Middlesbrough FC - BORO PRIDE!

[xRonaldinhox10x]

This is awesome so far man!! Great detail and your updates are very organized. Keep this up and this will be a great MM

[Reece]

nice update D1J why is your sig now black

[.DJ]

Originally Posted by xRonaldinhox10x

This is awesome so far man!! Great detail and your updates are very organized. Keep this up and this will be a great MM

again thanks Ronny. U guys inspire me

Originally Posted by Reece

nice update D1J why is your sig now black

i put it in grayscale

[.DJ]

More updates tomorrow! I think i'll do an interview with Southgate after the Season reviews are done.

[.DJ]

MIDDLESBROUGH FC SEASON REVIEW 2007/2008
PART 2



Premier League Review Cont'd

November 2007

Their run of losses soon came to an end when they drew 1-1 at home to Spurs. Luke Young denying his former club the victory.
Again Boro drew 0-0 away to Bolton for their second match of the month. This was the team's second clean sheet of the month.
Middlesbrough's third game was against Villa at home. Adam Jonhson was recalled from his successful loan spell at Watford where he scored 5 goals in 11 games. He was placed into the starting eleven immediately. However, Boro lost 0-3 but avoided going into the bottom three.

December 2007

News arrived before the game at Reading that Striker Mido would be out until 2008 at least while Andrew Taylor and Mark Schwarzer would be missing for around three weeks. Thus Turnbull started in goal. Boro started well but again conceded the first goal for the twelfth time in fifteen games. Robert Huth made his first appearance of the season replacing Woodgate after 70 minutes whilst Tuncay replaced Dong-Gook Lee. The substitution was eventually a good one as Tuncay scored to draw the match 1-1. This was no enough as they slipped into the relegation zone after Derby's loss to Sunderland.
The following week saw league leaders Arsenal visiting the Riverside. This was expected to be a tough one for the Smoggies. As luck seem to be on Boro's side they were awarded a penalty 4 minutes into the match. Downing converted to raise his tally to 4 goals. Tuncay then scored his second in two games. Tomas Rosicky scored in the dying seconds to make it 2-1 win for Middlesbrough. This ended the Gunner's unbeaten run for the season and also ended Boro's run of eleven games without a win.
Boro won their second game in a row at Derby, 1-0. Tuncay the scorer with his 3rd in 3 games. Julio Arca maded his first start since being injured in September, replacing Rochemback who was suspended after 5 yellows. Their next game was against West Ham United. David Wheater netted the opener in just 40 minutes, but the Hammers responded with two goals to win the match. This was their 1st win at the Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough then lost their next game at Birmingham. They lost three nil. with Downing opening the scoring for the hosts with an own goal.
Seventeen years had passed since Boro last won at Fratton Park. However, this long run ended after Tuncay Sanli put his name on the scoresheet giving his club a 1-0 victory. this game also saw Mark Schwarzer surpass Tony Mowbray and Stephen Pear's totals to move into 9th in the all time Middlesbrough appearance records, after playing his 425th game for the club. This result also saw him overtake Dennis Bergkamp as the foreign player with the most appearances for a club.

January 2008

The New Year didnt go as the Smoggies hoped. They lost 2-0 to Everton. This was quite disappointing as they didnt take their chances.
Impressive reserve team captain Jonathan Grounds made his Boro debut for the visit of Liverpool to the Riverside, with Pogatetz out with a virus. George Boateng also returned as captain, having been dropped for the last few games, and scored the opening goal of the game, witnessed by the highest attendance of the season thus far. Unfortunate for Boro Liverpool made them share the points. It finished 1-1.
At Blackburn, Arca captained the side, although Boateng was in the starting eleven. Wheater put Boro ahead after 13 minutes with his 4th goal of the season. Bad news again as Arca went off injured at the break and Pogatetz became captain. Matt Derbyshire equalized during the ssecond half to give Rovers a point. Manager Southgate announced after the game that Boateng had been relieved of his captaincy to allow him to focus more on his form and the game. It was later confrimed that Julio Arca would replace him as Captain.
Next on their match schedule was Wigan at home. Boro got the win as Aliadiere scored his 1st goal at the Riverside Stadium.

