Middlesbrough F.C.

Formation and early years (1876–1914) Middlesbrough were formed in 1876, and won the FA Amateur Cup in 1895 and again in 1898. The club turned professional in 1889, but reverted to amateur status in 1892. They turned professional permanently in 1899. After three seasons, they won promotion to the First Division, where they would remain for the next . In the same year, Tim Williamson became the first Middlesbrough player to play international football. before dropping to 17th two seasons later. The club rose to their highest league finish to date, third, in 1913–14. The First World War soon intervened, and football was suspended. Ups and downs (1914–1966) Before league football resumed, Middlesbrough won the Northern Victory League, but the team were unable to maintain their previous form and finished the 1919–20 season in mid-table. They remained in the First Division for the next few seasons, but were relegated in 1923–24 after finishing bottom, 10 points adrift of their nearest rivals. Three seasons later, they won the Division Two title. During that season, debutant George Camsell, who had signed from Third Division North side Durham City the previous season, finished with a record 59 league goals, which included nine hat-tricks. He would continue as top scorer for each of the next 10 seasons. Middlesbrough's tenure back in the top flight lasted only one season, and the club were relegated. On 6 May 1950 Middlesbrough were represented by a Black player for the first time, Jamaican-born Lindy Delapenha making his debut in an away game against Fulham on that date. In total he went on to make 270 appearances, scoring 92 goals, before he left for Mansfield Town after the 1957–58 season. Over that period, Middlesbrough maintained reasonable progress in the Second Division, but were never serious contenders for promotion. After a fourth-place finish in 1962–63, the club endured a steady decline and were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history in 1966. After a very promising start to their first campaign back in the first division Bob Paisley, manager of eventual runners up Liverpool, tipped Middlesbrough as favourites to win the league, however they ultimately fell short finishing seventh. Middlesbrough won their first silverware as a professional side in the 1975–76 season, lifting the Anglo-Scottish Cup in its inaugural season after a two-legged final win over Fulham. In 1979, John Neal made the club's first international signing, with Boško Janković arriving from Željezničar Sarajevo. Middlesbrough were dropping down the table, and finished 19th in the 1984–85 season. Steve Gibson, however, a member of the board at the time, brought together a consortium, and with 10 minutes to spare before the deadline they completed their registration with the Football League for the 1986–87 season. Following the registration came both a change of club crest and a change of the official company name to Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Club (1986) Ltd. Over the next two seasons, Middlesbrough gained successive promotions into Division Two and then into Division One, Following promotion again, Middlesbrough became one of the founding members of the FA Premier League when it was launched in the 1992–93 season. Bryan Robson years (1994–2001) Player-manager Bryan Robson, from Manchester United, took charge in 1994. Following promotion to the Premier League Middlesbrough made high-profile purchases like Brazilian international Juninho Without the points deduction imposed by the FA Premier League despite the club having taken advice from the Premier League themselves prior to calling off the match, the club would have had enough points to avoid the drop. At the same time, the club reached both the League and FA Cup finals for the first time, but lost both games. Despite being in the second tier, they were again runners-up in the League Cup final the next year. Venture into Europe (2001–2009) at the Millennium Stadium After Venables decided not to take on the role of full time manager, in June 2001 Manchester United assistant coach Steve McClaren was appointed to replace Robson. In his first season, McClaren led Middlesbrough to a respectable 12th place league finish and an FA Cup semi final, narrowly losing 1–0 to Arsenal. A slight improvement in the league saw the club finish 11th the following season. The 2003–04 season saw the club again finish 11th in the league, but much more significantly win a first major trophy by beating Bolton Wanderers 2–1 in the League Cup final. The League Cup win also ensured that Middlesbrough would qualify for Europe – the UEFA Cup – for the first time – the following season, where they reached the last 16 of the competition. UEFA Cup qualification was achieved for the second consecutive year after a 1–1 away draw with Manchester City on the final game of the season. The match concluded with a dramatic last minute late penalty save by goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer which saw Middlesbrough finish above City in 7th place and qualify for Europe again. Middlesbrough enjoyed one of its most successful cup campaigns to date in the 2005–2006 season. Domestically the club reached the League Cup quarter final and the FA Cup semi final, losing out to a late goal in a 1–0 loss to West Ham at Villa Park. The club also reached the 2006 UEFA Cup final following two miraculous last minute comebacks from 3–0 down on aggregate in the quarter and semi finals against FC Basel and Steaua Bucharest respectively, however ultimately fell short losing 4–0 to Sevilla in the final in Eindhoven. McClaren's teams featured local youth players such as Stewart Downing, Adam Johnson and James Morrison as well as experienced international players such as forward trio Yakubu, Mark Viduka and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, and midfielder Gaizka Mendieta. Middlesbrough fielded the youngest starting 11 (average age 20) in the final Premier League game in the 2005–06 season, against Fulham. Nine players were teenagers – all English – and two more came on as substitutes. Following the European Cup final loss, McClaren left to manage the England national team, and captain Gareth Southgate took over as manager. Despite not having the coaching qualifications, he was allowed by the Premier League board to continue after receiving special dispensation. Southgate led the club to a 12th-placed finish and an FA Cup quarter final in his first season as manager. In the subsequent 2007–2008 season, Middlesbrough again made the FA Cup quarter final, but despite being 2nd favourites to win the cup ahead of their quarter final home tie to Championship side Cardiff City, Middlesbrough lost the tie and eventually finished 13th in the league, beating Manchester City 8–1 on the final day. In January 2008, the club broke its record transfer fee, paying £13.6 million for Brazilian international striker Afonso Alves. The club was relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2008–09 season in 19th place. Decline, brief revival and relegation (2009–2017) Middlesbrough sacked Gareth Southgate as manager in October 2009, when Southgate's team were one point from leading the Championship, and replaced him with Gordon Strachan. At the time of Southgate's dismissal, Boro were fourth in the Championship but their form under Strachan declined and they finished mid-table. On 18 October 2010, Strachan resigned and was later replaced by Tony Mowbray. Following a poor run of form at the start of the 2013–14 campaign, Mowbray left the club with immediate effect on 21 October. Aitor Karanka, a former assistant coach at Real Madrid to José Mourinho, became the new Middlesbrough manager. He became the first non-British manager at the club, The following 2015–16 season ended in dramatic fashion. The final match of the ordinary season was a head to head between 2nd placed Boro and 3rd placed Brighton & Hove Albion at The Riverside. Boro required 1 point from the match to finish above Brighton in second place and secure automatic promotion. After taking a first half lead, they were pegged back, but ultimately held on for the draw, securing promotion back to the Premier League. Middlesbrough dismissed Karanka in March 2017 following a poor run of form, and the team were relegated in 19th place, after just one season back in the top flight. The team won only 5 league games, and scored 27 goals, the lowest in the league. Return to the Championship (2017–present) The club appointed former Leeds United manager Garry Monk as manager in the off-season. Expectations at the club were high, having spent close to £50 million in the transfer window on player purchases, in order to mount an immediate promotion challenge back to the Premier League. Monk left in December, with Middlesbrough ninth in the Championship, and Tony Pulis was appointed as his replacement. Pulis led the side to finish 5th in the table, however, they lost in the play-off semi-finals to Aston Villa. When Pulis's contract was not extended, he was replaced by former Middlesbrough defender and first team coach, Jonathan Woodgate on 14 June 2019 on a three-year contract. Woodgate was sacked with the club only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference with eight games left of the 2019–20 season, and Neil Warnock was appointed as his replacement on the same day. Warnock ensured survival from relegation, securing safety on the final day of the season and a 17th-place finish. On 6 November 2021, Middlesbrough parted company with Warnock, who was replaced by Chris Wilder the following day. After 11 months in charge, Wilder was sacked with the club in 22nd position. Former Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick was appointed as his successor and led Boro to a fourth-place finish, but lost in the play-off semi-finals against Coventry City. On 26 May 2023, the club officially became affiliated with the women's team. In the 2023–24 season, Middlesbrough reached the semi-finals of the League Cup for the first time since 2004. Despite defeating Chelsea in the first leg, Middlesbrough lost 6–2 on aggregate. Carrick was dismissed in June 2025 with Rob Edwards replacing him. However, after a promising start to the season that saw the club enter the automatic promotion spaces, Edwards suddenly left in November 2025 to take the Wolverhampton Wanderers job, just 3 months into the season. On 24 November 2025 Kim Hellberg was named as the successor to Rob Edwards. ==Colours and crest==

