# 2017–18 Middlesbrough F.C. season

The 2017–18 season was Middlesbrough's first season back in the Championship, making an immediate return to the division following relegation from the Premier League in the previous season. In their 142nd year in existence, the club also competed in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
The season covers the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018, with all competitive games played between August 2017 and May 2018. Two transfer windows took place, the first from 1 July to 31 August 2017, the second from 1 January to 31 January 2018.
Garry Monk was appointed as manager in June 2017, however he parted company with the club in late December after an unconvincing start to the season, with the club in 9th position. Tony Pulis replaced him on 26 December, and took charge of the team after Middlesbrough's Boxing Day fixture against Bolton Wanderers.

## Changes

The first and most crucial change this season is that the club will play in the EFL Championship, having been relegated from the Premier League in the previous season. Aitor Karanka, who had managed the club from November 2013, was sacked in March 2017 after a poor run of results, having not won in ten matches and having occupied a place in the relegation zone. Prior to his sacking, tensions had mounted between Karanka and both the club's board and fans surrounding Middlesbrough's January transfer activity and frustration from supporters over the poor results and perceived poor style of play. Karanka's assistant manager, Steve Agnew, served as caretaker manager until the end of the season. On 9 June 2017, it was confirmed that former Swansea City and Leeds United manager Garry Monk would become the new manager for the 2017–18 season.
Nathan Convery, Bradley Fewster, Brandon Holdsworth, Lewis Maloney, Niall McGoldrick, Junior Mondal, Josef Wheatley, Matthew Wilson, Víctor Valdés, Brad Guzan and Viktor Fischer were amongst the first players to leave the club in the summer 2017 transfer window. Further departures would include Bernardo Espinosa and Cristhian Stuani, who both completed moves to Girona, while James Husband would leave for Norwich City, defender Antonio Barragán would depart on a season-long loan to Spanish club Real Betis, midfielder Gastón Ramírez would depart for Sampdoria, and the club also terminated the contract of Carlos de Pena by mutual consent.
Monk's first major signings included Norwich City midfielder Jonny Howson, Derby County right-back Cyrus Christie, Toulouse striker Martin Braithwaite, Nottingham Forest striker Britt Assombalonga, as well as goalkeeper Darren Randolph, and striker Ashley Fletcher, both moving from West Ham United.

## Squad
### First team squad

    As of 1 February 2018.
| Squad No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of Birth (Age) | Previous Team |
| Goalkeepers ||||||
| 1 | Dimitrios Konstantopoulos | GK | (1978-11-29) 29 November 1978 (age 46) | AEK Athens |
| 13 | Tomás Mejías | GK | (1989-01-30) 30 January 1989 (age 35) | Real Madrid |
| 25 | Darren Randolph | GK | (1987-05-12) 12 May 1987 (age 37) | West Ham United |
| Defenders ||||||
| 2 | Fábio | FB | (1990-07-09) 9 July 1990 (age 34) | Cardiff City |
| 3 | George Friend | LB | (1987-10-17) 17 October 1987 (age 37) | Doncaster Rovers |
| 4 | Daniel Ayala | CB | (1990-11-07) 7 November 1990 (age 34) | Norwich City |
| 5 | Ryan Shotton | RB / CB | (1988-10-30) 30 October 1988 (age 36) | Birmingham City |
| 6 | Ben Gibson | CB | (1993-01-15) 15 January 1993 (age 31) | Academy |
| 14 | Martin Cranie | CB / RB | (1986-09-26) 26 September 1986 (age 38) | Huddersfield Town |
| 20 | Dael Fry | CB / RB | (1997-08-30) 30 August 1997 (age 27) | Academy |
| Midfielders ||||||
| 7 | Grant Leadbitter | DM / CM | (1986-01-07) 7 January 1986 (age 38) | Ipswich Town |
| 8 | Adam Clayton | DM / CM | (1989-01-14) 14 January 1989 (age 35) | Huddersfield Town |
| 16 | Jonny Howson | CM | (1988-05-21) 21 May 1988 (age 36) | Norwich City |
| 19 | Stewart Downing | AM / LM / RM | (1984-07-22) 22 July 1984 (age 40) | West Ham United |
| 21 | Marvin Johnson | LW | (1990-12-01) 1 December 1990 (age 34) | Oxford United |
| 23 | Jack Harrison L | RW | (1996-11-20) 20 November 1996 (age 28) | Manchester City |
| 27 | Muhamed Bešić L | CM | (1992-09-10) 10 September 1992 (age 32) | Everton |
| 30 | Lewis Baker L | CM | (1995-04-25) 25 April 1995 (age 29) | Chelsea |
| 37 | Adama Traoré | RW | (1996-01-25) 25 January 1996 (age 28) | Aston Villa |
| Strikers ||||||
| 9 | Britt Assombalonga | ST | (1992-12-06) 6 December 1992 (age 32) | Nottingham Forest |
| 11 | Patrick Bamford | CF | (1993-09-05) 5 September 1993 (age 31) | Chelsea |
| 39 | Rudy Gestede | FW | (1988-10-10) 10 October 1988 (age 36) | Aston Villa |
* L = Player on Loan

## Pre-season
### Friendlies

As of 3 July 2017, Middlesbrough have announced five pre-season friendlies, against Mansfield Town, Rochdale, Oxford United, Chesterfield and FC Augsburg.

