2003–04 Middlesbrough F.C. season

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

Middlesbrough

2003–04 season
Chairman	Steve Gibson
Manager	Steve McClaren
FA Premier League	11th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Juninho, Németh (8) All: Juninho (9)
Highest home attendance	34,738 (vs. Manchester United, Premier League) Away: 67,346 (vs. Manchester United, Premier League)
Lowest home attendance	10,435 (vs. Brighton, League Cup) Away: 8,046 (vs. Wigan Athletic, League Cup)
Average home league attendance	30,977
Home colours Away colours
← 2002–03 2004–05 →

Team kit and sponsors

Middlesbrough were sponsored by Dial-a-Phone, the team's kit was produced by Errea. The home shirt consisted of a plain red shirt, red shorts and red socks with white trim. The away strip was mainly navy blue with maroon shoulders, navy shorts and navy socks, with maroon detailing.^[1]

Season review

League review

Middlesbrough had an appalling start to their season, losing four of their first five games (their worst start since the 1984–85 season) and taking only one point. This set the foundations for a very patchy season.

Middlesbrough hovered around the relegation spots for the first third of the season. However, they eventually found some form through November and December and went unbeaten for eight games which took them away from the relegation zone.

Middlesbrough's form was again inconsistent after Christmas, but they managed to pick up enough points to finish in a respectable 11th place.

Domestic cup review

The league cup campaign was the highlight of the season for Middlesbrough. It was one that would bring them their first major trophy in their 128-year history.

It started in late September with a home match against Brighton and Hove Albion and Boro low down in the league due to a terrible start. Middlesbrough made hard work of it against lower league opposition, but managed to scrape through with a 94th minute extra-time goal from Malcolm Christie.

The next round saw Boro comfortably beat Wigan Athletic 2–1 away with goals from Maccarone and Mendieta to set up a fourth round home match against Everton.

The match against Everton was a closely contested affair, which ended 0–0 after extra time - penalties were needed to decide the winner. Middlesbrough won the shoot-out 5–4, with Mark Schwarzer saving from Leon Osman and Mendieta converting the winning penalty.

The quarter finals saw Middlesbrough face Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. Spurs led most of the match through a first-minute Darren Anderton goal. It took an 86th-minute equaliser from Michael Ricketts to send the game into extra time. No goals were scored in extra time, meaning Boro had a penalty shoot out for the second successive round. The shoot out went into sudden death, but after Mauricio Taricco's penalty hit the post, Franck Queudrue converted his penalty to win the game.

Boro's semi final was a two legged match against a youthful Arsenal team. The first leg went Middlesbrough's way with them taking a 1–0 lead thanks to a Juninho goal. Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger chose a few more experienced players for the vital second leg, but to no avail: Boro won 2–1 on the night for a 3–1 aggregate win.

The final was on 29 February 2004 against Bolton Wanderers at the Millennium Stadium. The game started in the best way possible for Boro, with goals from Joseph Desire-Job and Bolo Zenden giving them an early 2–0 lead. A mistake from Mark Schwarzer let Kevin Davies get one back, and the score remained 2–1 at half time. Both teams had chances to score in the second half, but the score stayed the same, giving Boro their first ever major trophy.

The FA Cup campaign wasn't as successful. After a comfortable 2–0 win at home to Notts County, Boro were drawn against Arsenal in the fourth round. They lost the match 4–1 sending them out of the competition.

Final league table

Main article: 2003–04 FA Premier League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
9	Fulham	38	14	10	14	52	46	+6	52
10	Birmingham City	38	12	14	12	43	48	−5	50
11	Middlesbrough	38	13	9	16	44	52	−8	48	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
12	Southampton	38	12	11	15	44	45	−1	47
13	Portsmouth	38	12	9	17	47	54	−7	45

Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:

1. Middlesbrough qualified as the 2003–04 Football League Cup winners.

Squad

Senior squad

^[2][3] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  AUS Mark Schwarzer 2 DF  SCO Robbie Stockdale 3 DF  FRA Franck Queudrue 4 DF  ENG Ugo Ehiogu 5 DF  ENG Chris Riggott 6 DF  ENG Gareth Southgate (captain) 7 MF  NED George Boateng 8 FW  SVK Szilárd Németh 9 FW  ITA Massimo Maccarone 10 MF  BRA Juninho 11 FW  ENG Malcolm Christie 12 MF  ENG Jonathan Greening 14 MF  ESP Gaizka Mendieta (on loan from Lazio) 15 DF  ENG Danny Mills (on loan from Leeds United) 16 FW  CMR Joseph Desire-Job 17 FW  ENG Michael Ricketts 18 MF  ENG Mark Wilson

