2004–05 Middlesbrough F.C. season

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

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

Team Kit and Sponsors

During this season, Middlesbrough had a new sponsor of 888.com the team's strip 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 and blue shorts.

Home colours

Away colours

Season review

League review

After the triumph in the Carling Cup final the previous May, 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 4th 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.

The UEFA Cup took its toll on the small Boro squad though, 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 on 28 December, Boro were in 5th place. But only one win in the next ten games the team found themselves in 9th and seemed to have undone their good work at the start of the season.

Things did finally pick up and following only 3 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 7th 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 7th 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.

Domestic Cup review

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 4th round of the FA Cup to Manchester United and the 4th round of the League Cup to a young Liverpool side.

UEFA Cup Review

This was Middlesbrough's first foray into Europe, having won the first major trophy of their history - the Carling Cup - the previous season.

The first round was a 2 legged knockout match and Boro were drawn against Baník Ostrava in their first ever European match, the first leg was at home. With a fantastic atmosphere at the Riverside, Middlesbrough cruised through the first leg 3-0, and 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, Aigaleo and Partizan Belgrade. The fans were confident that the team could earn at least a 3rd place finish in the group, and therefore qualify for the knockout stages.

Boro went on to exceed all expectations, beating Aigalio and Partizan Belgrade as expected and 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 2nd place finish and qualification for the next round.

Middlesbrough were drawn against Grazer AK in the 3rd round. The away leg was first and Middlesbrough managed a 2-2 draw against the then Austrian champions. The team duly built on this in the return leg and following a 2-1 win, they had progressed to the next round.

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 half an hour spell after the break and Boro looked like they were to exit the competition. However, two late goals from Joseph Job (a spectacular overhead scissor kick) and Chris Riggott gave a weakened Boro team a fairly respectable 3-2 loss. The second leg didn't go to plan though, and although there was fantastic support from the 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 years campaign.

Squad

Senior 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 has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Mark Schwarzer 2 DF Michael Reiziger 3 DF Franck Queudrue 4 DF Ugo Ehiogu 5 DF Chris Riggott 6 DF Gareth Southgate (captain) 7 MF George Boateng 8 FW Szilárd Németh 9 FW Massimo Maccarone 11 FW Malcolm Christie 12 GK Carlo Nash 14 MF Gaizka Mendieta 15 MF Ray Parlour 16 FW Joseph-Desire Job 17 MF Mark Wilson 18 FW Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink 19 MF Stewart Downing 20 MF Doriva

No. Position Player 21 DF Stuart Parnaby 22 GK Brad Jones 23 DF Colin Cooper 24 DF Andrew Davies 25 MF James Morrison 26 DF Matthew Bates 28 DF Andrew Taylor 29 DF Anthony McMahon 30 FW Danny Graham 31 DF David Wheater 32 MF Boudewijn Zenden 33 MF Anthony Peacock 34 MF Jason Kennedy 35 GK David Knight 36 FW Mark Viduka 37 MF Adam Johnson 38 GK Chris Pennock

