Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough’s nine seasons in the Premier League have been a roller-coaster of relegation, 
bouncing back and just one top ten finish as the club tried to establish itself among the 
elite. ’Boro never got chance to acclimatise, as founder members, because they were 
relegated after the inaugural season. Yet they had a reasonable first half of that campaign 
and were top six until the end of September after just two defeats in their first eight games. 
But then came a run of just two wins in 17 and although ’Boro arrested the poor sequence 
with victory over Southampton the subsequent run of five successive defeats sowed the 
seeds of relegation as ’Boro plunged to 21st.

The team remained in the bottom three for the rest of the season, indeed defeat by Crystal 
Palace in April deposited ’Boro rock-bottom. The team scored three goals in each of the last 
three games, winning two, but it was too little, too late and they were relegated, five points 
from safety.

It took three years to return to the Premiership and the team made a promising start with 
just one defeat in the first 10 games and, thanks to five successive wins spanning September
and October, climbed to fourth. But after going fifth prior to Christmas the team had an 
appalling run of 13 games without a win, including eight consecutive defeats. Injuries also 
took their toll and by April only a couple of wins stabilised the side in 13th place but a poor 
run of four games saw the season end in 12th.

If their fans were looking for improvement the following campaign they were to be 
disappointed. Despite Middlesbrough reaching both domestic cup finals, and losing them, the 
greater concern was the relegation that a congested fixture programme, due to 15 cup 
matches, undoubtedly caused. Unfortunately the critical points deficit, come May, was due 
to ’Boro’s failure to fulfil a League fixture against Blackburn, for which the club was deducted 
three points. Had they played, and won, that game, the club would have stayed in the 
Premiership instead of being relegated just two points adrift of 17th placed Coventry.

’Boro’s absence was just one season and the club retained it’s top flight status from 1998–99,
when that campaign brought the club it’s best-ever finish in the Premiership.

Bryan Robson took ’Boro back to his Old Trafford stomping ground, in December, and came 
away with the club’s success there in 69 years, with Middlesbrough sitting proudly in fourth 
place. Unfortunately nine games without another victory meant a slide to 13th until the team 
dug out a seven-game unbeaten run but, after recovering to seventh, they were crushed by 
Arsenal and never won again that season, finishing 9th.

Two mediocre seasons followed and the board’s patience with Robson, after 12th and 14th 
finishes, wore out and after being booed on the final day of 2000–01 ‘Robbo’ stepped down 
saying that he knew his time was up, after seven years. Chairman Steve Gibson brought in 
Steve McClaren, Manchester United’s assistant manager and gave him a five year contract.

McClaren’s start couldn’t have been worse and after losing the first four games of the season 
seven points from nine elevated the team, out of the relegation zone, to 12th. But scoring 
was to prove ’Boro’s biggest problem and they scored just one goal in six games before Noel 
Whelan netted in the defeat by Arsenal, in the final game of 2001. But McClaren, in his first 
managerial season turned things around, slowly, and by April Middlesbrough were in the top 
10 and if they hadn’t lost all of their last four games they would have finished a lot higher 
than 12th.

Under McClaren, highly regarded enough as a coach to be constantly linked with a return to 
Old Trafford, as well as having several spells as England coach, ’Boro have improved season 
by season. In his second campaign the team were as high as third, and in the top 10 until 
December, but they slipped in the second half of the season to finish one place higher than 
the previous season and in 2003–2004 there came history and almost a high enough 
Premiership finish for European football.

It’s a good thing Middlesbrough won their first trophy in the club’s 109 year history, the 
Carling Cup, because the League position was poor for most of the campaign with 10th 
place, at the end of November, the highest the team managed. After losing to Newcastle 
’Boro went seven games without conceding a goal, unfortunately they only scored five in 
that spell and by the turn of the year the team was down to 15th.

The position improved, marginally, in 2004 but the team, which still experienced problems in 
scoring, was unable to put together a meaningful run. Superb results, such as winning at 
Old Trafford and taking a point from Highbury were interspersed with crazy results such as 
the eight-goal carnival against Birmingham and the defeat by Wolves and the season fizzled 
out, culminating in the last-day humiliation at Portsmouth leaving ’Boro 11th.

Managers

Lennie Lawrence          1991–1994

Bryan Robson              1994–2001

Steve McClaren           July 2001–