# 2004–05 Middlesbrough F.C. season

During the 2004–05 season, Middlesbrough participated in the FA Premier League.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Liverpool | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 52 | 41 | +11 | 58 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 6 | Bolton Wanderers | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 49 | 44 | +5 | 58 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 55 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 8 | Manchester City | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 47 | 39 | +8 | 52 | |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 47 | 41 | +6 | 52 | |
* ↑ Although they failed to qualify for the Champions League as one of the top four English clubs, Liverpool were given a special dispensation to compete as the defending champions. They were, however, forced to enter in the first qualifying round.
* ↑ Since the finalists of the FA Cup, Arsenal and Manchester United, as well as Chelsea, who won the 2004–05 Football League Cup, were qualified for the Champions League, and the fifth-placed team (Liverpool) were moved to the Champions League, the sixth and seventh-placed teams in the Premier League were rewarded entry to the UEFA Cup.

## Kit

During this season, Middlesbrough had a new sponsor, 888.com. The team's kit was produced by Errea. The home shirt included a white band on it for the first time since the 2000–01 season. The away strip was mainly white with maroon sleeves, navy blue shorts and white socks. Away to Southampton, white shorts and navy socks were worn with the away shirt.

## Season review

After the triumph in the League Cup final the previous season and a solid 11th-place finish in the league, Boro fans were optimistic that this season would be a success. Steve McClaren signed Boudewijn Zenden and Doriva on permanent deals following their loan spells, as well as adding high-profile signings Ray Parlour, Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Michael Reiziger to the squad. With these new additions, the supporters felt that, come the end of the season, Boro would be pushing for a league place good enough to qualify for Europe.
The season started well and Middlesbrough found themselves in fourth position following only one loss in the first 5 games. Despite a slight drop in their form, Boro kept in and around the top four until mid-November.
However, the UEFA Cup took its toll on the small Boro squad and their form stuttered towards Christmas. The team seemed to consist of more and more young players who were deputising for more senior players such as Gaizka Mendieta and Malcolm Christie who were ruled out for the season with injuries.
Following a 2–0 win at home to Norwich City on 28 December, Boro were in fifth place. However, not helped by an injury to George Boateng, after only one win in the next ten games the team found themselves in ninth and seemed to have undone their good work at the start of the season.
Things did finally pick up and, following only three losses in the final 12 games of the season, they found themselves up against Manchester City in the final game of the season. Both teams were in direct contest for the seventh place that Boro occupied, and a win for either side would mean qualification for the UEFA Cup. A last-minute penalty save by Mark Schwarzer gave Boro a 1–1 draw and the all important seventh-placed finish. For the first time in their history, Middlesbrough had qualified for Europe through the league.
The season was full of highs and lows for the Boro fans. The disappointment of losing their early strong position due to the injury crisis was offset against the emergence of several promising youngsters such as Stewart Downing, James Morrison and Anthony McMahon.
Both domestic cups were disappointing for the Boro team and the draws weren't favourable towards them. They only lasted two rounds in each competition, going out in the fourth round of both cups, to Manchester United in the FA Cup and to a young Liverpool side in the League Cup. The UEFA Cup run - Middlesbrough's first foray into Europe, having won the first major trophy of their history, the League Cup, the previous season - held greater joy. The first round was a two-legged knockout match against Baník Ostrava - Boro's first ever European match, with the first leg was at home. With a fantastic atmosphere at the Riverside, Middlesbrough cruised through the first leg 3–0; with a comfortable 1–1 draw in the away leg, they had qualified for the group stages and were guaranteed another 4 matches.
Middlesbrough were drawn in Group D, along with Villarreal, Lazio, Egaleo and Partizan Belgrade. The fans were confident that the team could earn at least a third-place finish in the group and therefore qualify for the knockout stages.
Boro went on to exceed all expectations, beating Egalio and Partizan Belgrade as expected and also achieving a fantastic 2–0 victory over Lazio - the only blot being a 2–0 away loss to Villarreal. This was enough to earn them a second-place finish and qualification for the next round, where Middlesbrough were drawn against Grazer AK. Middlesbrough managed a 2–2 draw against the then Austrian champions in the first leg, away. The team duly built on this in the return leg and progressed to the next round following a 2–1 win.
The round of 16 saw Boro face Sporting CP for a place in the quarter finals. However, luck wasn't with Middlesbrough and they found themselves in the middle of an injury crisis. The first leg was at home and remained goalless at half time. Sporting then proceed to show their class and scored 3 in a thirty-minute spell after the break. Boro looked like they were to exit the competition, but a spectacular overhead scissor kick from Joseph Desire-Job and a late Chris Riggott goal gave a weakened Boro team a fairly respectable 3–2 loss. The second leg didn't go to plan though; despite fantastic support from 3,000 travelling fans, Middlesbrough went down 1–0, losing 4–2 on aggregate. The Boro fans took the defeat in good heart, however, and partied late into the night in Lisbon.
Middlesbrough's UEFA Cup run was seen as a huge success by the fans, and expectations were high for the following year's campaign.

