2005-06 record
League 14th
FA Cup Semi-finals
Carling Cup Quarter-finals
Uefa Cup Runners-up
MIDDLESBROUGH FANS WERE JUST WARMING to Steve McClaren after the club’s exploits in reaching the Uefa Cup final last season when he jumped ship for England, but Gareth Southgate’s appointment as manager appears to have been universally well received on Teesside, even if it does constitute something of a gamble by Steve Gibson, the chairman.
Still, Southgate has to start somewhere and where better than at the club he has served with distinction as a player for the past five years.
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With one of the largest squads in the Barclays Premiership and with funds at a relative premium by Middlesbrough’s standards, it is perhaps no surprise that Southgate has not been bringing in new faces left, right and centre, but the team will need some fine-tuning if they are to improve on last season’s poor showing in the league.
That said, few clubs boast such a wealth of young, homegrown talent as Middlesbrough and Southgate will be hoping for big seasons from Lee Cattermole, the promising midfield player, and Stewart Downing, who has been the subject of considerable interest from Tottenham Hotspur.
Mark Viduka and Yakubu Ayegbeni will be expected to spearhead the attack more often than not after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s departure for Charlton Athletic, while the defence will need some tightening given that Southgate intends to play only a minor or emergency role. European qualification looks to be too much to ask.
Manager Having allowed Bryan Robson seven years in the job, and Steve McClaren five, it would take a fiasco of unlikely proportions to persuade chairman Steve Gibson that Gareth Southgate should be dismissed in his first season
Player to watch The new manager has handed the captain’s armband to George Boateng. The Dutchman is an inspirational midfielder who leads by example, and will offer crucial protection to a defence that no longer has Southgate to rely upon
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In an ideal world They would recapture a place in the Uefa Cup and reach the final of a domestic cup competition, but given Southgate’s settling-in period, and the loss of one or two experienced players, the second-youngest manager in the Premiership will be forgiven if the best that he and his players can achieve is mid-table
INJURIES AND SUSPENSIONS
Ugo Ehiogu (Achilles, one week), Gaizka Mendieta (metatarsal, two weeks), Ray Parlour (groin, one week)
PRE-SEASON
Very low-key, despite the appointment of Gareth Southgate as manager. Three defeats in six days to Athletic Bilbao, Feyenoord and Heerenveen have not instilled confidence
TICKET SALES
Season-ticket sales were at 20,500 as of last Thursday — about 1,000 down on the same time last year
If they were a historical figure they would be...Ted Heath
Rose from a humble background, but can’t make friends, and hard to take seriously