## Competitions
### Championship
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 3 | Fulham (O, P) | 46 | 25 | 13 | 8 | 79 | 46 | +33 | 88 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 72 | 42 | +30 | 83 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 5 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 67 | 45 | +22 | 76 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 6 | Derby County | 46 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 70 | 48 | +22 | 75 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 7 | Preston North End | 46 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 73 | |
* ↑ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to the Premier League.

#### Result summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 6 May 2018. Source:

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | W | W | L | D | W | D | W | D | L | D | D | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | W | L | W | L | W | D | L | W | L | W | D | W | W | W | D | L | D | W | L | W | W | W | D |
| Position | 20 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |

#### Football League play-offs
### FA Cup

In the FA Cup, Middlesbrough entered the competition in the third round and were drawn at home versus Sunderland. Boro beat the Black Cats 2–0 at the Riverside.
The Monday after Boro were drawn with who ever won that night's game between Brighton and Crystal Palace. The Seagulls (Brighton) won the game 2–1, meaning that Boro will play them in the 4th round, on the Weekend of the 27th of January.

### EFL Cup

Middlesbrough entered the 2017–18 EFL Cup in the second round, and were drawn at home to Scunthorpe United. An away trip against Aston Villa was confirmed for the third round. A fourth round trip to AFC Bournemouth was announced.

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2017 | CF | Luke Armstrong | Blyth Spartans | Free |
| 1 July 2017 | CB | Tom Brewitt | Liverpool | Free |
| 1 July 2017 | CB | Enes Mahmutovic | Fola Esch | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2017 | AM | Lewis Wing | Shildon | Free |
| 7 July 2017 | RB | Cyrus Christie | Derby County | Undisclosed |
| 7 July 2017 | CM | Jonny Howson | Norwich City | Undisclosed |
| 13 July 2017 | CF | Martin Braithwaite | Toulouse | undisclosed |
| 14 July 2017 | ST | George Miller | Bury | Undisclosed |
| 17 July 2017 | CF | Britt Assombalonga | Nottingham Forest | £15,000,000 |
| 22 July 2017 | GK | Darren Randolph | West Ham United | £5,000,000 |
| 28 July 2017 | CF | Ashley Fletcher | West Ham United | £6,500,000 |
| 29 August 2017 | CB | Jakub Sinior | Legia Warsaw | Undisclosed |
| 29 August 2017 | AM | Amadou Sylla | Stade Reims | Free |
| 30 August 2017 | CB | Ryan Shotton | Birmingham City | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2017 | LM | Marvin Johnson | Oxford United | Undisclosed |
| 31 January 2018 | RB | Martin Cranie | Huddersfield Town | Undisclosed |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2017 | FW | Jordan Rhodes | Sheffield Wednesday | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2017 | RB | Nathan Convery | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | CF | Bradley Fewster | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | LW | Viktor Fischer | Mainz 05 | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2017 | GK | Brad Guzan | Atlanta United | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2017 | CM | Brandon Holdsworth | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | CM | Lewis Maloney | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | CB | Niall McGoldrick | Whitby Town | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | LW | Junior Mondal | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | GK | Víctor Valdés | Retired | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | CM | Josef Wheatley | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | MF | Matthew Wilson | Free agent | Released |
| 7 July 2017 | CB | Bernardo Espinosa | Girona | Undisclosed |
| 11 July 2017 | LB | James Husband | Norwich City | Undisclosed |
| 19 July 2017 | LW | Carlos de Pena | Free agent | Released |
| 21 July 2017 | RW | Cristhian Stuani | Girona | Undisclosed |
| 4 August 2017 | AM | Gastón Ramírez | Sampdoria | Undisclosed |
| 7 August 2017 | CB | Alex Baptiste | Queen's Park Rangers | Released |
| 10 August 2017 | CM | Marten de Roon | Atalanta | Undisclosed |
| 18 January 2018 | CM | Adam Forshaw | Leeds United | £4,500,000 |
| 31 January 2018 | RB | Cyrus Christie | Fulham | Undisclosed |
| 31 January 2018 | CM | Adlène Guedioura | Nottingham Forest | Free |
* ↑ Niall McGoldrick joined Whitby Town following his release.