[Xeneize]

Someone voted this thread 1 star. Here. see if this helps.

[.DJ]

I dont really care what they do. I'll just do my best Xen. Thanks for the notice

[Bart6]

I like it, writeups are good, OP is excelent. Keep it up.
BTw i voted it 5, bumped it up to a 4=)

[xRonaldinhox10x]

Just voted this 5* to get it up BTW awesome update man

[.DJ]

Originally Posted by Bart6

I like it, writeups are good, OP is excelent. Keep it up.
BTw i voted it 5, bumped it up to a 4=)

Thanks alot!

Originally Posted by xRonaldinhox10x

Just voted this 5* to get it up BTW awesome update man

Again Thank ya! I hope my other updates after the season review will be as good.

[villa4eva123]

i just voted 5 star too great thread

[.DJ]

Thanks dude!

[FifaXZ]

Great Start

[.DJ]

Thanks again.

[r0000ney]

Well put together start. Plenty of good info.

[.DJ]

Originally Posted by r0000ney

Well put together start. Plenty of good info.

Thanks r0000ney!

[.DJ]

MIDDLESBROUGH FC SEASON REVIEW 2007/2008
PART 3

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll198/d1j/middlesbroughseason.png

Premier League Review Cont'd

February 2008

February began with the Tyne-Tees Derby at St. James' Park. Michael Owen gave Newcastle the lead on the hour mark but Defender Robert Huth brought the match back at square 1 late in the game to tie it 1-1.
Aliadere got his third goal of the season at home to Fulham while Alves made his debut after an hourr as Boro did the double over the Cottagers.
Tuncay came back from injury for the battle at Anfield, and scored after just 9 minutes to put Boro ahead. This didn't last long as a terrible error from Arca led to Fernando Torres' goal which put them level after 28 minutes. Torres got his second a minute later. His hat-trick was then completed in the second half.Stewart Downign got a goal back late on but Aliadere was sent off. This was their second defeat since losing to Everton at the beginning of the year. Jeremie Aliadiere's red card was appealed against after the game but it was thrown out and the FA Disciplinary Committee extended the ban by one game to four games. The appeal was branded as "frivolous" adn this angered Chairman Steve Gibson and Keith Lamb.


March 2008

The 1st day of March marked Middlesbrough's 4000th League game at home to a Reading side who was on a eight game losing streak. Typically for Boro they lost 1-0 to a late goal.
These poor performances angered the fans, manager and players alike. They decided to turn around these disappointing results in their next game at Villa Park.
Manager Southgate dropped Arca and Rochemback to the bench after poor form in previous games. Shawky and Boateng were their replacements for the midfield role. Pogatetz was named captain for the match. Downing scored his 7th of the season just after 23 minutes. Aston Villa escaped a loss as Referee Steve Bennett gave them a penalty from a Luke Young handball while he was looking in another direction. Midfielder Gareth Barry put the ball past Schwarzer to draw the match 1-1.
Three days later Striker Aliadiere returned from his ban for the game versus his former club Arsenal. He came back to haunt them as he scored the opener in 25 minutes. Andrew Taylor came on as a second half substitute after getting injured in December. Defender Kolo Toure scored the dying equalizer. Mido was then sent off a bit later for a high challenge. It finished 1-1 and Boro remained undefeated against Arsenal for the season. The club did not appeal against Mido's red card after they spoke with referee chief's Keith Hatchett.
Ahead of the home match against Derby, the South Stand was closed due to storms the previous night. This was Boro's 1st game in a while. Tuncay scored his 6th of the season in the first half. Heavy snow in the last half helped Derby back into the game but the home team held on to win 1-0.
After going behind early versus Chelsea at the Bridge, they spurned their chances in the second tier. Afonso Alvelalalalaing the post and two free-kicks smashing the bar. Chelsea couldn't increase the lead and so game finished 1-0.