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF  ENG Stewart Downing 20 MF  BRA Doriva 21 DF  ENG Stuart Parnaby 24 DF  ENG Andrew Davies 25 GK  ENG Carlo Nash 27 MF  NED Boudewijn Zenden (on loan from Chelsea) 28 DF  ENG Colin Cooper 31 DF  ENG Andrew Taylor 32 MF  SCO Allan Johnston 33 DF  ENG David Murphy 34 MF  ENG James Morrison[note 1] 35 GK  AUS Brad Jones 36 GK  ENG Ross Turnbull 37 DF  ENG Matthew Bates 39 MF  ENG Craig Dove — GK  ENG Sam Russell — DF  ENG Phil Gulliver

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 DF  ENG Alan Wright (to Sheffield United) 23 MF  ARG Carlos Marinelli (released) 26 FW  ENG Noel Whelan (to Millwall) 29 MF  BRA Ricardinho (released)

No. Pos. Nation Player 37 DF  NIR Brian Close (to Darlington) 41 FW  ENG Jamie Cade (to Colchester United) — MF  NIR Chris Brunt (to Sheffield Wednesday)

Transfers

In

Date	Player	Previous club	Cost
1 July 2003	Doriva	Celta Vigo	Free[4]
4 August 2003	Alan Wright	Unattached	Free[5]
24 August 2003	Danny Mills	Leeds United	Loan[6]
28 August 2003	Gaizka Mendieta	Lazio	Loan (signed at end of season)[7]
30 August 2003	Boudewijn Zenden	Chelsea	Loan[8]
2 February 2004	Ricardinho	São Paulo	Free[9]

Out

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

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.

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A
Result	L	L	D	L	L	W	W	L	L	D	W	W	D	W	D	D	D	L	W	L	D	W	L	W	L	L	W	L	W	D	W	D	W	L	L	L	W	L
Position	13	19	18	19	19	17	14	17	18	17	14	12	13	10	11	11	11	15	12	14	13	12	13	13	13	11	12	10	11	11	11	9	11	12	12	11	11	11

Source: WorldFootball.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Game	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result F–A	Attendance	Boro Goalscorers	Man of the Match
1	16 August 2003	A	Fulham	2–3	14,546	Marinelli 10', Németh 81'
2	24 August 2003	H	Arsenal	0–4	29,450
3	26 August 2003	A	Leicester City	0–0	30,823		Davies
4	30 August 2003	H	Leeds United	2–3	30,414	Németh 60', Juninho 63'	Mendieta
5	13 September 2003	A	Bolton Wanderers	0–2	26,419
6	21 September 2003	H	Everton	1–0	28,113	Job 6'
7	27 September 2003	A	Southampton	1–0	30,772	Christie 13'
8	5 October 2003	H	Chelsea	1–2	29,170	Németh 46'
9	18 October 2003	H	Newcastle United	0–1	34,081
10	26 October 2003	A	Tottenham Hotspur	0–0	32,643
11	1 November 2003	H	Wolverhampton Wanderers	2–0	30,305	Mendieta 73', Juninho 83'
12	8 November 2003	A	Aston Villa	2–0	29,898	Zenden 30', Ricketts 49'(pen)
13	22 November 2003	H	Liverpool	0–0	34,268
14	29 November 2003	A	Manchester City	1–0	46,824	Sun Jihai (o.g.)
15	6 December 2003	H	Portsmouth	0–0	28031
16	13 December 2003	H	Charlton Athletic	0–0	26,721
17	26 December 2003	A	Blackburn Rovers	2–2	25,452	Juninho 31', 51'
18	28 December 2003	H	Manchester United	0–1	34,738
19	7 January 2004	H	Fulham	2–1	27,869	Job 15', Németh 67'
20	10 January 2004	A	Arsenal	1–4	38,117	Maccarone 89' (pen)
21	20 January 2004	H	Leicester City	3–3	27,125	Juninho 8', Maccarone 90', Curtis 90' (o.g.)
22	31 January 2004	A	Leeds United	3–0	35,970	Zenden 53', Job 77', Ricketts 89'(pen)
23	7 February 2004	H	Blackburn Rovers	0–1	28,307
24	11 February 2004	A	Manchester United	3–2	67,346	Juninho 34', 38', Job 80'
25	21 February 2004	A	Newcastle United	1–2	52,156	Zenden 33'
26	3 March 2004	A	Birmingham City	1–3	29,369	Németh 75'
27	9 March 2004	H	Tottenham Hotspur	1–0	31,789	Németh 73'
28	13 March 2004	A	Charlton Athletic	0–1	26,270
29	20 March 2004	H	Birmingham City	5–3	30,244	Mendieta 5', Maccarone 21', 45', Southgate 30', Németh 90'
30	27 March 2004	A	Everton	1–1	38,210	Job 83'
31	3 April 2004	H	Bolton Wanderers	2–0	30,107	Nolan 8' (o.g.), Greening 51'
32	10 April 2004	A	Chelsea	0–0	40,873
33	12 April 2004	H	Southampton	3–1	30,768	Juninho 23', Németh 32', Maccarone 49'
34	17 April 2004	A	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0–2	27,975
35	24 April 2004	H	Aston Villa	1–2	31,322	Job 41'
36	2 May 2004	A	Liverpool	0–2	42,031
37	8 May 2004	H	Manchester City	2–1	34,734	Maccarone 8', Németh 32'
38	15 May 2004	A	Portsmouth	1–5	20,134	Zenden 27'