Transfers

In

Date Player Previous Club Cost 6 July 2004 Michael Reiziger Barcelona Free[3] 8 July 2004 Mark Viduka Leeds United £4.5 million[4] 9 July 2004 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Chelsea Free[4] 23 July 2004 Ray Parlour Arsenal Free[4] 3 August 2004 Boudewijn Zenden Chelsea Free[5] Out Date Player New Club Cost 22 April 2004 Ricardinho Released Free[6] 23 June 2004 Michael Ricketts Leeds Free[7] 23 June 2004 Robbie Stockdale Rotherham United Nominal[8] 29 June 2004 Jonathan Greening WBA £1.25 million[9] 25 August 2004 Juninho Celtic Free[10] 23 March 2005 Carlo Nash Preston £175,000[10] 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 14 August 2004 H Newcastle United 2–2 34,268 Downing 73', Hasselbaink 90' Reiziger 2 22 August 2004 A Arsenal 3–5 37,415 Job 43', Hasselbaink 50', Queudrue 53' Queudrue 3 25 August 2004 A Fulham 2–0 17,759 Viduka 54', Németh 79' Parlour 4 28 August 2004 H Crystal Palace 2–1 31,560 Popovic (o.g.) 61', Hasselbaink 78' Mendieta 5 11 September 2004 H Birmingham City 2–1 30,252 Viduka (2) 27', 48' Boateng 6 16 September 2004 A Everton 0–1 34,078 Schwarzer 7 19 September 2004 H Chelsea 0–1 32,341 Schwarzer 8 3 October 2004 A Manchester United 1–1 67,988 Downing 33' Southgate 9 16 October 2004 A Blackburn Rovers 4–0 20,385 Hasselbaink (3) 46', 57', 90', Boateng 50' Hasselbaink 10 24 October 2004 H Portsmouth 1–1 30,964 Downing 74' Parlour 11 30 October 2004 A Charlton Athletic 2–1 26,031 El Karkouri (o.g.) 21', Zenden 58' Zenden 12 7 November 2004 H Bolton Wanderers 1–1 29,656 Boateng 90' Boateng 13 14 November 2004 A West Bromwich Albion 2–1 24,008 Purse (o.g.) 32', Zenden 52' Schwarzer 14 20 November 2004 H Liverpool 2–0 34,751 Riggott 36', Zenden 62' Parlour 15 28 November 2004 A Tottenham Hotspur 0–2 35,772 Riggott 16 6 December 2004 H Manchester City 3–2 29,787 Viduka (2) 9', 54', Hasselbaink 65' Viduka 17 11 December 2004 A Southampton 2–2 29,018 Higginbotham (o.g.) 89', Downing 90' Downing 18 18 December 2004 H Aston Villa 3–0 31,338 Hasselbaink 20', Job 68', Reiziger 88' McMahon 19 26 December 2004 A Birmingham City 0–2 29,082 Reiziger 20 28 December 2004 H Norwich City 2–0 34,836 Job (2) 52', 54' Downing 21 1 January 2005 H Manchester United 0–2 34,199 Downing 22 4 January 2005 A Chelsea 0–2 40,982 Parlour 23 16 January 2005 H Everton 1–1 31,794 Zenden 26' Zenden 24 22 January 2005 A Norwich City 4–4 24,547 Hasselbaink (2) 34', 78', Queudrue (2) 49', 55' Downing 25 1 February 2005 A Portsmouth 1–2 19,620 Christie 35' Parlour 26 5 February 2005 H Blackburn Rovers 1–0 30,564 Queudrue 35' Zenden 27 12 February 2005 A Bolton Wanderers 0–0 24,322 Schwarzer 28 27 February 2005 H Charlton Athletic 2–2 29,603 Riggott 74', Graham 86' Riggott 29 5 March 2005 A Aston Villa 0–2 34,201 Parnaby 30 20 March 2005 H Southampton 1–3 30,082 Hasselbaink 41' Doriva 31 2 April 2005 A Crystal Palace 1–0 24,274 Queudrue 35' Queudrue 32 9 April 2005 H Arsenal 0–1 33,874 Boateng 33 19 April 2005 H Fulham 1–1 30,650 Zenden (pen.) 90' Queudrue 34 23 April 2005 H West Bromwich Albion 4–0 32,951 Németh (2) 27', 37', Hasselbaink 33', Downing 90'+3 Németh 35 27 April 2005 A Newcastle United 0–0 52,047 Jones 36 30 April 2005 A Liverpool 1–1 43,250 Németh 4' Southgate 37 7 May 2005 H Tottenham Hotspur 1–0 34,766 Boateng 11' Boateng 38 15 May 2005 A