounds (born 2 February 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back or centre back for club Exeter City. Grounds began his career with his local club, Middlesbrough, but never became a regular member ...

made his Boro debut for the visit of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

to the Riverside, with Pogatetz suffering with a virus. Boateng also returned as captain, having been left out of the last few games, and scored the opening goal of the game, witnessed by the highest crowd of the season so far. Liverpool equalised to tie the game at 1–1. At Blackburn, Arca captained the side from the start, despite Boateng also starting. David Wheater put Boro ahead after 13 minutes with his fourth goal of the season. Arca went off injured at half time and Pogatetz became captain.

Matt Derbyshire Matthew Anthony Derbyshire (born 14 April 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club NorthEast United. He played for Blackburn Rovers for five years, and had loan spells with Plymouth Argy ...

equalised during the second half to give Rovers a share of the points in the 1–1 draw. Manager

announced after the game that Boateng had been relieved of his captaincy to allow him to "be free in his mind to enjoy his football". It was then confirmed that Arca would be the new captain. Jérémie Aliadière got his first Boro goal at the Riverside in the 1–0 win over Wigan Athletic.

February

Boro were made to rue missed chances during the derby at Newcastle when

Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...

gave Newcastle the lead on the hour mark, but Robert Huth scored a late goal to draw Boro level and tie the game 1–1. Aliadière got his third goal of the season at home to Fulham, while Alves made his debut after an hour as Boro did the double over their opponents with a 1–0 win. Tuncay returned from injury for the game at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

and scored after 9 minutes, but a terrible error from Arca gifted

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, ...

a goal after 28 minutes, and he got a second a minute later. He completed his hat-trick in the second half. Downing got a goal back late in the game, but Aliadière was then sent off. This 2–3 defeat was Boro's first in all competitions since the

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

fixture against Everton. Aliadière's red card was appealed against after the game, but it was dismissed and the disciplinary committee extended the ban by one game to four games as they branded the appeal "frivolous", a decision which angered chairman Steve Gibson and Keith Lamb.

March

The first day of March marked Middlesbrough's 4000th league game, at home to a Reading side who had lost eight straight games going into the day's match. In typical Middlesbrough fashion, that run came to an end as Boro lost 1–0 after a late goal. Following the Reading game was the home FA Cup tie versus Cardiff, where the team were defeated 2–0, producing a dreadful performance. The performance drew huge criticism from fans and they and manager alike demanded a better performance away at

Villa Park Villa Park is a football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. It has been the home of Premier League side Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witton and Aston railway stations ...

three days later. Changes saw Arca dropped from the squad after a run of poor performances and Rochemback moved to the bench as Shawky and Boateng formed the new centre midfield partnership. Pogatetz captained the side. Downing got his seventh goal of the season after 23 minutes. Referee Steve Bennett gave Villa a penalty for a handball by Luke Young while the defender was looking the other way, which

Gareth Barry Gareth Barry (born 23 February 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made 653 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa, Manchester City, Everton and West Bromwich Albion, the highest number of ap ...

slotted home. The game finished 1–1. Three days later, Aliadière returned from his ban for the game against his old club at Arsenal and marked it with his fourth goal of the season in the 25th minute. Andrew Taylor made a long-awaited return from his December injury as a second-half substitute.

Kolo Touré Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981) is an Ivorian professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Championship side Wigan Athletic. He played as a defender for Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic and the Ivory Coas ...

scored a late equaliser, and then Mido was sent off for a high challenge. The game ended 1–1 to leave Middlesbrough undefeated against Arsenal for this season. The club decided not to appeal against his card following consultation with referee's chief

Keith Hackett Keith Stuart Hackett (born 22 June 1944) is an English former football referee, who began refereeing in local leagues in the Sheffield, South Yorkshire area in 1960. He is counted amongst the top 100 referees of all time in a list maintained b ...

. Storms the night before meant that the South Stand of the Riverside was closed for the home tie with Derby. The game marked Boro's first home game since the Cardiff debacle. Tuncay got his sixth of the season in the first half. Heavy snow in the second half allowed Derby back into the game but Middlesbrough hung on to win 1–0. After going behind very early in their game at Chelsea they spurned their chances in the second half, Alves hitting the post and Boro twice hitting the bar from a free kick. Chelsea were unable to extend their lead and so the tie finished 1–0.

