Middlesbrough has never been the best Premier League club, but they have played in nearly every Premier League season since the league formed in 1992.  In fact the only year the Boro has not played in Premier League competition was their 1997/1998 season.  Unfortunately with their poor play this year, Middlesbrough will have to look for another quick promotion next season as the team suffered a frustrating relegation.   

Middlesbrough struggled to find any offense all season.  Their leading goal scorer, Tuncay Sanli, only managed to find the back of the net seven times.  Even worse news for the club was that Sanli would score twenty-five percent of the club’s goals this season.  Meaning the Boro only scored twenty-eight goals all season.  This was not only the league worst (by a large margin), but the result would only be eight goals better then last year’s worst offensive performance by Derby County.  And by the way Derby County only won a single match last season and is considered one of the worst teams in top level history.

Middlesbrough was considered an above-average team around five years ago.  The club finished the 2004/2005 season in seventh place and year-by-year they have slowly drifted away from the top half of the league.  That season the club scored fifty-three goals which is nearly double the outcome the club could muster this season.  Even last year when the club finished in thirteenth place they scored forty-three goals.  Middlesbrough was the worst club in the Premier League this season.  They lost the second most matches, won the least, scored the fewest goals, and moved back six places in the rankings from last year.  For fans of the Boro it would be a very disappointing year.

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Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has targeted four wins from his side’s remaining ten games as being the minimum required to ensure their Premier League status for another season.

The Teessiders were swept aside 4-0 in north London by Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night, although many observers felt that they were slightly unlucky on the night to lose by such a margin, and remain languishing in 19th place in the table.

Things are still tight down in the Premier League basement though, and Southgate thinks that if his men can reach the talismanic total of 40 points then they will be safe.

“I still always think 40 points is a good guideline,” the former England defender told Sky Sports News earlier. ”That means we need four wins, we need to go on our travels and pick up at least a win I would say. We have got to focus on ourselves, there is no point looking at other teams’ fixtures or concerning ourselves with other teams. One or two teams had good results in midweek, but over the course of the week we pulled others a bit closer to us and that will go on indefinitely.”

And Southgate concluded by alluding to the form that Boro had shown in beating Liverpool 2-0 at the Riverside last week.

“We showed ourselves against Liverpool that we can be competitive in any match. There is a hell of a lot of hard work ahead of us but we are up for that challenge,” he said.

Boro turn their attentions to the FA Cup on Sunday, when they travel to Goodison Park to take on high-flying Everton in the quarter-final of the competition, kick-off 16:00 GMT.

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Nickname(s): The Boro, The Red & White Army

2008/2009 Position: 10th

2007/2008 Finish: 13th

Coach: Gareth Southgate (England)

Stadium: Riverside Stadium (35,100 capacity)

Key Players: Mido, Alfonso Alves, Gary O’Neil

History:

Middlesbrough was founded way back in 1876 and was an inaugural member of the Premier League in 1992. Middlesbrough has been a perpetual underachiever though. Their best ever finish (3rd) occurred all the way back in 1913/1914. Financial difficulties in the 1980s almost derailed the club, but Steve Gibson’s taking control of the club at the last minute (literally almost) led to their rebirth.

Gibson, a self-made millionaire, is the heart of the team. He is a dream for managers because he is willing to let them make decisions largely without the board’s influence. He is also willing to invest both his money and his time into his team, while many rich “fatcat” owners just put up big bucks than bitch when the results are not to their liking.

Middlesbrough is known for having one of the highest proportions of female fans (nearly 20%). All of their fans (who are known as the Smoggies) are proud supporters of their side though, even though it has a history of underwhelming play. They also have a reputation for being some of the nicest visiting fans. Many fans worldwide could learn a thing or two about dedication and non-violence from the Smoggies.

Legends: John Hickton, George Camsell, Brian Clough

American Sports Doppelganger: The Arizona Cardinals

2008/2009 Prediction: 10th

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