Middlesbrough Team Guide in FM2008
Average Rating: 7/10 Hits: 1380 Submitted: Nov 16, 2007
Here you can find various hints and tips when it comes to managing Middlesbrough in Football Manager 2008. Ranging from all the basic information about the club, the history of the club, the expectations of the club in both the current season and over the coming years, an overview of the squad and players at your disposal, the best players to buy, the players you should be looking to sell, the best tactics to use, both for attack and defensive and much, much more.
Basically everything you need to know, to aid your career managing Middlesbrough in the English Premiership, in FM2008.
Nation: England
Founded: 1876
Status: Professional
Reputation: National
Chairman Status: Loves the club
Favoured Personnel: Steve Gibson, Tony Mowbray, Colin Cooper
Fierce Rivals: Newcastle, Sunderland
Other Rivals: Chelsea, Leeds
Stadium: The Riverside Stadium
Capacity: 35,000 all seater
Pitch Size: Length: 105m Width:68m
Training Facilities: Top training facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent youth facilities + youth acadamy
Media Prediction: 12th
Captain: George Boateng
Parent Clubs: None
Feeder Clubs: Darlington (England)
Transfer Budget: £5m
Wage Budget: £525k
In Real Life
Middlesbrough were formed in 1876 by members of the Middlesbrough Cricket Club. After three seasons the club moved from the Archery Ground in Albert Park to their new ground at Linthorpe Road. In the early years the club were playing as amatuers, this changed in 1889 when they turned professional. After only three years they reverted back to amatuer status and over the next 7 years playing as amatuers the club won 3 Northern League Titles and two F.A Amatuer Cups.
In 1899 the club returned to the professional leagues being elected into League Two. In 1902 the club won promotion to the First Division and also played their last game at Linthorpe Road and moved into their new home at Ayresom Park where they would remain until 1995.
In 1914 the club achieved its highest ever league position, finishing in third place in the First Division. However they never managed to stay at the top of the domestic game and only 10 years later they were relegated back into Division 2. A yoyo like few seasons followed and the club returned to the top flight after winning Division 2 in 1927. After one season in the top flight they dropped back down and won promotion again instantly.
In 1952 the club were relegated again and remained in Division 2 until 1966 when they were relegated to the Third Division but were promoted at the first attempt.
Jack Charlton
In 1975 Jack Charlton led the club to the Second Division League title in his first year as a coach.
In 1982 the club were relegegated to the Second Division and in 1986 the club came close to extinction. Following their relegation to the Third Division the club went into adminsitration and were saved at the 11th hour by a consortium which included current chairman Steve Gibson.
Back to back promotions took the club into the First Division only two years after almost closing their doors permanently. However the next season they were straight back down to the Second Division. Middlesbrough were one of the founding members of the Premier League, although the club were relegated after only one season.
In 1995 the club were promoted again and moved into their new home of Riverside Stadium. Their stay in the Premiership was short lived and they were relegated in 1997. Despite finishing in 19th the club reached the final of both domestic cup competitions, losing both.
Riverside Stadium
After just one season in the Championship the club were promoted, finishing 2nd on 91 points. The side defied the odds and again reached the final of the League Cup, despite being in the Championship, losing 2 - 0 to Chelsea in extra time.
Since returning to the Premiership in 1998 the club have become a mainstay. They have not finshed lower than 14th since re-joining the top flight. The club lifted the League Cup in 03/04. In 2006, playing in Europe for only the second season in their history, the club reached the final of the UEFA Cup losing to Sevilla by a scoreline of 4-0.
In Football Manager
Middlesbrough, in FM 08 are an almost carbon copy of what they are like in real life. They have strength throughout the squad but not in depth and could do with some bolstering in every position to take them to a higher level. You start with a very young squad, the average age of the side is only 24 and some of the youngsters they possess are superb, like Lee Cattermole, Andrew Taylor and Stewart Downing.
The initial aim of the board is to obtain a top half finish which should be done fairly easily. To help you achieve this you are given a mere £5m, which is a relatively small budget in comparison to other clubs in the Premiership but with the players at your disposal, that shouldn't pose any real problem to you.
If you are feeling brave you could aim for European Qualification via your final league place, I feel this is possible and if you decide to aim that high the board will back you with an additional 2.75m taking you up to £7.75m and increased wage budget which would sit at £625k. If you do that and then make some budget adjustments you can raise your kitty up to around the £14m which is more than enough to bring in some new faces.
The squad
Goalkeepers'
Fighting it out to be handed the starting berth between the sticks are the Austrailian duo of Mark Schwarzer and Brad Jones. In my opinion the no1 position should be handed to the ageing but reliable Mark Schwarzer, at 34 only has another 2 or maybe three seasons left in him and at the start of the season he is the better option out of the two.