## First-team squad

The following are all the players who were involved the Middlesbrough F.C. first team at some point during the 2004-05 season.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Mark Schwarzer |
| 2 | DF | NED | Michael Reiziger |
| 3 | DF | FRA | Franck Queudrue |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Ugo Ehiogu |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Chris Riggott |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Gareth Southgate (captain) |
| 7 | MF | NED | George Boateng |
| 8 | FW | SVK | Szilárd Németh |
| 9 | FW | ITA | Massimo Maccarone |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Malcolm Christie |
| 12 | GK | ENG | Carlo Nash |
| 14 | MF | ESP | Gaizka Mendieta |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Ray Parlour |
| 16 | FW | CMR | Joseph-Désiré Job |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Mark Wilson |
| 18 | FW | NED | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Stewart Downing |
| 20 | MF | BRA | Doriva |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Stuart Parnaby |
| 22 | GK | AUS | Brad Jones |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Colin Cooper |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Andrew Davies |
| 25 | MF | ENG | James Morrison |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Matthew Bates |
| 27 | GK | ENG | Ross Turnbull |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Andrew Taylor |
| 29 | DF | ENG | Anthony McMahon |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Danny Graham |
| 31 | DF | ENG | David Wheater |
| 32 | MF | NED | Boudewijn Zenden |
| 33 | MF | ENG | Anthony Peacock |
| 34 | MF | ENG | Jason Kennedy |
| 35 | GK | ENG | David Knight |
| 36 | FW | AUS | Mark Viduka |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Adam Johnson |
| 38 | GK | ENG | Chris Pennock |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | Previous club | Cost |
| 6 July 2004 | Michael Reiziger | Barcelona | Free |
| 8 July 2004 | Mark Viduka | Leeds United | £4,500,000 |
| 9 July 2004 | Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink | Chelsea | Free |
| 23 July 2004 | Ray Parlour | Arsenal | Free |
| 3 August 2004 | Boudewijn Zenden | Chelsea | Free |

### Out

| Date | Player | Buying club | Cost |
| 22 April 2004 | Ricardinho | Released | Free |
| 23 June 2004 | Michael Ricketts | Leeds United | Free |
| 23 June 2004 | Robbie Stockdale | Rotherham United | Nominal |
| 29 June 2004 | Jonathan Greening | West Bromwich Albion | £1,250,000 |
| 25 August 2004 | Juninho | Celtic | Free |
| 23 March 2005 | Carlo Nash | Preston North End | £175,000 |