[xRonaldinhox10x]

This is magnificient, you did good altogether with Aliadiere scoring although you did lose to Chelsea the last game of March. Anyway great job

[.DJ]

Thanks man. The last update for the 07/08 BPL should be up to tonight. Then i'll do a short one for the FA Cup and League Cup.

[xRonaldinhox10x]

Ok, sounds interesting

[.DJ]

Hope it will be mate.

[.DJ]

MIDDLESBROUGH FC SEASON REVIEW 2007/2008
PART 4



Premier League Review Cont'd

April 2008

The month began with a heavy test against league leaders Manchester United at home in a snow storm, which was watched by the season's highest home attendance. Julio Arca came to the fisrt team eleven after his rest, however Pogatetz remained as captain. The ,atch didn't go as planned for the home side with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring inside ten minutes. However, Boro responded with two goals. Both came from Alves either side of the half to open his goal scoring account for Boro. It was the first time for the season that a Middlesbrough player scored two goals in a match. Wayne Rooney came to United's rescue as he leveled in the latter minutes of the game to end it 2-2. Grounds replacing the injured Taylor was the only change Southgate made for the game at White Hart Lane, which saw them up against former centre-back Jonathan Woodgate. Grounds was unfortunate to concede an own goal but Downing's 8th goal of the season draw the away side level. The final score was 1-1. Bolton was the next team to arrive at the Riverside Stadium. Bolton was still in the relegation battle and Boro had the chance to make themselves mathematically safe with a win. Gary O'Neill was suspended for this match and the next, and was ruled out for the rest of the season with an injury and was replaced by Tuncay. Ross Turnbull was given a chance in goal after Mark Schwarzer was ruled out with a back problem. The homeside controlled the game in the opening minutes of the 1st half, but went into half time level. The second half was the opposite of the 1st with Bolton playing much better and Boro much worse. The hosts were denied shortly before the hour mark and the visitors took the win after Gavin McCann scored late on. Boro's next game was against Sunderland away for the Wear-Tees Derby. Middlesbrough was still not safe for the following Premier League season. Brad Jones made his first appearance of the season while Schwarzer remained injured and Turnbull was only fit enough for the bench. Tuncay scored 1st in the 4th minute but 2 minutes later the match was level again. Their rivals then took the lead just before the half to go into 2nd half with the advantage. Alves got his 3rd of the season after 74 minutes but Boro conceded a goal two minutes into stoppage time to hand Sunderland a 3-2 victory.

May 2008

Chris Riggott was recalled from his loan period at Stoke City for their home match versus Portsmouth, and put straight into the side which also featured the return of Fabio Rpchemback and Mark Schwarzer. Riggott marked his return with a rare Boro goal from a corner. In the second half Tuncay scored from another corner to put Boro 2-0 up and complete the season double over Portsmouth, also with their first 2 goal wining margin since September 1st 2007 against Birmingham City. The win also secured the side's place in the top flight for the following season.
The last game of the season saw Boro play Manchester City. They began the game in next season's kit. After 15 minutes City Captain Richard Dunne brought down Tuncay in the box to give the home side their second penalty of the season which saw Dunne sent off. Stewart Downing who started every league game this season converted the spot kick to raise his tally to 9. Alves got his 4th of the season on 37 minutes. In the last half Downing got his second of the game to go into double figures for the season, and mark the 1st time Boro scored more than 2 goals in one game since the last game of the previous season. It got even better for the home team when Alves got his second just a few moments later. Johnson made it 5 on 70 minutes. Anthony McMahon made his 1st appearance of the season replacing Luke Young with 15 minutes to play. Rochemback scored a thirty yard free-kick to make it 6 with his 1st goal of the season and his last for Boro. Jeremie Aliadiere got one to make it 7. Elano got a consolation goal, before Afonso Alves completed his hat-trick to give Boro am emphatic 8-1 win. This was the first time Middlesbrough scored 8 in a game since 1974, and the 1st tine in the top flight since 1950. Alves' 3 goals was the 500th goal in all competitions at the Riverside Stadium, and the 1000th in the Premier League this season, as well as the club' s 600th Barclays Premier League goal. Also it was the 1st time Boro had 5 persons in scoresheet since 1939.

