# 2019–20 Middlesbrough F.C. season

The 2019–20 season was Middlesbrough's third consecutive season in the Championship in their 144th year in existence, the club also competed in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup. The season covered the period from 1 July 2019 to 20 July 2020.
George Friend continues as the official club captain in his first full season in the role, having previously replaced a departing Grant Leadbitter in the second half of the 2018–19 season, who left to return to Sunderland in January 2019.
This season also marked Jonathan Woodgate's first spell in charge of a professional club, who replaced an outgoing Tony Pulis, who left at the end of his contract. Woodgate was sacked as manager on 23 June 2020, with Middlesbrough only outside the Championship relegation zone on goal difference after 38 games. He was replaced with experienced manager Neil Warnock on the same day.

## Squad

| No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Contract until | Signed from |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Tomás Mejías | GK | (1989-01-30)30 January 1989 (aged 30) | 30 June 2021 | Omonia |
| 23 | Darren Randolph | GK | (1987-05-12)12 May 1987 (aged 32) | 30 June 2021 | West Ham United |
| 42 | Aynsley Pears | GK | (1998-04-23)23 April 1998 (aged 21) | 30 June 2020 | Academy |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Anfernee Dijksteel | RB | (1996-10-27)27 October 1996 (aged 22) | 30 June 2022 | Charlton Athletic |
| 3 | George Friend (c) | LB | (1987-10-17)17 October 1987 (aged 31) | 30 June 2020 | Doncaster Rovers |
| 4 | Daniel Ayala | CB | (1990-11-07)7 November 1990 (aged 28) | 30 June 2020 | Norwich City |
| 5 | Ryan Shotton | RB / CB | (1988-10-30)30 October 1988 (aged 30) | 30 June 2020 | Birmingham City |
| 6 | Dael Fry | CB / RB | (1997-08-30)30 August 1997 (aged 21) | 30 June 2021 | Academy |
| 25 | Nathan Wood | CB | (2002-05-31)31 May 2002 (aged 17) | 30 June 2020 | Academy |
| 27 | Marc Bola | LB | (1997-12-09)9 December 1997 (aged 21) | 30 June 2022 | Blackpool |
| 29 | Djed Spence | RB / LB | (2000-08-09)9 August 2000 (aged 18) | 30 June 2020 | Fulham |
| 33 | Hayden Coulson | LB / LM | (1998-06-17)17 June 1998 (aged 21) | 30 June 2023 | Academy |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 7 | Marcus Tavernier | LW | (1999-03-22)22 March 1999 (aged 20) | 30 June 2021 | Academy |
| 8 | Adam Clayton | DM / CM | (1989-01-14)14 January 1989 (aged 30) | 30 June 2021 | Huddersfield Town |
| 10 | Marcus Browne | AM / RW / LW | (1997-12-18)18 December 1997 (aged 21) | 30 June 2023 | West Ham United |
| 16 | Jonny Howson | CM | (1988-05-21)21 May 1988 (aged 31) | 30 June 2020 | Norwich City |
| 17 | Paddy McNair | DM / CM | (1995-04-27)27 April 1995 (aged 24) | 30 June 2022 | Sunderland |
| 21 | Marvin Johnson | LW / LB | (1990-12-01)1 December 1990 (aged 28) | 30 June 2020 | Oxford United |
| 22 | George Saville | CM / LW | (1993-06-01)1 June 1993 (aged 26) | 30 June 2022 | Millwall |
| 26 | Lewis Wing | AM / CM | (1995-05-23)23 May 1995 (aged 24) | 30 June 2022 | Shildon |
| 32 | Stephen Wearne | AM | (2000-12-16)16 December 2000 (aged 18) | 30 June 2020 | Academy |
| 34 | Connor Malley | CM | (2000-03-20)20 March 2000 (aged 19) | 30 June 2022 | Academy |
| 37 | Ben Liddle | DM | (1998-09-21)21 September 1998 (aged 20) | 30 June 2020 | Academy |
| — | Patrick Roberts | RW / CF | (1997-02-05)5 February 1997 (aged 22) | 30 June 2020 | Manchester City |
| Strikers |||||||
| 9 | Britt Assombalonga | CF | (1992-12-06)6 December 1992 (aged 26) | 30 June 2021 | Nottingham Forest |
| 11 | Ashley Fletcher | CF | (1995-10-02)2 October 1995 (aged 23) | 30 June 2021 | West Ham United |
| 14 | Rudy Gestede | CF | (1988-10-10)10 October 1988 (aged 30) | 30 June 2020 | Aston Villa |
| 36 | Stephen Walker | CF | (2000-10-11)11 October 2000 (aged 18) | 30 June 2023 | Academy |
| 41 | Rumarn Burrell | CF | (2000-12-16)16 December 2000 (aged 18) | 30 June 2022 | Grimsby Town |
| — | Lukas Nmecha | CF / LW / RW | (1998-12-14)14 December 1998 (aged 20) | 30 June 2020 | Manchester City |
* = Player on loan

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Fee | Team |
| 1 July 2019 | CF | Rumarn Burrell | Grimsby Town | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 4 July 2019 | GK | Tomás Mejías | Omonia | Free | First team |
| 26 July 2019 | AM | Marcus Browne | West Ham United | Undisclosed | First team |
| 28 July 2019 | LB | Marc Bola | Blackpool | Undisclosed | First team |
| 7 August 2019 | RB | Anfernee Dijksteel | Charlton Athletic | Undisclosed | First team |
| 16 January 2020 | GK | Dejan Stojanović | St. Gallen | Undisclosed | First team |
| 11 March 2020 | LB | Williams Kokolo | Sunderland | Free transfer | Academy |