## Results
### Premier League

Win  Draw  Loss

#### Results per 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 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A |
| Result | D | L | W | W | W | L | L | D | W | D | W | D | W | W | L | W | D | W | L | W | L | L | D | D | L | W | D | D | L | L | W | L | D | W | D | D | W | D |
| Position | 3 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
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 | 14 August 2004 | H | Newcastle United | 2–2 | 34,268 | Downing 73', Hasselbaink 90' | Reiziger |
| 2 | 22 August 2004 | A | Arsenal | 3–5 | 37,415 | Job 43', Hasselbaink 50', Queudrue 53' | Queudrue |
| 3 | 25 August 2004 | A | Fulham | 2–0 | 17,759 | Viduka 54', Németh 79' | Parlour |
| 4 | 28 August 2004 | H | Crystal Palace | 2–1 | 31,560 | Popovic (o.g.) 61', Hasselbaink 78' | Mendieta |
| 5 | 11 September 2004 | H | Birmingham City | 2–1 | 30,252 | Viduka (2) 27', 48' | Boateng |
| 6 | 19 September 2004 | A | Everton | 0–1 | 34,078 | | Schwarzer |
| 7 | 25 September 2004 | H | Chelsea | 0–1 | 32,341 | | Schwarzer |
| 8 | 3 October 2004 | A | Manchester United | 1–1 | 67,988 | Downing 33' | Southgate |
| 9 | 16 October 2004 | A | Blackburn Rovers | 4–0 | 20,385 | Hasselbaink (3) 46', 57', 90', Boateng 50' | Hasselbaink |
| 10 | 24 October 2004 | H | Portsmouth | 1–1 | 30,964 | Downing 74' | Parlour |
| 11 | 30 October 2004 | A | Charlton Athletic | 2–1 | 26,031 | El Karkouri (o.g.) 21', Zenden 58' | Zenden |
| 12 | 7 November 2004 | H | Bolton Wanderers | 1–1 | 29,656 | Boateng 90' | Boateng |
| 13 | 14 November 2004 | A | West Bromwich Albion | 2–1 | 24,008 | Purse (o.g.) 32', Zenden 52' | Schwarzer |
| 14 | 20 November 2004 | H | Liverpool | 2–0 | 34,751 | Riggott 36', Zenden 62' | Parlour |
| 15 | 28 November 2004 | A | Tottenham Hotspur | 0–2 | 35,772 | | Riggott |
| 16 | 6 December 2004 | H | Manchester City | 3–2 | 29,787 | Viduka (2) 9', 54', Hasselbaink 65' | Viduka |
| 17 | 11 December 2004 | A | Southampton | 2–2 | 29,018 | Higginbotham (o.g.) 89', Downing 90' | Downing |
| 18 | 18 December 2004 | H | Aston Villa | 3–0 | 31,338 | Hasselbaink 20', Job 68', Reiziger 88' | McMahon |
| 19 | 26 December 2004 | A | Birmingham City | 0–2 | 29,082 | | Reiziger |
| 20 | 28 December 2004 | H | Norwich City | 2–0{ | 34,836 | Job (2) 52', 54' | Downing |
| 21 | 1 January 2005 | H | Manchester United | 0–2 | 34,199 | | Downing |
| 22 | 4 January 2005 | A | Chelsea | 0–2 | 40,982 | | Parlour |
| 23 | 16 January 2005 | H | Everton | 1–1 | 31,794 | Zenden 26' | Zenden |
| 24 | 22 January 2005 | A | Norwich City | 4–4 | 24,547 | Hasselbaink (2) 34', 78', Queudrue (2) 49', 55' | Downing |
| 25 | 1 February 2005 | A | Portsmouth | 1–2 | 19,620 | Christie 35' | Parlour |
| 26 | 5 February 2005 | H | Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | 30,564 | Queudrue 35' | Zenden |
| 27 | 12 February 2005 | A | Bolton Wanderers | 0–0 | 24,322 | | Schwarzer |
| 28 | 27 February 2005 | H | Charlton Athletic | 2–2 | 29,603 | Riggott 74', Graham 86' | Riggott |
| 29 | 5 March 2005 | A | Aston Villa | 0–2 | 34,201 | | Parnaby |
| 30 | 20 March 2005 | H | Southampton | 1–3 | 30,082 | Hasselbaink 41' | Doriva |
| 31 | 2 April 2005 | A | Crystal Palace | 1–0 | 24,274 | Queudrue 35' | Queudrue |
| 32 | 9 April 2005 | H | Arsenal | 0–1 | 33,874 | | Boateng |
| 33 | 19 April 2005 | H | Fulham | 1–1 | 30,650 | Zenden (pen.) 90' | Queudrue |
| 34 | 23 April 2005 | H | West Bromwich Albion | 4–0 | 32,951 | Németh (2) 27', 37', Hasselbaink 33', Downing 90'+3 | Németh |
| 35 | 27 April 2005 | A | Newcastle United | 0–0 | 52,047 | | Jones |
| 36 | 30 April 2005 | A | Liverpool | 1–1 | 43,250 | Németh 4' | Southgate |
| 37 | 7 May 2005 | H | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–0 | 34,766 | Boateng 11' | Boateng |
| 38 | 15 May 2005 | A | Manchester City | 1–1 | 47,221 | Hasselbaink 23' | Southgate |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 3 | 27 October 2004 | Coventry City | Home | 3-0 | 11,833 | Nemeth, Morrison, Graham |
| 4 | 10 November 2004 | Liverpool | Away | 2-0 | 28,176 | |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| 3 | 8 January 2005 | Notts County | Away | 2-1 | 13,671 | Doriva, Job |
| 4 | 29 January 2005 | Manchester United | Away | 3-0 | 67,251 | |

