Middlesbrough Football Club

Middlesbrough Football Club (commonly known as The Boro) are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, currently playing in the Premier League. Formed in 1876, they have played at the 35,100 capacity Riverside Stadium since August 1995,[1] their third ground since turning professional in 1889. They were founding members of the Premier League in 1992.[2] The club's main rivals are Newcastle United and Sunderland.[3]

The club's highest league finish to date was third in the 1913вЂ"14 season and have only spent two seasons outside of the Football League's top two divisions.[4] The club came close to folding in 1986 after experiencing severe financial difficulties before the club was saved by a consortium led by then board member and current chairman Steve Gibson.[2] Middlesbrough won the League Cup in 2004, the club's first and only major trophy.[5] The manager is former captain Gareth Southgate who was appointed on June 7 2006.[6]

The club's traditional kit colour is red, with a varying amount of white. The various crests throughout the club history, the most recent of which was adopted in May 2007,[7] incorporate a lion rampant.

The football club was originally formed by Middlesbrough Cricket team players to stay fit during the winter. They won the FA Amateur Cup in 1895 and again in 1898. The club turned professional in 1889, but reverted to amateur status in 1892.[4] They turned professional permanently in 1899.[8] After three seasons, they won promotion to the First Division, where they would remain for the next 22 years.[4]

In 1903 the club moved to Ayresome Park, their home for the next 92 years. In 1905 the club sanctioned the transfer of Alf Common for Ð'Ј1000, a record fee.[9] Over the next few years, their form fluctuated greatly, rising to 6th in 1907вЂ"08 before dropping to 17th two seasons later. The club rose to their highest league finish to date, 3rd, in 1913вЂ"14.[10] World War I soon intervened and football was suspended.

Before competitive football resumed, Boro won the Northern Victory League, but the team were unable to maintain their previous form and finished the 1919вЂ"20 season in mid-table. They remained in the First Division for the next few seasons, but were relegated in 1923вЂ"24 after finishing bottom, ten points adrift of their nearest rivals.[11]

Three seasons later, they won the Division Two title. During that season, debutant George Camsell, who had signed from Third Division North side Durham City the previous season, finished with a record 59 league goals, which included nine hat tricks. He would continue as top scorer for each of the next ten seasons.[12] Their tenure back in the top flight lasted only one season, and the club were relegated. They were promoted at the first attempt in 1928вЂ"29, winning another Second Division title. Boro then remained in the First Division until 1954.

The decade before the war saw the emergence of Wilf Mannion and George Hardwick, both of whom would go on to become England internationals in the years ahead. Boro climbed to fourth in the last full season before World War II and were expected to challenge for the title next season, but the war intervened.[4] After the war, the club was unable to recover the form of the previous seasons and hovered around mid-table and exited in the early rounds of the FA Cup. Soon afterwards the team began to falter, eventually suffering relegation in 1953вЂ"54. This was the start of a 20 year spell outside the top division, but saw the emergence of one of the club's top goalscorers, Brian Clough, who scored 204 goals in 222 games, before he left for Sunderland.[13] Over that period, Boro maintained reasonable progress in the Second Division but were never serious contenders for promotion. After a fourth place finish in 1962вЂ"63, Boro endured a steady decline and were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history in 1966.

New manager Stan Anderson returned the club to the second flight at the first attempt. Boro then would not finish below ninth during the next eight seasons.[11] The FA Cup saw the club never get past the quarter-finals, a feat they were still yet to accomplish in their history. By 1974 Jack Charlton had taken over as manager and guided the team back to the top flight. They ensured promotion as early as 23 March, and with eight games of the season left, they became runaway champions, finishing with a record 65 points.[14]

Back in the top flight, the team had some reasonable cup success, reaching later rounds, but nothing more.[5] 1975вЂ"76 however was when Boro won their first silverware as a professional side, lifting the Anglo-Scottish Cup in its first season after a two-legged final win over Fulham.[15]

Boro experienced severe financial difficulties during the mid-1980s. Middlesbrough were dropping down the table, and finished 19th in the 1984вЂ"85 season. In April 1986 the club had to borrow Ð'Ј30,000 from the PFA to pay wages. The final game of the season saw Boro relegated to the Third Division once more.[4] That summer, the club called in the Provisional Liquidator and shortly afterwards, the club was wound up and the gates to Ayresome Park were padlocked. Without the Ð'Ј350,000 capital required for Football League registration, a new rule, it seemed inevitable that the club would fold permanently. However, Steve Gibson, a member of the board at the time, brought together a consortium and with ten minutes to spare before the deadline, they completed their registration with the Football League for the 1986вЂ"87 season.[16] Following the registration came both a change of club crest and a change of the official company name to Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Club (1986) Ltd.[17]

Over the next two seasons, Boro gained successive promotions into Division Two and then into Division One. The next season though, they came straight back down to Division Two, and with it came the then British transfer record move of Gary Pallister to Manchester United for Ð'Ј2.3m.[18] Despite constant promotion and relegation, Middlesbrough were founder members of the FA Premier League for the 1992вЂ"93 season.[19]

Player-manager Bryan Robson, from Manchester United, took charge in 1994 and Middlesbrough were brought back into national attention.[20] Following promotion to the Premier League and high-profile purchases like diminutive Brazilian Juninho, many considered Middlesbrough were on the way up.[21] However, a difficult 1996вЂ"97 season was compounded by a deduction of three points imposed just after Christmas,