2004–05 Middlesbrough F.C. season

Middlesbrough
2004–05 season
ChairmanSteve Gibson
ManagerSteve McClaren
FA Premier League7th
FA CupFourth Round
League CupFourth Round
UEFA CupRound of 16
Top goalscorerLeague: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (13)
All: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (16)
Highest home attendance34,836 v Norwich (Premier League)
Away: 67,988 v Manchester United (Premier League)
Lowest home attendance29,603 v Charlton Athletic (Premier League)
Away: 17,759 v Fulham (Premier League)

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

Final league table[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
5 Liverpool 38 17 7 14 52 41 +11 58 Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round[a]
6 Bolton Wanderers 38 16 10 12 49 44 +5 58 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[b]
7 Middlesbrough 38 14 13 11 53 46 +7 55
8 Manchester City 38 13 13 12 47 39 +8 52
9 Tottenham Hotspur 38 14 10 14 47 41 +6 52
Source: [2]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Although they failed to qualify for the Champions League as one of the top four English clubs, Liverpool were given a special dispensation to compete as the defending champions. They were, however, forced to enter in the first qualifying round.[1]
  2. ^ Since the finalists of the FA Cup, Arsenal and Manchester United, as well as Chelsea, who won the 2004–05 Football League Cup, were qualified for the Champions League, and the fifth-placed team (Liverpool) were moved to the Champions League, the sixth and seventh-placed teams in the Premier League were rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup.


Kit[edit]

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

Season review[edit]

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

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

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

Following a 2–0 win at home to Norwich City on 28 December, Boro were in fifth place. However, not helped by an injury to George Boateng, after only one win in the next ten games the team found themselves in ninth and seemed to have undone their good work at the start of the season.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First-team squad[edit]

The following are all the players who were involved the Middlesbrough F.C. first team at some point during the 2004-05 season.[3][4] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Australia AUS Mark Schwarzer
2 DF Netherlands NED Michael Reiziger
3 DF France FRA Franck Queudrue
4 DF England ENG Ugo Ehiogu
5 DF England ENG Chris Riggott
6 DF England ENG Gareth Southgate (captain)
7 MF Netherlands NED George Boateng
8 FW Slovakia SVK Szilárd Németh
9 FW Italy ITA Massimo Maccarone
11 FW England ENG Malcolm Christie
12 GK England ENG Carlo Nash
14 MF Spain ESP Gaizka Mendieta
15 MF England ENG Ray Parlour
16 FW Cameroon CMR Joseph-Desire Job
17 MF England ENG Mark Wilson
18 FW Netherlands NED Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
19 MF England ENG Stewart Downing
20 MF Brazil BRA Doriva
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 DF England ENG Stuart Parnaby
22 GK Australia AUS Brad Jones
23 DF England ENG Colin Cooper
24 DF England ENG Andrew Davies
25 MF England ENG James Morrison[5]
26 DF England ENG Matthew Bates
27 GK England ENG Ross Turnbull
28 DF England ENG Andrew Taylor
29 DF England ENG Anthony McMahon
30 FW England ENG Danny Graham
31 DF England ENG David Wheater
32 MF Netherlands NED Boudewijn Zenden
33 MF England ENG Anthony Peacock
34 MF England ENG Jason Kennedy
35 GK England ENG David Knight
36 FW Australia AUS Mark Viduka
37 MF England ENG Adam Johnson
38 GK England ENG Chris Pennock

Transfers[edit]

In[edit]

Date Player Previous club Cost
6 July 2004 Netherlands Michael Reiziger Spain Barcelona Free[6]
8 July 2004 Australia Mark Viduka Leeds United £4,500,000[7]
9 July 2004 Netherlands Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink Chelsea Free[7]
23 July 2004 England Ray Parlour Arsenal Free[7]
3 August 2004 Netherlands Boudewijn Zenden Chelsea Free[8]

Out[edit]

Date Player Buying club Cost
22 April 2004 Brazil Ricardinho Released Free[9]
23 June 2004 England Michael Ricketts Leeds United Free[10]
23 June 2004 England Robbie Stockdale Rotherham United Nominal[11]
29 June 2004 England Jonathan Greening West Bromwich Albion £1,250,000[12]
25 August 2004 Brazil Juninho Scotland Celtic Free[13]
23 March 2005 England Carlo Nash Preston North End £175,000[13]

Results[edit]

Premier League[edit]

  Win   Draw   Loss

Results per matchday[edit]

Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundHAAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHHHAAHA
ResultDLWWWLLDWDWDWWLWDWLWLLDDLWDDLLWLDWDDWD
Position3197446109584544555555566666666977877777
Updated to match(es) played on 15 May 2005. Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = 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 19 September 2004 A Everton 0–1 34,078 Schwarzer
7 25 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[permanent dead link] 40,982 Parlour
23 16 January 2005 H Everton 1–1[permanent dead link] 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[permanent dead link] 19,620 Christie 35' Parlour
26 5 February 2005 H Blackburn Rovers 1–0[permanent dead link] 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

League Cup[edit]