### UEFA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers | Referee |
| 1 Leg 1 | 16 September 2004 | Baník Ostrava | Home | 3-0 | 29,746 | Hasselbaink, Viduka (2) | Pascal Garibian (France) |
| 1 Leg 2 | 30 September 2004 | Baník Ostrava | Away | 1-1 (3–1 agg) | 15,351 | Morrison | Matteo Trefoloni (Italy) |
| Grp E | 21 October 2004 | Egaleo | Away | 1-0 | 4,000 | Downing | Attila Hanacsek (Hungary) |
| Grp E | 4 November 2004 | Lazio | Home | 2-0 | 33,991 | Zenden (2) | Yuri Baskakov (Russia) |
| Grp E | 25 November 2004 | Villarreal | Away | 2-0 | 14,250 | | Jan Wegereef (Netherlands) |
| Grp E | 15 December 2004 | Partizan | Home | 3-0 | 20,856 | Nemeth, Job, Morrison | Grzegorz Gilewski (Poland) |
| 3 Leg 1 | 17 February 2005 | Grazer AK | Away | 2-2 | 13,000 | Zenden, Hasselbaink | Edo Trivković (Croatia) |
| 3 Leg 2 | 24 February 2005 | Grazer AK | Home | 2-1 (4–3 agg) | 20,371 | Morrison, Hasselbaink | Eduardo Iturralde González (Spain) |
| 4 Leg 1 | 10 March 2005 | Sporting | Home | 2-3 | 23,739 | Job, Riggott | Stefano Farina (Italy) |
| 4 Leg 2 | 17 March 2005 | Sporting | Away | 1-0 (4–2 agg) | 21,217 | | Éric Poulat (France) |

## Player statistics
### Goalscorers

Goalscoring statistics for 2004-05.
| Name | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total |
| Hasselbaink | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| Job | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Viduka | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Zenden | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Downing | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Németh | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Queudrue | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Morrison | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Boateng | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Riggott | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Graham | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Reiziger | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Christie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Doriva | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own Goals | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |

### Appearances and discipline

Appearance and disciplinary records for 2004-05 league and cup matches.
| Name | Appearances | Yellow cards | Red cards |
| Schwarzer | 43 | 0 | 0 |
| Jones | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Nash | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Parnaby | 20+4 | 1 | 0 |
| Queudrue | 43 | 8 | 2 |
| Ehiogu | 11+1 | 1 | 0 |
| Riggott | 31+1 | 4 | 0 |
| Southgate | 47 | 6 | 0 |
| Reiziger | 21+4 | 1 | 0 |
| Bates | 0+2 | 0 | 0 |
| Davies | 4+1 | 0 | 0 |
| McMahon | 16+3 | 3 | 0 |
| Cooper | 17+4 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheater | 0+1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mendieta | 7+1 | 1 | 0 |
| Boateng | 29 | 8 | 0 |
| Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Downing | 40+8 | 1 | 0 |
| Morrison | 12+11 | 2 | 0 |
| Johnson | 0+1 | 0 | 0 |
| Doriva | 26+12 | 6 | 0 |
| Parlour | 40+1 | 13 | 1 |
| Zenden | 48+1 | 9 | 0 |
| Kennedy | 0+1 | 0 | 0 |
| Viduka | 19+2 | 0 | 0 |
| Christie | 2+1 | 0 | 0 |
| Hasselbaink | 43+2 | 3 | 0 |
| Graham | 1+16 | 0 | 0 |
| Németh | 25+15 | 1 | 0 |
| Job | 17+16 | 0 | 0 |

## References and notes

* ↑ "Liverpool FC allowed to defend title" (PDF). UEFA. 10 June 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 June 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
* ↑ "2004–05 Premier League table". Premier League. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
* 1 2 "ESPNsoccernet: Middlesbrough Squad Statistics". Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
* ↑ "Middlesbrough FC 2004-05". Archived from the original on 31 August 2004. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
* ↑ Morrison was born in Darlington, England, and has represented England internationally at youth level, but also qualified to represent Scotland and made his full international debut for Scotland in May 2008
* ↑ "Reiziger unveiled by Boro". RTÉ. 6 July 2004 – via www.rte.ie.
* 1 2 3 "Middlesbrough sign Parlour". BBC Sport. 23 July 2004.
* ↑ "Boudewijn Zenden". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 19 May 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
* ↑ "Boro release Ricardinho". 22 April 2004 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
* ↑ Shaw, Dominic (24 June 2015). "#OnThisBoroDay 2004: Michael Ricketts ends his Boro nightmare". TeessideLive.
* ↑ "Archive news from The Northern Echo". www.thenorthernecho.co.uk.
* ↑ "Transfers - July 2004". 29 July 2004 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
* 1 2 "Juninho takes Larsson shirt". 25 August 2004 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
* ↑ "BORO 2004–05 Premiership". Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2007.