April

Despite being at the start of April, the game at home to league leaders Manchester United was played in a snow storm, watched by the season's highest home attendance. Arca returned to the starting line-up following his rest, however Pogatetz retained the captaincy. It didn't start well for the home side with Ronaldo getting a goal inside ten minutes. However, Middlesbrough responded with two goals. Both came from Alves, either side of half time to open his Boro account. It was the first time this season that a Middlesbrough player had scored two goals in a game. Wayne Rooney pegged the game level later in the second half and the game ended in a 2–2 draw. Grounds replacing the injured Taylor was the only change to the side for the game at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

, which saw them up against former centre-back Jonathan Woodgate. Grounds was unfortunate to concede an own goal in the first half but Stewart Downing's eighth goal of the season drew the away side level. It finished 1–1. Bolton visited the Riverside still in the relegation battle, while the home side had the chance to make themselves mathematically safe with a victory. Gary O'Neil, suspended anyway for this match and the next, was ruled out for the rest of the season with an injury and was replaced by Tuncay. Ross Turnbull was given a chance in goal after Mark Schwarzer was ruled out with a back problem. Boro dominated the opening minutes of first half, but went in for half time level. Bolton performed much better in the second half, and Boro much worse. Though the home side were denied a penalty shortly before the hour, the visitors took the 1–0 lead shortly after through

Gavin McCann Gavin Peter McCann (born 10 January 1978) is an English retired footballer who played as a midfielder in the English Premier League. He has one England cap to his name, playing against Spain at Villa Park in 2001. He is currently the First Tea ...

. Still not safe, Boro went to the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland A.F.C. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. ...

for the Wear-Tees derby with Sunderland. Brad Jones made his first league appearance of the season while Schwarzer remained injured and Turnbull was only fit enough for the bench. Tuncay opened the scoring after 4 minutes, but less than 2 minutes later, the scores were again level. Sunderland took the lead just before half time. Alves got his third of the season after 74 minutes, but Boro conceded a goal two minutes into stoppage time to hand Sunderland a 3–2 victory.

May

Chris Riggott was recalled from his loan period at

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

for the home tie versus Portsmouth, and put straight into the side also featuring the return of Mark Schwarzer and Fabio Rochemback. Riggott marked his return with his first goal of the season in the first half with a rare Boro goal from a corner. In the second half Tuncay scored from another corner to put Middlesbrough 2–0 up, and complete the double over Portsmouth, along with their first two-goal winning margin since 1 September 2007 against Birmingham. The win also finally secured the side's safety from

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

. The last game of the season saw Middlesbrough play Manchester City. They started in next season's kit. After quarter of an hour, City captain

Richard Dunne Richard Patrick Dunne (born 21 September 1979) is an Irish former footballer and current television pundit for BT Sport, who played as a defender. He made 431 Premier League appearances, including 253 for Manchester City. Dunne began his pro ...

brought down Tuncay in the box to give the home side their second penalty of the season, which saw Dunne sent off. Stewart Downing, who started every league game of the season, converted the penalty for his ninth goal of the season. Alves got his fourth of the season on 37 minutes. In the second half, Downing got another to make double figures for the season, and mark the first time Boro had scored more than two goals in one game since the last game of the previous season. It got better when Alves got his second just minutes later. Johnson made it five on 70 minutes.

Anthony McMahon Anthony McMahon (born 24 March 1986) is an English football coach and former player who played as a right back. Born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, McMahon started his playing career with Middlesbrough, with whom he spent eight seasons, in ...

made his first appearance of the season coming on as a sub for Luke Young with 15 minutes to play. Rochemback scored a thirty-yard free kick to make it six with his first goal of the season. Jérémie Aliadière got another to make it seven.

Elano Elano Blumer (born 14 June 1981), known as Elano, is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. Known for his accurate passing and precise set pieces, Elano started his senior career at Santos, and sp ...

got a consolation goal, before Afonso Alves completed a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

to give Boro an emphatic 8–1 win. The game was the first time Boro had scored eight in a game since 1974, and the first time in the top flight since 1950. Alves' third goal was the 500th Boro goal in all competitions at the Riverside, and the 1,000th in the Premier League this season, as well as the club's 600th Premier League goal. It also saw the first time Boro registered five different goalscorers since 1939.

Results

''Note: Results are given with Middlesbrough score listed first. Man of the Match is according t
mfc.co.uk
''

Classification

League progress

This chart shows the league position of Middlesbrough F.C. over the course of the season. The green area represents the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

positions (positions 1 to 4), the yellow area represents what turned out to be the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

position (positions 5) and the red area represents the relegation places (positions 18 to 20). The lowest position in the league that Middlesbrough reached during the course of the season was 18th, following the away draw at

on 1 December 2007, and their highest placing was 10th, after the fifth game.

Summary

Statistics

*Highest home attendance: 33,952 (vs

, 6 April 2008) *Lowest home attendance: 22,920 (vs

, 1 September 2007) *Most man of the match awards:

David Wheater David James Wheater (born 14 February 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays for club Darlington as a defender. Primarily a centre back, he is also capable of playing at right back. Wheater started his professional career at Mi ...