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
3 27 October 2004 Coventry City Home 3-0 11,833 Nemeth, Morrison, Graham
4 10 November 2004 Liverpool Away 2-0 28,176

FA Cup[edit]

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
3 8 January 2005 Notts County Away 2-1 13,671 Doriva, Job
4 29 January 2005 Manchester United Away 3-0 67,251

UEFA Cup[edit]

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers Referee
1 Leg 1 16 September 2004 Czech Republic Baník Ostrava Home 3-0 29,746 Hasselbaink, Viduka (2) Pascal Garibian (France)
1 Leg 2 30 September 2004 Czech Republic Baník Ostrava Away 1-1 (3–1 agg) 15,351 Morrison Matteo Trefoloni (Italy)
Grp E 21 October 2004 Greece Egaleo Away 1-0 4,000 Downing Attila Hanacsek (Hungary)
Grp E 4 November 2004 Italy Lazio Home 2-0 33,991 Zenden (2) Yuri Baskakov (Russia)
Grp E 25 November 2004 Spain Villarreal Away 2-0 14,250 Jan Wegereef (Netherlands)
Grp E 15 December 2004 Serbia Partizan Home 3-0 20,856 Nemeth, Job, Morrison Grzegorz Gilewski (Poland)
3 Leg 1 17 February 2005 Austria Grazer AK Away 2-2 13,000 Zenden, Hasselbaink Edo Trivković (Croatia)
3 Leg 2 24 February 2005 Austria Grazer AK Home 2-1 (4–3 agg) 20,371 Morrison, Hasselbaink Eduardo Iturralde González (Spain)
4 Leg 1 10 March 2005 Portugal Sporting Home 2-3 23,739 Job, Riggott Stefano Farina (Italy)
4 Leg 2 17 March 2005 Portugal Sporting Away 1-0 (4–2 agg) 21,217 Éric Poulat (France)

Player statistics[edit]

Goalscorers[edit]

Goalscoring statistics for 2004-05.[14]

Name League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
Netherlands Hasselbaink 13 0 0 3 16
Cameroon Job 5 1 0 2 8
Australia Viduka 5 0 0 2 7
Netherlands Zenden 4 0 0 3 7
England Downing 5 0 0 1 6
Slovakia Németh 4 0 1 1 6
France Queudrue 5 0 0 0 5
England Morrison 0 0 1 3 4
Netherlands Boateng 3 0 0 0 3
England Riggott 2 0 0 1 3
England Graham 1 0 1 0 2
Netherlands Reiziger 1 0 0 0 1
England Christie 1 0 0 0 1
Brazil Doriva 0 1 0 0 1
Own Goals 4 0 0 0 4

Appearances and discipline[edit]

Appearance and disciplinary records for 2004-05 league and cup matches.[3]

Name Appearances Yellow cards Red cards
Australia Schwarzer 43 0 0
Australia Jones 5 0 0
England Nash 4 0 0
England Parnaby 20+4 1 0
France Queudrue 43 8 2
England Ehiogu 11+1 1 0
England Riggott 31+1 4 0
England Southgate 47 6 0
Netherlands Reiziger 21+4 1 0
England Bates 0+2 0 0
England Davies 4+1 0 0
England McMahon 16+3 3 0
England Cooper 17+4 0 0
England Wheater 0+1 0 0
Spain Mendieta 7+1 1 0
Netherlands Boateng 29 8 0
England Wilson 1 0 0
England Downing 40+8 1 0
England Morrison 12+11 2 0
England Johnson 0+1 0 0
Brazil Doriva 26+12 6 0
England Parlour 40+1 13 1
Netherlands Zenden 48+1 9 0
England Kennedy 0+1 0 0
Australia Viduka 19+2 0 0
England Christie 2+1 0 0
Netherlands Hasselbaink 43+2 3 0
England Graham 1+16 0 0
Slovakia Németh 25+15 1 0
Cameroon Job 17+16 0 0

References and notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Liverpool FC allowed to defend title" (PDF). UEFA. 10 June 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 June 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  2. ^ "2004–05 Premier League table". Premier League. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b "ESPNsoccernet: Middlesbrough Squad Statistics". Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  4. ^ "Middlesbrough FC 2004-05". Archived from the original on 31 August 2004. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ "Reiziger unveiled by Boro". RTÉ. 6 July 2004 – via www.rte.ie.
  7. ^ a b c "Middlesbrough sign Parlour". BBC Sport. 23 July 2004.
  8. ^ "Boudewijn Zenden". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  9. ^ "Boro release Ricardinho". 22 April 2004 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  10. ^ Shaw, Dominic (24 June 2015). "#OnThisBoroDay 2004: Michael Ricketts ends his Boro nightmare". TeessideLive.
  11. ^ "Archive news from The Northern Echo". www.thenorthernecho.co.uk.
  12. ^ "Transfers - July 2004". 29 July 2004 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  13. ^ a b "Juninho takes Larsson shirt". 25 August 2004 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  14. ^ "BORO 2004–05 Premiership". Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2007.