### Transfers out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Fee | Team |
| 1 July 2019 | DF | Kieran Charlton | Free agent | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2019 | LM | Stewart Downing | Blackburn Rovers | Free | First team |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Nathan Guru | Free agent | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2019 | GK | Dimitrios Konstantopoulos | Hartlepool United | Free | First team |
| 1 July 2019 | GK | Andy Lonergan | Liverpool | Free | First team |
| 1 July 2019 | CF | Gabby McGill | Dunfermline Athletic | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 1 July 2019 | DM | John Obi Mikel | Trabzonspor | Free | First team |
| 1 July 2019 | CM | Alex Pattison | Wycombe Wanderers | Free | Academy |
| 1 July 2019 | CM | Dan Ward | Free agent | Released | Academy |
| 17 July 2019 | CB | Kian Spence | Scarborough Athletic | Free | Academy |
| 19 July 2019 | CB | Aden Flint | Cardiff City | Undisclosed | First team |
| 24 July 2019 | CF | Martin Braithwaite | Leganés | Undisclosed | First team |
| 25 July 2019 | CF | Billal Brahimi | Stade de Reims | Free | Academy |
| 26 July 2019 | CF | Luke Armstrong | Salford City | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 15 January 2020 | GK | Darren Randolph | West Ham United | £4,000,000 | First team |
| 31 January 2020 | LB | Patrick Reading | Stevenage | Undisclosed | Academy |
| 27 June 2020 | ST | Rudy Gestede | Free agent | Released | First team |
| 28 June 2020 | CB | Daniel Ayala | Free agent | Released | First team |
| 28 June 2020 | ST | Mitchell Curry | Free agent | Released | First team |
| 28 June 2020 | CB | Nathan Dale | Free agent | Released | First team |
| 28 June 2020 | CB | Enes Mahmutovic | Free agent | Released | First team |
| 28 June 2020 | CM | Layton Watts | Free agent | Released | First team |
| 28 June 2020 | AM | Stephen Wearne | Free agent | Released | First team |
| 28 June 2020 | RB | Harold Essien | Free agent | Released | First team |
| 28 June 2020 | GK | Harry Flatters | Free agent | Released | First team |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date until | Team |
| 2 January 2020 | RW | Patrick Roberts | Manchester City | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 3 January 2020 | CF | Lukas Nmecha | Manchester City | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 31 January 2020 | AM | Ravel Morrison | Sheffield United | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 31 January 2020 | CB | Harold Moukoudi | Saint-Étienne | 30 June 2020 | First team |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until | Team |
| 1 July 2019 | CF | Mitchell Curry | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 30 June 2020 | Academy |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Enes Mahmutovic | MVV Maastricht | 30 June 2020 | Academy |
| 19 July 2019 | CF | Tyrone O'Neill | Darlington | 31 December 2019 | Academy |
| 23 July 2019 | GK | Bradley James | Gateshead | 30 June 2020 | Academy |
| 7 August 2019 | CB | Sam Stubbs | Hamilton Academical | 7 January 2020 | Academy |
| 22 August 2019 | GK | Zach Hemming | Hartlepool United | 22 November 2019 | Academy |
| 23 November 2019 | GK | Zach Hemming | Blyth Spartans | 30 June 2020 | Academy |
| 7 January 2020 | CB | Sam Stubbs | ADO Den Haag | 30 June 2020 | Academy |
| 9 January 2020 | AM | Marcus Browne | Oxford United | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 10 January 2020 | LB | Marc Bola | Blackpool | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 10 January 2020 | CF | Mitchell Curry | Gateshead | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |
| 31 January 2020 | LW | Isaiah Jones | St Johnstone | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |
| 31 January 2020 | DM | Ben Liddle | Scunthorpe United | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |
| 31 January 2020 | CM | Connor Malley | Ayr United | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |
| 31 January 2020 | SS | Stephen Walker | Crewe Alexandra | 30 June 2020 | First team |

## Pre-season

Boro announced their pre-season programme on 14 June 2019.

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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 14 | Reading | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 59 | 58 | +1 | 56 |
| 15 | Stoke City | 46 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 62 | 68 | −6 | 56 |
| 16 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 58 | 66 | −8 | 56 |
| 17 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 53 |
| 18 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 52 | 70 | −18 | 51 |
| 19 | Luton Town | 46 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 54 | 82 | −28 | 51 |
| 20 | Birmingham City | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 54 | 75 | −21 | 50 |

#### Results by matchday

| Round | 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 | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | L | L | W | D | D | W | L | L | D | L | L | D | D | L | D | D | W | L | W | D | L | W | W | W | W | D | L | D | D | L | D | L | L | L | D | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | L | W |
| Position | 13 | 18 | 22 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 17 |

#### Result summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 22 July 2020. Source: BBC Sport

#### Matches

On 20 June 2019, the forthcoming Championship fixtures were unveiled.

### FA Cup

The third round draw was made live on BBC Two from Etihad Stadium, Micah Richards and Tony Adams conducted the draw.

### EFL Cup

The first round draw was made on 20 June.