Statistics

Highest home attendance: 33,952 (vs Manchester United, 6 April 2008 )

Lowest home attendance: 22,920 (vs Birmingham City, 1 September 2007)

Most man of the match awards: David Wheater (10) - does not include "the full team" award from Manchester City game

Longest run without a loss: 5 games (12 January 2008 to 9 February 2008 )

Longest run without a win: 10 games (15 September 2007 to 1 December 2007)

Longest run without a point: 4 games (30 September 2007 to 27 October 2007)

Doubles won: 3 (Derby County, Fulham, Portsmouth)

Doubles lost: 3 (Chelsea, Everton, West Ham United)


Summary

OVERALL
PLD | PTS | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD
38 | 42 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 43 | 53 | -10

HOME
W | D | L | GF | GA | GD
7 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 23 | +4

AWAY
W | D | L | GF | GA | GD
3 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 30 | -14

[.DJ]

MIDDLESBROUGH FC SEASON REVIEW 2007/2008
PART 5




League Cup: Carling Cup Review

In the League Cup, Middlesbrough defeated Northampton Town in the second round with goals from Rochemback and Lee-Donshaawky g Gook's 1st Boro goal to put through to face Spurs. At Tottenham, Mohamed Shawky and Grame Owens made their first senior appearances for Boro, with Tom Craddock making only his second, as injury kept out several starting players. Despite the game being 0-0 past the hour mark Boro still lost to Tottenham who would eventually become winners of the Cup.

FA Cup Review

Boro's 1st match was away to Bristol City in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, the same tie the faced in the 4th round the previous year. Many pundits predicted an upset with Bristol City being triumphant. After just 18 minutes they it looked to be going the way the pundits assumed as Boro conceded a sloppy goal to Liam Fontaine. The visitors responded with 2 goals to give them the win. Downing and Wheater the scorers.
They were drawn in the 4th round to face League strugglers Mansfield Town away. Southgate played a fairly weak side for this match-up as Adam Johnson, Dong-Gook and Lee Cattermole earned staring places, with Downing, Boateng and a returning Mido on the bench. Dong-Gook got his second goal from a Johnson corner on 17 minutes. Robert Huth was lucky not to be sent off for a high boot into the stomach of Michael Boulding. In the final half Mido came on for the last 20 minutes and after the host were put under pressure Middlesbrough got their win after a cruel own goal from Jake Buxton.
The fifth round saw them drawn away once more to Sheffield United, which was managed by former boss Bryan Robson. He was eventually sacked before the game came around. This tie needed a replay as neither side scored.
The replay at the Riverside saw Alves making his first start. The game stayed goalless at teh ned of 90 minutes and so it went into extra time. A Paddy Kenny own goal after 114 minutes of play gave Boro the winand a home tie to Cardiff City in the next round.
With Manchester United and Chelsea out of the competition Boro had a great chance in the FA Cup. Before the match began, the fans in the North Stand held up a card display with the words "Sporting Glory" covering the stand, in reference to a comment from Chairman Steve Gibson that stated the club were not in the competition for the money but for sporting glory. However, in the game, the Smoggies were totally outplayed by Cardiff, conceding the 1st goal after 9 minutes. Then, there was an apparent handball by a Cardiff City player in the penalty area, but referee said no to the appeal. The league one side then scored another 13 minutes later to double their lead. They won 2-0 and shockingly Boro was out of the FA Cup.

[.DJ]

Southgate interview next on the agenda

[Chelsea11]

another class update man