Manchester City 1–1 47,221 Hasselbaink 23' Southgate Cup Results Carling Cup Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers 3 27 October 2004 Coventry Home Won 3-0 11,833 Nemeth, Morrison, Graham 4 10 November 2004 Liverpool Away Lost 2-0 28, 176 FA Cup Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers 3 8 January 2005 Notts County Away Won 2-1 13,671 Doriva, Job 4 29 January 2005 Manchester United Away Lost 3-0 67,251 UEFA Cup Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers 1 Leg 1 16 September 2004 Baník Ostrava Home Won 3-0 29,746 Hasselbaink, Viduka (2) 1 Leg 2 30 September 2004 Baník Ostrava Away Drew 1-1 (3-1 agg) 15,351 Morrison Grp E 21 October 2004 Egaleo Away Won 1-0 4,000 Downing Grp E 4 November 2004 Lazio Home Won 2-0 - Zenden (2) Grp E 25 November 2004 Villarreal CF Away Lost 2-0 14,250 Grp E 15 December 2004 FK Partizan Home Won 3-0 20,856 Nemeth, Job, Morrison 3 Leg 1 17 February 2005 Graz AK Away Drew 2-2 13,000 Zenden, Hasselbaink 3 Leg 2 24 February 2005 Graz AK Home Won 2-1 (4-3 agg) 20,371 Morrison, Hasselbaink 4 Leg 1 10 March 2005 Sporting Home Lost 3-2 23,739 Job, Riggott 4 Leg 2 17 March 2005 Sporting Away Lost 1-0 (4-2 agg) 21,217 Player statistics Goalscorers Goalscoring statistics for 2004-05.[11] Name League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total Hasselbaink 13 0 0 3 16 Job 5 1 0 2 8 Viduka 5 0 0 2 7 Zenden 4 0 0 3 7 Downing 5 0 0 1 6 Németh 4 0 1 1 6 Queudrue 5 0 0 0 5 Morrison 0 0 1 3 4 Boateng 3 0 0 0 3 Riggott 2 0 0 1 3 Graham 1 0 1 0 2 Reiziger 1 0 0 0 1 Christie 1 0 0 0 1 Doriva 0 1 0 0 1 Own Goals 4 0 0 0 4 Appearances / Discipline Appearance and disciplinary records for 2004-05 league and cup matches.[1] Name Appearances Yellow cards Red cards Schwarzer 43 0 0 Jones 5 0 0 Nash 4 0 0 Parnaby 24 1 0 Queudrue 43 8 2 Ehiogu 12 1 0 Riggott 32 4 0 Southgate 47 6 0 Reiziger 25 1 0 Bates 2 0 0 Davies 5 0 0 McMahon 19 3 0 Cooper 21 0 0 Wheater 1 0 0 Mendieta 8 1 0 Boateng 29 8 0 Wilson 1 0 0 Downing 48 1 0 Morrison 32 2 0 Johnson 1 0 0 Doriva 38 6 0 Parlour 41 13 1 Zenden 49 9 0 Kennedy 1 0 0 Viduka 21 0 0 Christie 3 0 0 Hasselbaink 45 3 0 Graham 17 0 0 Németh 40 1 0 Job 33 0 0 Starting 11 Only considering Premiership starts GK: #1, Mark Schwarzer, 31 RB: #21, Stuart Parnaby, 16 CB: #5, Chris Riggott, 20 CB: #6, Gareth Southgate, 36 LB: #3, Franck Queudrue, 31 RM: #15, Ray Parlour, 31 CM: #7, George Boateng, 25 CM: #32, Boudewijn Zenden, 36 LM: #19, Stewart Downing, 28 CF: #18, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, 36 CF: #8, Szilárd Németh, 18 References and notes ^ a b ESPNsoccernet: Middlesbrough Squad Statistics ^ Middlesbrough FC 2004-05 ^ RTÉ Sport: Reiziger unveiled by Boro ^ a b c BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Middlesbrough | Middlesbrough sign Parlour ^ Sky Sports | Football | Premier League | Liverpool | Boudewijn Zenden ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Middlesbrough | Boro release Ricardinho ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/.../sport/football.html?in_article_id=416747&in_page_id=1779 ^ McClaren lets Boro defender depart Riverside ^ BBC SPORT | Football | Transfers - July 2004 ^ a b BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Middlesbrough | Juninho takes Larsson shirt ^ http://www.boroscoreforecast.co.uk/200405.htm