Middlesbrough's original home kit upon election to the Football League in 1899 was a white home shirt with red shorts, and they did not adopt their colours of blue and white until later that season. Previous kits included a white shirt with a red and white polka dotted collar from around 1889. The club subsequently announced in December 2007 that the club would allow fans to decide via an online and text vote whether the white band should return for the following season. of which the winner was announced on 7 May 2008. The Middlesbrough crest has gone through four changes since the formation of the club. Initially, the badge was simply the town of Middlesbrough's crest with a red lion instead of a blue lion in order to fit in with the club's colours. Following the adoption of the white band on the shirts in 1973, only the red lion remained with the letters "M.F.C" underneath in red. This was further adapted following the reformation of the club in 1986 to a circular crest with the lion in the middle and the words "Middlesbrough Football Club 1986" around the circle in order to reflect this new era. In 2007, Middlesbrough changed their crest again, this time with the lion inside a shield and the words "Middlesbrough Football Club 1876" underneath. Kit information Middlesbrough's first sponsor in 1980 was Datsun Cleveland on a two-year deal. Further two-year deals continued until Dickens was the sponsor for the 1994–95 season only. From 1995 to 2002, the club was sponsored by mobile phone service Cellnet, followed by two years with mobile retailer Dial-a-Phone. Online casino 888.com (2004–07) and satellite navigation company Garmin (2007–10) followed. In 2010–11, the club had several temporary sponsors including pawnbrokers Ramsdens, who then became permanent sponsors and signed a five-year deal in 2013. At its end, 32Red became the sponsors. Early in Ramsdens' sponsorship in March 2011, the company ceded its advertising space to Marie Curie Cancer Care for two games. Italian manufacturers Erreà made Middlesbrough's kits from 1994 to 2009, when the role was taken up by Adidas, who had previously made the kits from 1979 to 1983. Danish company Hummel, which had made the kits from 1984 to 1987 during the club's winding up and rebirth, secured the contract again in 2018. Erreà returned in 2022. ==Stadiums==

