| Club: | Middlesbrough |
| Season: | 2002–03 |
| Manager: | Steve McClaren |
| Chairman: | Steve Gibson |
| League: | FA Premier League |
| League Result: | 11th |
| League Topscorer: | Massimo Maccarone (9) |
| Season Topscorer: | Massimo Maccarone (9) |
| Highest Attendance: | 34,814 v Newcastle United (Premier League) Away: 67,464 v Manchester United (Premier League) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 27,433 v Southampton (Premier League) Away: 7,558 v Brentford (League Cup) |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Third Round |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Third Round |
| Pattern La1: | _whiteborder |
| Pattern Ra1: | _whiteborder |
| Leftarm1: | FF0000 |
| Body1: | FF0000 |
| Rightarm1: | FF0000 |
| Shorts1: | FF0000 |
| Socks1: | FF0000 |
| Leftarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Body2: | FFFFFF |
| Rightarm2: | FFFFFF |
| Shorts2: | FFFFFF |
| Socks2: | FFFFFF |
| Prevseason: | 2001–02 |
| Nextseason: | 2003–04 |
During the 2002–03 season, Middlesbrough participated in the FA Premier League.
Middlesbrough had a new sponsor, Dial-a-Phone, for the 2002–03 season. 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 consisted of white shirts with black piping, plain white shorts and white socks with navy blue trim.[1]
Despite losing the new £6 million signing of the returning Juninho, Boro made a promising start to the 2002–03 season, peaking at third in early October. The signings of Maccarone and Boateng, along with the loan of Geremi, gave the fans real hope of a top-six finish. However, following a fantastic 3–0 win away at Spurs at the end of September which sent the club 3rd, Middlesbrough seemed to press the self-destruct button, losing the next 8 games away from home without scoring; although they remained undefeated in this period at home, this saw them sink to 12th position. This persuaded Steve McClaren to make changes, and during the January transfer window he brought in Chris Riggott and Malcolm Christie from Derby County, Michael Ricketts from Bolton Wanderers and Doriva on loan from Celta Vigo. This, coupled with the return of the now-fit Juninho, stopped the bad run of form and the results picked up a bit. Middlesbrough hovered around 14th for a few weeks before finishing 11th. Again, the season was regarded as a disappointment after the promising start.
Both cups were also a disappointment for Boro. They went out of the FA Cup in the third round, losing 1–0 at Chelsea. They fared slightly better in the League Cup, beating Brentford 4–1 in the second round but then losing to lower league opposition in the form of Ipswich Town, 3–1 away.
See main article: 2002–03 FA Premier League.
|}
Disciplinary records for 2002–03 league and cup matches. Players with 1 card or more included only.[2]
| No. | Nat. | Player | Yellow cards | Red cards | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 3 |  | 7 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 5 | 0 | |||
| 5 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 6 | 3 | 0 | |||
| 7 |  | 6 | 0 | ||
| 9 |  | 2 | 0 | ||
| 10 |  | 1 | 0 | ||
| 11 |  | 2 | 0 | ||
| 12 | 5 | 0 | |||
| 14 |  | 2 | 0 | ||
| 15 | | 1 | 0 | ||
| 16 | | 1 | 0 | ||
| 18 | 3 | 1 | |||
| 21 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 23 |  | 2 | 0 | ||
| 26 | 2 | 0 | |||
| 27 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 30 | 1 | 0 | |||
| 31 | | 2 | 1 | ||
| 37 | 1 | 0 |
| width=20% | Date | width=25% | Player | width=30% | Previous club | width=15% | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 June 2002 | Massimo Maccarone | Empoli | £8,150,000[3] | ||||