Cup results

League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
2	24 September 2003	Brighton	Home	1-0 (a.e.t.)	10,435	Christie
3	29 October 2003	Wigan	Away	2-1	8,046	Maccarone, Mendieta
4	3 December 2003	Everton	Home	0-0 (5–4 pens)	18,568
5	17 December 2003	Tottenham	Away	1-1 (5–4 pens)	25,307	Ricketts
SF Leg 1	20 January 2004	Arsenal	Away	1-0	31,070	Juninho
SF Leg 2	3 February 2004	Arsenal	Home	2-1 (3–1 agg.)	28,046	Zenden, Reyes og
Final	29 February 2004	Bolton	Millennium Stadium	2-1	72,634	Job, Zenden (pen)

FA Cup

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

Player statistics

Goalscorers

Goalscoring statistics for 2003-04.^[14]

Name	League	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
Juninho	8	0	1	9
Németh	8	0	0	8
Job	6	1	1	8
Zenden	5	1	2	8
Maccarone	6	0	1	7
Mendieta	2	0	1	3
Ricketts	2	0	1	3
Christie	1	0	1	2
Marinelli	1	0	0	1
Greening	1	0	0	1
Southgate	1	0	0	1
Own Goals	3	1	1	5

Appearances / Discipline

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

Name	Appearances	Yellow cards	Red cards
Schwarzer	44	0	0
Jones	2	0	0
Nash	1	0	0
Parnaby	9+7	2	0
Queudrue	40	7	0
Ehiogu	19	3	0
Riggott	19+5	3	0
Southgate	34	1	0
Mills	37	10	0
Wright	2	0	0
Davies	8+2	0	0
Stockdale	0+2	0	0
Cooper	19+2	3	0
Mendieta	37+1	3	0
Boateng	43	8	1
Juninho	31+7	3	0
Downing	10+14	0	0
Morrison	0+2	0	0
Greening	21+8	5	0
Doriva	23+3	6	0
Marinelli	1	0	0
Zenden	38+1	5	1
Maccarone	18+12	2	0
Ricketts	12+18	4	0
Németh	20+18	2	0
Job	22+7	1	0

Notes

1. Morrison was born in Darlington, England, and has represented England internationally at youth level, but also qualified to represent Scotland and made his full international debut for Scotland in May 2008

References and notes

1. "1980-2006- Kits". kitclassics.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010.
2. "ESPNsoccernet: Middlesbrough Squad Statistics". Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
3. "Middlesbrough FC 2004-05". Archived from the original on 31 August 2004. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
4. "Doriva signs new contract at Boro". BBC Sport. 4 July 2005. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
5. "Wright joins Boro". BBC Sport. 4 August 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
6. "Mills in dark about future". BBC Sport. 14 April 2004. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
7. "McClaren hails Mendieta". BBC Sport. 22 August 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
8. "Zenden aims high for Boro". BBC Sport. 18 September 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
9. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Middlesbrough | Ricardinho arrives at Boro". BBC Sport. 3 February 2004. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
10. "Players - Noel Whelan". soccerbase.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2004. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
11. "Crossley joins Fulham". BBC Sport. 13 August 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
12. "Marinelli leaves Boro". BBC Sport. 14 November 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
13. "October Transfers". football-league.premiumtv.co.uk. 31 October 2003. Archived from the original on 19 February 2004. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
14. "BORO 2004-05 Premiership". boroscoreforecast.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2007.