### Loans in

| Start date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| 14 July 2017 | RB | Connor Roberts | Swansea City | 30 June 2018 |
| 11 August 2017 | CM | Lewis Baker | Chelsea | 30 June 2018 |
| 30 January 2018 | RW | Jack Harrison | Manchester City | 30 June 2018 |
| 31 January 2018 | DM | Muhamed Bešić | Everton | 30 June 2018 |

### Loans out

| Start date | Position | Name | To | End date |
| 1 July 2017 | GK | Joe Fryer | Stevenage | 30 June 2018 |
| 1 July 2017 | DM | Julien De Sart | Zulte Waregem | 30 June 2018 |
| 3 July 2017 | DM | Robbie Tinkler | Gateshead | January 2018 |
| 6 July 2017 | RB | Antonio Barragán | Real Betis | 30 June 2018 |
| 7 July 2017 | CB | Matthew Elsdon | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 30 June 2018 |
| 18 July 2017 | AM | Callum Cooke | Blackpool | 30 June 2018 |
| 4 August 2017 | RW | Harry Chapman | Blackburn Rovers | 30 June 2018 |
| 7 August 2017 | GK | Connor Ripley | Burton Albion | 4 January 2018 |
| 31 August 2017 | RB | Callum Johnson | Accrington Stanley | January 2018 |
| 5 December 2017 | CF | George Miller | Wrexham | 5 January 2018 |
| 12 December 2017 | CM | Alexander Pattison | York City | 12 January 2018 |
| 4 January 2018 | GK | Connor Ripley | Bury | 30 June 2018 |
| 17 January 2018 | LW | Marcus Tavernier | Milton Keynes Dons | 30 June 2018 |
| 19 January 2018 | CF | George Miller | Bury | 30 June 2018 |
| 31 January 2018 | CF | Martin Braithwaite | Girondins de Bordeaux | 30 June 2018 |
| 31 January 2018 | CF | Ashley Fletcher | Sunderland | 30 June 2018 |

## Statistics
### Appearances

| No. | Pos. | Name | Championship | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | Total | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | | |
| 1 | GK | Dimitrios Konstantopoulos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Fábio | 18 (3) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 19 (3) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | George Friend | 27 (4) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 31 (4) | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Daniel Ayala | 31 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Ryan Shotton | 21 (1) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 (1) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Ben Gibson | 43 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Grant Leadbitter | 29 (3) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27 (3) | 3 | 2 | 11 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | Adam Clayton | 20 (10) | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 (11) | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Britt Assombalonga | 30 (12) | 14 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 (13) | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Patrick Bamford | 23 (14) | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 26 (14) | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Tomás Mejías | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Martin Cranie | 1 (8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (8) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Jonny Howson | 35 (6) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 (6) | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Stewart Downing | 36 (2) | 2 | 7 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 37 (6) | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Dael Fry | 11 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 13 (4) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Marvin Johnson | 6 (11) | 1 | 2 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (12) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Jack Harrison | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | Darren Randolph | 44 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Muhamed Bešić | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | Lewis Baker | 6 (6) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 (6) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | Adama Traoré | 24 (8) | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 28 (8) | 5 | 12 | 3 | 2 |
| 39 | FW | Rudy Gestede | 10 (9) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 11 (10) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 45 | FW | George Miller | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who left the club in August/January transfer window or on loan |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | FW | Martin Braithwaite | 17 (2) | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 (2) | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | Connor Ripley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Marten de Roon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Alex Baptiste | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | Antonio Barragán | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Adlène Guedioura | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | Ashley Fletcher | 3 (13) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 1 | 0 | 6 (14) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Cyrus Christie | 24 (1) | 1 | 4 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 (2) | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Julien De Sart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Connor Roberts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | Adam Forshaw | 5 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 (6) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 51 | MF | Lewis Wing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 62 | MF | Marcus Tavernier | 4 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 (1) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |

### Top scorers

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.
| RK | Pos | No. | Player | Championship | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | 9 | Britt Assombalonga | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | FW | 11 | Patrick Bamford | 10 | 0 | 2 | 12 |
| 3 | DF | 4 | Daniel Ayala | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | FW | 10 | Martin Braithwaite | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | FW | 37 | Adama Traoré | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | FW | 39 | Rudy Gestede | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | MF | 7 | Grant Leadbitter | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | DF | 3 | George Friend | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | 16 | Jonny Howson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | 19 | Stewart Downing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | DF | 2 | Fábio | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | FW | 18 | Ashley Fletcher | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | 30 | Lewis Baker | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | 62 | Marcus Tavernier | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | DF | 5 | Ryan Shotton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | DF | 6 | Ben Gibson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | 21 | Marvin Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | DF | 22 | Cyrus Christie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | 27 | Muhamed Bešić | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own Goal | Own Goal | Own Goal | Own Goal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 63 | 2 | 6 | 71 |