(10) – ''does not include "the full team" award from Manchester City game'' *Longest run without a loss: 5 games (12 January 2008 to 9 February 2008) *Longest run without a win: 10 games (15 September 2007 to 1 December 2007) *Longest run without a point: 4 games (30 September 2007 to 27 October 2007) *Doubles won: 3 (

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

) *Doubles lost: 3 (

, Everton,

)

League Cup

In the Carling Cup, Middlesbrough eased past

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

in the second round with goals from Rochemback and

's first Boro goal, setting up an away tie at

. At Tottenham,

and

Graeme Owens Graeme Adam Owens (born 1 June 1988) is an English former professional footballer. Career Owens can play on either wing but prefers to play on the right. He was a member of Middlesbrough's FA Youth Cup winning side of 2004 at the age of 15. A ...

made their first senior appearances for Boro, with

Tom Craddock Thomas Craddock (born 14 October 1986) is a retired English professional footballer who played for multiple clubs including Spennymoor Town, Middlesbrough, and Portsmouth as a striker. Career Middlesbrough Born in Darlington, County Durham, ...

making only his second, as part of an injury ravaged side devoid of first team players in both attack and defence. Despite holding on for three-quarters of the game Middlesbrough eventually went down to a 2–0 defeat.

Results

''Note: Results are given with Middlesbrough score listed first. Man of the Match is according t
mfc.co.uk
''

FA Cup

Middlesbrough faced

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...

away in the third round of the

, the same tie they faced in the fourth round the previous year. Prior to the match, many pundits were predicting that the game could see a shock result with Bristol City winning. After 18 minutes it seemed they might be right as Boro conceded a sloppy goal to

Liam Fontaine Liam Vaughan Henry Fontaine (born 7 January 1986) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Scottish League One side Edinburgh City. He has previously played in the English leagues for Fulham, Yeovil Town and Bristol City, and ...

, but the

side fought back, with goals from

and

giving Boro a 2–1 victory. The fourth round saw Boro again drawn away, this time versus

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

strugglers

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Stags', they ...

. Southgate named a slightly weakened side for the game; live on

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Match of the Day ''Match of the Day'' (abbreviated to ''MOTD'') is a football highlights programme, typically broadcast on BBC One on Saturday nights, during the Premier League season. The show's current presenter is former England international striker Gary L ...

– Adam Johnson,

and

earning starting places, with Stewart Downing, George Boateng and a returning Mido on the bench. Dong-Gook got his second Boro goal following a corner from Johnson on 17 minutes. Huth was lucky not to be sent off for a high boot into the stomach of

Michael Boulding Michael Thomas Boulding (born 8 February 1976) is an English former professional footballer and tennis player. As a footballer he was a forward and winger from 1998 to 2011. Prior to his football career, he was a promising young tennis player ...

. Mido came on for the final twenty minutes. After being put under massive pressure, Middlesbrough sealed the victory, following a cruel own goal from

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Jake Buxton Jake Fred Buxton (born 4 March 1985) is an English professional footballer and manager who plays as a defender. He was most recently player-manager for EFL League One club Burton Albion. Career Mansfield Town Born in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notti ...

. For the fifth round, Middlesbrough were again drawn away, this time to

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

, managed by former Boro boss

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

. Robson had been sacked by the time the game came around, and the game was again live on the BBC. The tie ended up needing a replay following a 0–0 draw. Once again televised, the replay saw

make his first start. The game remained goalless at the end of 90 minutes and so progressed into extra time. A

Paddy Kenny Patrick Joseph Kenny (born 17 May 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, Kenny began his career with Bradford Park Avenue before turning professional in the summer of 1998 upon ...

own goal after 114 minutes of play gave Boro the win and a home tie to

in the sixth round. With

and

knocked out the previous day, Boro had an excellent chance in the FA Cup. Before the match, the fans in the North Stand held up a card display with the words "Sporting Glory" covering the stand, in reference to a comment from chairman Steve Gibson that stated the club were not in competition for the money but for sporting glory. However, in the game, Middlesbrough were totally outplayed by Cardiff, conceding the first goal after nine minutes. There was an apparent handball by a Cardiff player in the box, but nothing was given, and the ball fell to another Cardiff player to score the goal. They conceded a second 13 minutes later, ending up being defeated 2–0.

