| Club: | Middlesbrough |
| Season: | 2003–04 |
| Manager: | Steve McClaren |
| Chairman: | Steve Gibson |
| League: | FA Premier League |
| League Result: | 11th |
| League Topscorer: | Juninho, Németh (8) |
| Season Topscorer: | Juninho (9) |
| Highest Attendance: | 34,738 (vs. Manchester United, Premier League) Away: 67,346 (vs. Manchester United, Premier League) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 10,435 (vs. Brighton, League Cup) Away: 8,046 (vs. Wigan Athletic, League Cup) |
| Average Attendance: | 30,977 |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Fourth round |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Winners |
| Pattern La1: | _whiteborder |
| Pattern B1: | _whitethinlines |
| Pattern Ra1: | _whiteborder |
| Leftarm1: | FF0000 |
| Body1: | FF0000 |
| Rightarm1: | FF0000 |
| Shorts1: | FF0000 |
| Socks1: | FF0000 |
| Pattern La2: | _dkredshoulders |
| Pattern B2: | _dkredshoulders |
| Pattern Ra2: | _dkredshoulders |
| Leftarm2: | 1A2D69 |
| Body2: | 1A2D69 |
| Rightarm2: | 1A2D69 |
| Shorts2: | 1A2D69 |
| Socks2: | 1A2D69 |
| Prevseason: | 2002–03 |
| Nextseason: | 2004–05 |
During the 2003–04 season, Middlesbrough participated in the FA Premier League.
Middlesbrough were sponsored by Dial-a-Phone, 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 was mainly navy blue with maroon shoulders, navy shorts and navy socks, with maroon detailing.[1]
Middlesbrough had an appalling start to their season, losing four of their first five games (their worst start since the 1984–85 season) and taking only one point. This set the foundations for a very patchy season.
Middlesbrough hovered around the relegation spots for the first third of the season. However, they eventually found some form through November and December and went unbeaten for eight games which took them away from the relegation zone.
Middlesbrough's form was again inconsistent after Christmas, but they managed to pick up enough points to finish in a respectable 11th place.
The league cup campaign was the highlight of the season for Middlesbrough. It was one that would bring them their first major trophy in their 128-year history.
It started in late September with a home match against Brighton and Hove Albion and Boro low down in the league due to a terrible start. Middlesbrough made hard work of it against lower league opposition, but managed to scrape through with a 94th minute extra-time goal from Malcolm Christie.
The next round saw Boro comfortably beat Wigan Athletic 2–1 away with goals from Maccarone and Mendieta to set up a fourth round home match against Everton.
The match against Everton was a closely contested affair, which ended 0–0 after extra time - penalties were needed to decide the winner. Middlesbrough won the shoot-out 5–4, with Mark Schwarzer saving from Leon Osman and Mendieta converting the winning penalty.
The quarter finals saw Middlesbrough face Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. Spurs led most of the match through a first-minute Darren Anderton goal. It took an 86th-minute equaliser from Michael Ricketts to send the game into extra time. No goals were scored in extra time, meaning Boro had a penalty shoot out for the second successive round. The shoot out went into sudden death, but after Mauricio Taricco's penalty hit the post, Franck Queudrue converted his penalty to win the game.
Boro's semi final was a two legged match against a youthful Arsenal team. The first leg went Middlesbrough's way with them taking a 1–0 lead thanks to a Juninho goal. Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger chose a few more experienced players for the vital second leg, but to no avail: Boro won 2–1 on the night for a 3–1 aggregate win.
The final was on 29 February 2004 against Bolton Wanderers at the Millennium Stadium. The game started in the best way possible for Boro, with goals from Joseph Desire-Job and Bolo Zenden giving them an early 2–0 lead. A mistake from Mark Schwarzer let Kevin Davies get one back, and the score remained 2–1 at half time. Both teams had chances to score in the second half, but the score stayed the same, giving Boro their first ever major trophy.
The FA Cup campaign wasn't as successful. After a comfortable 2–0 win at home to Notts County, Boro were drawn against Arsenal in the fourth round. They lost the match 4–1 sending them out of the competition.