| 25 July 2002 | Geremi |  Real Madrid | Season-long loan[4] | ||||
| 30 July 2002 | George Boateng | Aston Villa | £5,000,000 | ||||
| 5 August 2002 | Juninho | Atlético Madrid | £6,000,000[5] | ||||
| 31 January 2003 | Malcolm Christie and Chris Riggott | Derby County | £5,000,000[6] | ||||
| 31 January 2003 | Michael Ricketts | Bolton Wanderers | £3,500,000[7] | ||||
| 31 January 2003 | Doriva | Celta Vigo | Loan[8] |
| width=20% | Date | width=25% | Player | width=30% | New club | width=15% | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 August 2002 | Paul Ince | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Free[9] | ||||
| 12 August 2002 | Paul Okon | Leeds United | Free[10] | ||||
| 22 August 2002 | Mark Summerbell | Carlisle United | Free[11] | ||||
| 29 August 2002 | Phil Stamp | Hearts | Free[12] | ||||
| 30 August 2002 | Robbie Mustoe | Charlton Athletic | Free[13] | ||||
| 15 January 2003 | Dean Windass | Sheffield United | Free[14] | ||||
| 21 March 2003 | Mark Hudson | Chesterfield | Free[15] | ||||
| 17 May 2003 | Anthony Ormerod | Scarborough | Free[16] | ||||
| 2 June 2003 | Alen Bokšić | Contract terminated | -[17] |
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 | 17 August 2002 | A | Southampton | 0–0 | 28,341 | Schwarzer | ||
| 2 | 24 August 2002 | H | Fulham | 2–2 | 28,588 | Maccarone 32', 51' | ||
| 3 | 31 August 2002 | H | Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | 28,270 | Job 90' | Southgate | |
| 4 | 3 September 2002 | A | Manchester United | 0–1 | 67,464 | |||
| 5 | 10 September 2002 | H | Sunderland | 3–0 | 32,155 | Németh 17', 66' Maccarone 37' | ||
| 6 | 14 September 2002 | A | Everton | 1–2 | 32,240 | Németh 11' | ||
| 7 | 21 September 2002 | H | Birmingham City | 1–0 | 29,869 | Queudrue 29' | ||
| 8 | 28 September 2002 | A | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–0 | 36,082 | Maccarone 33', Geremi 55', Job 58' | Maccarone | |
| 9 | 5 October 2002 | H | Bolton Wanderers | 2–0 | 31,005 | Ehiogu 23', Geremi 68' | ||
| 10 | 20 October 2002 | A | Charlton Athletic | 0–1 | 26,271 | |||
| 11 | 26 October 2002 | H | Leeds United | 2–2 | 34,723 | Job 25', Southgate 83' | ||
| 12 | 4 November 2002 | A | Newcastle United | 0–2 | 51,558 | |||
| 13 | 9 November 2002 | H | Liverpool | 1–0 | 34,747 | Southgate 82' | Greening | |
| 14 | 16 November 2002 | A | Chelsea | 0–1 | 39,064 | |||
| 15 | 23 November 2002 | H | Manchester City | 3–1 | 31,510 | Ehiogu 53', Bokšić 62, Geremi 84' | ||
| 16 | 30 November 2002 | A | West Bromwich Albion | 0–1 | 27,029 | |||
| 17 | 7 December 2002 | H | West Ham United | 2–2 | 28,283 | Németh 58', Ehiogu 88' | ||
| 18 | 14 December 2002 | H | Chelsea | 1–1 | 29,160 | Geremi 32' | ||
| 19 | 21 December 2002 | A | Arsenal | 0–2 | 38,003 | |||
| 20 | 26 December 2002 | H | Manchester United | 3–1 | 34,673 | Bokšić 44', Németh 48', Job 85' | ||
| 21 | 28 December 2002 | A | Aston Villa | 0–1 | 33,637 | |||
| 22 | 1 January 2003 | A | Blackburn Rovers | 0–1 | 23,413 | |||
| 23 | 11 January 2003 | H | Southampton | 2–2 | 27,443 | Whelan 73', Maccarone 82' | ||
| 24 | 19 January 2003 | A | Fulham | 0–1 | 14,253 | |||
| 25 | 28 January 2003 | H | Aston Villa | 2–5 | 27,546 | Maccarone 33', Greening 35' | ||
| 26 | 8 February 2003 | A | Liverpool | 1–1 | 42,247 | Geremi 38' | ||
| 27 | 22 February 2003 | A | Sunderland | 3–1 | 42,134 | Riggott 21', 28', Christie 59' | ||
| 28 | 1 March 2003 | H | Everton | 1–1 | 32,473 | Juninho 74' | ||
| 29 | 5 March 2003 | H | Newcastle United | 1–0 | 34,814 | Geremi 62' | ||