Results

''Note: Results are given with Middlesbrough score listed first. Man of the Match is according t
mfc.co.uk
''

Staff

In July 2007, former

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded in 1908 as Hartle ...

boss Martin Scott was added to the

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

coaching staff. On 2 October 2007, Middlesbrough's Head of Operations Terry Tasker, a member of the executive team, died. Neil Bausor joined the club as new Chief Operating Officer later in the season. Graham Fordy, the club's Head of Commercial, having previously also been a non-executive director following the club's liquidation scare in 1986, left the club by mutual consent on 1 November 2007. It was confirmed on 19 November 2007 that goalkeeping coach

Paul Barron Paul George Barron (born 16 September 1953) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the head coach for the Las Vegas Mobsters Playing career Born in Woolwich, London, Barron qualified as a PE instructor ...

had left the club to take up a similar role with North East rivals

. Former Middlesbrough goalkeeper and current youth team goalkeeping coach

was promoted to replace Barron. Former Boro legend David Mills and former first team coach and

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

pundit

Gordon McQueen Gordon McQueen (born 26 June 1952) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back for St Mirren, Leeds United and Manchester United. McQueen also represented Scotland. Playing career Club McQueen was a goalkeeper as a ...

returned to Middlesbrough to expand the recruitment department in April, under chief scout Dave Leadbeater, and alongside the Academy recruitment team. ''Key'':

Other events

Premier League All Stars

In late September, the

Premier League All Stars Premier League All Stars was a televised charity football tournament, which was broadcast live on Sky1 on consecutive nights between 23 September and 30 September 2007. The format featured football teams representing all 20 Premier League clubs, e ...

tournament (part of the "Premier League Creating Chances" campaign) took place. The Middlesbrough representative team won, beating West Ham United's side 3–1 in the final. The squad for the tournament was: :Goalkeeper:

Jim Platt James Archibald Platt (born 26 January 1952) is a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Northern Ireland. Playing career During his career, Platt won 23 caps for Northern Ireland, an amount largely restricted due to the presence of ...

(Captain) :Legends:

Mikkel Beck Mikkel Venge Beck (born 12 May 1973) is a Danish former professional association football, football who played as a forward (association football), forward. He scored three goals in 19 games for the Denmark national football team, Denmark nation ...

Craig Hignett Craig Hignett (born 12 January 1970), is an English former professional footballer. He started his career as a striker but later moved into midfield. Playing career Born in Whiston and previously a trainee at Liverpool, Hignett began his se ...

Bernie Slaven Bernard Joseph Slaven (born 13 November 1960) is a former professional football striker. He scored 223 goals in 567 league and cup appearances over the course of an 18-year career and also earned seven caps for the Republic of Ireland. He star ...

:Celebrities:

Alistair Griffin Alistair Richard Griffin (born 1 November 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a solo artist through his appearances on the BBC television show ''Fame Academy 2'' in 2 ...

, Mark Stobbart,

Gary Havelock Robert Gary Havelock (born 4 November 1968, in Eaglescliffe, County Durham, England) is a former speedway rider who was World Champion in 1992. For several years he captained the Redcar Bears in the Premier League. He is the son of former spee ...

:Fans: Julian McGuire (IT Consultant), Tony Rovardi (ice cream cone manufacturer), Steven Aithwaite (sports and science lecturer)

Reserves

The Middlesbrough Reserves finished seventh out of ten in the Premier Reserve League North during the 2007–08 season, with the following record: ''Key:'' Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference The team also retained the

North Riding Senior Cup The North Riding Senior Cup is the county cup in the North Riding of Yorkshire. It is administered by the North Riding County FA. According to the current rules of the competition, it is open to all clubs whose first affiliation is with the NRCF ...

, beating

York City York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

2–0 in the final.

Youth teams

The Middlesbrough Academy (U18s) side were knocked out of the

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

in the Fourth Round. In the

2007–08 Premier Academy League The 2007–08 Premier Academy League season is the tenth since its establishment, and the fourth under the current name and make-up. Aston Villa were crowned the 2007–08 Premier Academy League Champions after beating Manchester City 2–0 in t ...

the team finished fourth out of ten teams in Academy Group D. The Under-15s side lifted the Nike Trophy in April in the tournament held over four days at the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

, beating the U15 sides of

and

to lift the trophy. They go to the finals of the tournament held in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in August.

Marketing award nomination

Middlesbrough Football Club was shortlisted for the Sports Industry Awards in the category of Best Use of Digital Media in Sport, along with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, Cable television, television and Internet access, internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Engla ...

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

Emirates Airline Emirates ( ar, طَيَران الإمارات DMG: ''Ṭayarān Al-Imārāt'') is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Etihad). Based in Garhoud, Dubai, the airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, whic ...

and

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...

. The award was in relation to the season ticket video campaign featuring

End-of-season awards

picked up both the Official Supporters' Club's Young Player of the Year and the John Ovington Community Player of the Year awards, as well as being named Players' Young Player of the Year and the Official Garmin Player of the Year as voted for by the fans.

was Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club's Player of the Year and Player's Player of the Year. Goalkeeper

Mark Schwarzer Mark Schwarzer (; born 6 October 1972) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented Australia at international level from 1993 to 2013, and was selected for both the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups ...

was given a special award recognising his outstanding contributions on and off the field over the past 11 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 Middlesbrough F.C. season Middlesbrough F.C. seasons