See main article: 2003–04 FA Premier League.
| width=10% | Date | width=15% | Player | width=20% | Previous club | width=15% | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2003 |  Doriva |  Celta Vigo | Free[4] | ||||
| 4 August 2003 | Alan Wright | Unattached | Free[5] | ||||
| 24 August 2003 | Danny Mills | Leeds United | Loan[6] | ||||
| 28 August 2003 | Gaizka Mendieta |  Lazio | Loan (signed at end of season)[7] | ||||
| 30 August 2003 | Boudewijn Zenden | Chelsea | Loan[8] | ||||
| 2 February 2004 | Ricardinho | São Paulo | Free[9] |
| width=10% | Date | width=15% | Player | width=20% | New club | width=10% | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 August 2003 | Noel Whelan | Millwall | Free[10] | ||||
| 13 August 2003 | Mark Crossley | Fulham | Undisclosed[11] | ||||
| 14 November 2003 |  Carlos Marinelli | Released | Free[12] | ||||
| 31 October 2003 | Alan Wright | Sheffield United | Loan (made permanent on 12 January 2004)[13] | ||||
| 30 April 2004 | Ricardinho | Released | Free |
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 | 16 August 2003 | A | Fulham | 2–3 | 14,546 | Marinelli 10', Németh 81' | ||
| 2 | 24 August 2003 | H | Arsenal | 0–4 | 29,450 | |||
| 3 | 26 August 2003 | A | Leicester City | 0–0 | 30,823 | Davies | ||
| 4 | 30 August 2003 | H | Leeds United | 2–3 | 30,414 | Németh 60', Juninho 63' | Mendieta | |
| 5 | 13 September 2003 | A | Bolton Wanderers | 0–2 | 26,419 | |||
| 6 | 21 September 2003 | H | Everton | 1–0 | 28,113 | Job 6' | ||
| 7 | 27 September 2003 | A | Southampton | 1–0 | 30,772 | Christie 13' | ||
| 8 | 5 October 2003 | H | Chelsea | 1–2 | 29,170 | Németh 46' | ||
| 9 | 18 October 2003 | H | Newcastle United | 0–1 | 34,081 | |||
| 10 | 26 October 2003 | A | Tottenham Hotspur | 0–0 | 32,643 | |||
| 11 | 1 November 2003 | H | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2–0 | 30,305 | Mendieta 73', Juninho 83' | ||
| 12 | 8 November 2003 | A | Aston Villa | 2–0 | 29,898 | Zenden 30', Ricketts 49'(pen) | ||
| 13 | 22 November 2003 | H | Liverpool | 0–0 | 34,268 | |||
| 14 | 29 November 2003 | A | Manchester City | 1–0 | 46,824 | Sun Jihai (o.g.) | ||
| 15 | 6 December 2003 | H | Portsmouth | 0–0 | 28031 | |||
| 16 | 13 December 2003 | H | Charlton Athletic | 0–0 | 26,721 | |||
| 17 | 26 December 2003 | A | Blackburn Rovers | 2–2 | 25,452 | Juninho 31', 51' | ||
| 18 | 28 December 2003 | H | Manchester United | 0–1 | 34,738 | |||
| 19 | 7 January 2004 | H | Fulham | 2–1 | 27,869 | Job 15', Németh 67' | ||
| 20 | 10 January 2004 | A | Arsenal | 1–4 | 38,117 | Maccarone 89' (pen) | ||
| 21 | 20 January 2004 | H | Leicester City | 3–3 | 27,125 | Juninho 8', Maccarone 90', Curtis 90' (o.g.) | ||
| 22 | 31 January 2004 | A | Leeds United | 3–0 | 35,970 | Zenden 53', Job 77', Ricketts 89'(pen) | ||
| 23 | 7 February 2004 | H | Blackburn Rovers | 0–1 | 28,307 | |||
| 24 | 11 February 2004 | A | Manchester United | 3–2 | 67,346 | Juninho 34', 38', Job 80' | ||
| 25 | 21 February 2004 | A | Newcastle United | 1–2 | 52,156 | Zenden 33' | ||
| 26 | 3 March 2004 | A | Birmingham City | 1–3 | 29,369 | Németh 75' | ||
| 27 | 9 March 2004 | H | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–0 | 31,789 | Németh 73' | ||
| 28 | 13 March 2004 | A | Charlton Athletic | 0–1 | 26,270 | |||
| 29 | 20 March 2004 | H | Birmingham City | 5–3 | 30,244 | Mendieta 5', Maccarone 21', 45', Southgate 30', Németh 90' | ||
| 30 | 27 March 2004 | A | Everton | 1–1 | 38,210 | Job 83' | ||