| 30 | 15 March 2003 | A | Leeds United | 3–2 | 39,073 | Maccarone 36', Juninho 45', Geremi 64' | ||
| 31 | 22 March 2003 | H | Charlton Athletic | 1–1 | 29,080 | Christie 57' | ||
| 32 | 5 April 2003 | H | West Bromwich Albion | 3–0 | 30,187 | Christie 36', Greening 76', Németh 87' | ||
| 33 | 12 April 2003 | A | Manchester City | 0–0 | 34,793 | |||
| 34 | 19 April 2003 | H | Arsenal | 0–2 | 34,724 | |||
| 35 | 21 April 2003 | A | West Ham United | 0–1 | 35,019 | |||
| 36 | 26 April 2003 | A | Birmingham City | 0–3 | 28,821 | |||
| 37 | 3 May 2003 | H | Tottenham Hotspur | 5–1 | 30,230 | Christie 23', Juninho 26', Németh 28', Maccarone 51', 75' | ||
| 38 | 11 May 2003 | A | Bolton Wanderers | 1–2 | 27,241 | Ricketts 61' |
| 2 | 1 October 2002 | Brentford | Away | 4–1 | 7,558 | Marinelli, Whelan, Wilson, Downing |
| 3 | 6 November 2002 | Ipswich Town | Away | 1–3 | 14,417 | Queudrue |
| 3 | 4 January 2003 | Chelsea | Away | 1–0 | 29,796 |
| Competition | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premier League | ||||||||
| FA Cup | ||||||||
| League Cup | ||||||||
| Total | ||||||||
Goalscoring statistics for 2002–03.[18]
| Massimo Maccarone | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | |
 Németh | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Geremi | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Job | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Ehiogu | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Christie | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Juninho | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Bokšić | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Greening | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Riggott | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Queudrue | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Whelan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ricketts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Marinelli | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wilson | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Downing | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Southgate | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Appearance and disciplinary records for 2002–03 league and cup matches.
| Red cards | ||||
| Schwarzer | 39 | 1 | 0 | |
| Crossley | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Parnaby | 23 | 1 | 0 | |
| Queudrue | 33 | 7 | 3 | |
| Ehiogu | 32 | 5 | 0 | |
| Riggott | 5 | 1 | 0 | |
| Southgate | 37 | 3 | 0 | |
 Gavin | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Close | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Vidmar | 15 | 2 | 0 | |
| Davies | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Stockdale | 15 | 3 | 0 | |
| Cooper | 23 | 1 | 0 | |
| Murphy | 8 | 0 | 0 | |
| Boateng | 28 | 6 | 0 | |
| Juninho | 10 | 1 | 0 | |
| Downing | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Geremi | 34 | 2 | 0 | |
| Greening | 39 | 6 | 0 | |
| Johnston | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dove | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Eustace | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wilson | 9 | 3 | 1 | |
| Doriva | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Marinelli | 9 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wilkshire | 16 | 1 | 1 | |
| Christie | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| Maccarone | 34 | 3 | 0 | |
| Ricketts | 9 | 1 | 0 | |
| Whelan | 17 | 3 | 0 | |
| Windass | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
| Németh | 30 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bokšić | 19 | 2 | 0 | |
| Job | 29 | 1 | 0 |