After formation in 1876, and with the club still amateurs, Middlesbrough's first two years of football were played at Albert Park in Middlesbrough. After seeing the damage being caused by players and supporters, the Park Committee ordered the club to find an alternate venue. The club moved to Breckon Hill, behind the former Middlesbrough College longlands site, after agreeing to rent the land from its owner. However, two years later in 1880, the owner increased the rent and the club decided to move. They moved into the Linthorpe Road ground in 1882, home at the time of Middlesbrough Cricket Club. The cricket club departed in 1893–94 to move to the Breckon Hill field, and Middlesbrough Football Club became sole users of the ground. Since the 1990s, the club trains at a £7 million complex at Rockliffe Park, in Hurworth, on the outskirts of Darlington. The Riverside Stadium, named by the supporters of the club after a vote, became the club's home in 1995. It was the first stadium to be built in line with the Taylor Report's recommendations on all-seater stadiums for clubs in the top two divisions of the English football league system. It was originally a 30,000-seater stadium, constructed at a cost of £16 million, For the start of the 2016–17 season (and a return to the Premier League), the club had to improve the stadium's broadcasting facilities and floodlighting in order to meet Premier League requirements. The club also took this opportunity to move the main camera gantry to the back of the East stand, so that it faced the main West stand. As of the 2016–17 season, the stadium capacity is 33,746 due to the updates undertaken when the club was last in the Premier League. ==Supporters==

Middlesbrough's average historic attendance is the 16th highest of all the clubs in England and Wales. Traditionally, supporters come from Middlesbrough itself and towns in the immediate area. As of May 2001, Middlesbrough had one of the highest proportions in Britain of locally-born season ticket holders at 80%, and one of the highest proportions of female fans at 20%. A survey at the start of the 2007–08 season found Middlesbrough supporters were the seventh-loudest set of fans in the Premier League. Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club, which features its own team in the local football league, has links with supporters' clubs across the globe. The largest supporters' clubs include the Official Supporters' Club, the Middlesbrough Disabled Supporters' Association, Yarm Reds, Red Faction and Middlesbrough Supporters South. it relates to the industrial air pollution – smog – that used to hang over the town, but it was later used by Middlesbrough fans in a somewhat self-deprecating manner, before finally being adopted as a badge of pride by supporters of the club. An example of this can be seen on the banners carried to away games stating "Smoggies on Tour". Middlesbrough fans received praise from UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson after their behaviour during the 2005–06 UEFA Cup campaign. He commented that: Middlesbrough fans also received praise from Cleveland Police for their behaviour in previous rounds, particularly in the light of aggravation prior to and during the match at Roma. ==Media relations==