| 31 | 3 April 2004 | H | Bolton Wanderers | 2–0 | 30,107 | Nolan 8' (o.g.), Greening 51' | ||
| 32 | 10 April 2004 | A | Chelsea | 0–0 | 40,873 | |||
| 33 | 12 April 2004 | H | Southampton | 3–1 | 30,768 | Juninho 23', Németh 32', Maccarone 49' | ||
| 34 | 17 April 2004 | A | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0–2 | 27,975 | |||
| 35 | 24 April 2004 | H | Aston Villa | 1–2 | 31,322 | Job 41' | ||
| 36 | 2 May 2004 | A | Liverpool | 0–2 | 42,031 | |||
| 37 | 8 May 2004 | H | Manchester City | 2–1 | 34,734 | Maccarone 8', Németh 32' | ||
| 38 | 15 May 2004 | A | Portsmouth | 1–5 | 20,134 | Zenden 27' |
| 2 | 24 September 2003 | Brighton | Home | 1-0 (a.e.t.) | 10,435 | Christie | |
| 3 | 29 October 2003 | Wigan | Away | 2-1 | 8,046 | Maccarone, Mendieta | |
| 4 | 3 December 2003 | Everton | Home | 0-0 (5–4 pens) | 18,568 | ||
| 5 | 17 December 2003 | Tottenham | Away | 1-1 (5–4 pens) | 25,307 | Ricketts | |
| SF Leg 1 | 20 January 2004 | Arsenal | Away | 1-0 | 31,070 | Juninho | |
| SF Leg 2 | 3 February 2004 | Arsenal | Home | 2-1 (3–1 agg.) | 28,046 | Zenden, Reyes og | |
| Final | 29 February 2004 | Bolton | Millennium Stadium | 2-1 | 72,634 | Job, Zenden (pen) |
| 3 | 3 January 2004 | Notts County | Home | 2-0 | 15,061 | Richardson og, Zenden | |
| 4 | 24 January 2004 | Arsenal | Away | 1-4 | 37,256 | Job |
Goalscoring statistics for 2003-04.[14]
| Juninho | 8 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
 Németh | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
 Job | 6 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
 Zenden | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Maccarone | 6 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Mendieta | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Ricketts | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Christie | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Marinelli | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Greening | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Southgate | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own Goals | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
Appearance and disciplinary records for 2003-04 league and cup matches.
| Red cards | ||||
 Schwarzer | 44 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jones | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nash | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Parnaby | 9+7 | 2 | 0 | |
 Queudrue | 40 | 7 | 0 | |
| Ehiogu | 19 | 3 | 0 | |
| Riggott | 19+5 | 3 | 0 | |
| Southgate | 34 | 1 | 0 | |
| Mills | 37 | 10 | 0 | |
| Wright | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Davies | 8+2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Stockdale | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Cooper | 19+2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Mendieta | 37+1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Boateng | 43 | 8 | 1 | |
| Juninho | 31+7 | 3 | 0 | |
| Downing | 10+14 | 0 | 0 | |
| Morrison | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Greening | 21+8 | 5 | 0 | |
| Doriva | 23+3 | 6 | 0 | |
| Marinelli | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Zenden | 38+1 | 5 | 1 | |
| Maccarone | 18+12 | 2 | 0 | |
| Ricketts | 12+18 | 4 | 0 | |
| Németh | 20+18 | 2 | 0 | |
| Job | 22+7 | 1 | 0 |
Considering starts in all competitions[15]
Considering a 4-4-2 formation[16]
Mark Schwarzer, 44 Franck Queudrue, 40 Gaizka Mendieta, 37 Juninho, 31 Massimo Maccarone, 18 Joseph-Desire Job, 22