Middlesbrough was the first football club in the world to launch its own TV channel – Boro TV. The first broadcasts were tied to the club's first ever major cup final appearance in 1997, a full year ahead of Manchester United's MUTV, which still claims to be the first in the world. The channel was the brainchild of then NTL marketing director, Peter Wilcock. The programme became synonymous with former Middlesbrough player Bernie Slaven and radio commentator Alastair Brownlee, who proved to be as popular on TV as they were on radio. Its programmes were not live initially but were pre-recorded and hosted by local radio/TV broadcaster & Boro fan, Dave Roberts. In August 2001, Boro TV claimed another first when it became the first English football club to broadcast time-delayed full-match footage of their league games on its own channel. Boro TV ran through NTL cable television until July 2005. The club then began to show match highlights through a subscription-based scheme on its official website. Middlesbrough's official matchday programme, Redsquare, was ''Programme Monthly's 2006–07 Programme of the Year. There are numerous other fanzines available, most notably Fly Me to the Moon'', formed in September 1988 following Bruce Rioch's quote to Tony Mowbray, stating "If I had to go to the moon I'd want him by my side". In 2025, it became the football fanzine with the most issues, overtaking previous record holders Oatcake from Stoke, which stopped printing in 2019. ==Community==

Middlesbrough Football Club in the Community (MFCIC) was founded in 1996 by club chairman Steve Gibson and is one of the largest community-based football schemes in the United Kingdom. It is run separately from the football club, but receives support from both the club in terms of providing players, staff, stadium facilities and PR for articles in the matchday programme and other publications, as well as support from other local organisations. In 2012, MFCIC was relaunched as MFC Foundation. The Foundation aims to use the club's profile to deliver sport, health, education and inclusion projects in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities across Teesside. Since 1996, the Foundation has delivered 20,000 qualifications, engaged over 500,000 people and invested £25 million in local communities to tackle inequality and disadvantage. Since 2002, the club and MFCIC have also run the Middlesbrough Enterprise Academy, a scheme which helps local children. In March 2008, plans were announced by the Premier League to roll out the scheme nationally amongst all Premier League clubs. It was announced in December 2007 that Middlesbrough football club had carried out more community work during 2006–07 than any other Premier League club, rising from second place the previous year, with the club making 318 appearances – almost twice the Premier League average of 162. They were in the top two for community appearances again in 2007–08, with 374 – a 17% increase on the previous season. Middlesbrough's mascot is Roary the Lion. The club runs Roary's Children's Charity Fund, which purchases items for local children's charities. In 2009, steel producer Corus Group announced the possibility that it would mothball its Teesside plant after a consortium of steel magnates walked away from a 10-year deal. Middlesbrough Football Club helped with the "Save Our Steel" campaign through various methods. Chairman Steve Gibson said: European Football ==Non-playing staff==

Corporate hierarchy Coaching staff Academy coaching staff Managerial history The following are all the full-time Middlesbrough managers since the club turned professional in 1899. ==Players==

Current squad Out on loan Reserves and Academy ==Notable players==

Middlesbrough Legends These 10 players were voted for by fans as part of a campaign with the Evening Gazette. • George Camsell • George Hardwick • Wilf Mannion • Brian Clough • John Hickton • Willie Maddren • Tony Mowbray • Bernie Slaven • Juninho • Gareth Southgate Top appearances These players made more than 430 appearances during their time at the club. The number in brackets indicates the number of appearances in all competitions. • Tim Williamson (602) • Gordon Jones (532) • John Hickton (499) • John Craggs (487) • Jim Platt (481) • George Camsell (453) • Jacky Carr (449) • Mark Schwarzer (446) • David Armstrong (431) Top goalscorers These players scored more than 140 goals during their time with the club. The number in brackets indicates the number of goals scored in all competitions. , the first player to command a £1000 transfer fee • Alf Common • George Camsell • Steve Bloomer • Wilf Mannion • George Hardwick • Nobby Stiles • Graeme Souness • Bryan Robson • Paul Gascoigne English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of top English footballers and footballers who have played in England. These players appeared for or managed Middlesbrough at some point in their careers. • Brian Clough (2002 inductee) • Paul Gascoigne (2002 inductee) • Bryan Robson (2002 inductee) • Viv Anderson (2004 inductee) • Wilf Mannion (2004 inductee) • Jack Charlton (2005 inductee) • Graeme Souness (2007 inductee) • Nobby Stiles (2007 inductee) • Terry Venables (2007 inductee) • Steve Bloomer (2008 inductee) • Malcolm Allison (2009 inductee) • Raich Carter (2013 inductee) • Gordon Strachan (2016 inductee) • Paul Ince (2021 inductee) Scottish Football Hall of Fame The following former Middlesbrough players and managers have been inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. • Bobby Murdoch (2004 inductee) • Graeme Souness (2004 inductee) • Gordon Strachan (2007 inductee) ==Honours==

Source: ==Middlesbrough Women==

Middlesbrough Women is the women's team affiliated to Middlesbrough. Founded as Cleveland Spartans in 1976, they became officially affiliated with the men's team in 2023, and currently play in the FA Women's National League North, the third level of English women's football. ==References and notes==