(Schwarzer)
As back up you have understudy Brad Jones. At 25 he is possibly a long term second choice keeper and although he is decent enough I wouldn't have him as my no1 and I may, if I were you, look at bringing in somebody else to take over from Schwarzer as he gets older and his stats start dropping.
Defenders'
Playing out on the right of a back four, I would recommend one of the clubs summer signings, Luke Young. The seven time England cap arrived from Charlton for a fee rumoured to be around the £2.5m mark and should be the automatic choice for this position. Without having another out and out right back to choose from you can pick either Andrew Davies or the super talented Seb Hines if Young picks up an injury or suspension.
On the opposite flank you have three players to choose from and they come in the form of Julio Arca, Emmanuel Pogatez and Andrew Taylor. I would have suggested using Pogatez and if he has a dip in form then opt to use Taylor, however Pogatez is out for around 5 months so the spot goes to the talented and potentially superb young English stalwart Taylor. In saying that, you cannot discount Arca but in my opinion he is a versatile squad player who should only really be used to cover injuries in any number of postitons.
Playing at centre back I would opt for the experience of Jonathan Woodgate, the clubs highest valued player at £7m, and the dependability of Robert Huth. Middlesbrough's youth academy has produced some excellent players over recent seasons and as back up to the main centre backs you have Seb Hines and Andrew Davies who can both double up as right backs. Also in the mix is Chris Riggot.
(Left to right:Taylor, Woodgate, Huth, Young)
Midfielders'
Middlesbrough have some decent midfielders but could do with some strengthening in this department. Like in defence I would go for using 4 players. Playing on the right I would opt for FM 07 superstar Sanli Tuncay. He may not be all that he was on last years version but I still think he is a cut above his only competitor for this position who is Gary O'Neil.
On the opposite flank you have England regular Stewart Downing and he will rampage up and down the wing tearing opposition defence's apart time and time again. If anything happens to the winger then you will have the ever versatile Julio Arca who can come in as cover, so I would look at bringing in another left sided midfielder.
Middlesbrough have 4 central midfielders to choose from. You have club captain George Boateng, Lee Cattermole, Mohammed Shawky and Brazilian Fabio Rochemback who is the only one of them with an overly offensive mindset.
I would use either George Boateng or Lee Cattermole as the gritty ball winning holding midfielder, rotating the two so Cattermole is getting additional first team experience as you have to remember, he is only 19. Playing in the other central midfield berth I would opt for Fabio Rochemback, giving him a sense of freedom to make foward runs in the hope of helping out the two strikers.
(left to right: Downing, Boateng, Rochemback and Tuncay)
Stikers'
In seasons past Middlesbrough have had some really talented hitmen like Yakabu and Mark Viduka. In this years version I feel this is where they are weakest. With four players to choose from, one of them being a 17 year old winger come striker, they do need some new faces to be brought in.
Of all the available players I would use the strength and height of Mido with the pace of Jeremie Aliadiere. The former Arsenal player feeds well of the flick ons from his Egyptian strike partner Mido.
Cover for the duo comes in the form of South Korean internationalist Lee Dong-Gook and hotly tipped youngster Jonathan Franks.
(left to right: Aliadiere and Mido)
Potential Stars
Middlesbrough's youth academy has become an integral part of their foundation, with several of their current first team members graduating from within the club, as opposed to bringing in expensive foriegners. As a result some of the best youngsters have already featured in the first team, so the three I am sharing with you are from the reserve and U18's.
Nathan Porrit - A lot of people will have heard of this youngster after his name was continually brought up in allegations regarding corruption in football. He has been dubbed the next Ryan Giggs and with some of the stats he has at a tender age of 17, its almost guaranteed that he will become a big player.
David Wheater - This young centre back made the break through into the first team two seasons ago making a couple of appearances. Since then he has spent time on loan at Doncaster, Wolves and Darlington to gain some first team experience. Although the likes of Seb Hines are slightly better, he is good enough to be flung in if required.
Herold Goulon - The 19 year old French defensive midfielder is another whom I rate highly and I think if you send him out on loan for a season or two then bring him back, he will be ready to challenge for a first team spot.
Tactical Recommendation
With the players you have at your disposal I would suggest using a flat 4-4-2 with certain players being allowed to push forward. The full backs should also be allowed to surge forward to help out the wingers getting crosses in on the overlap. Mido should win a lot of high balls, getting shots on goal and flick ons for other players to pounce on.
Transfer Recommendations'
I suggest you strengthen the squad in its entirety. The most essential departments requiring new faces would be a left winger and a striker. Followed by a right back and a goalkeeper to take over from Mark Schwarzer
Like my ther guides, I am not going to tell you who to buy as everyone has their own views on this.
Conclusion
Middlesbrough pose a bit of a challenge and they are not a one season game. It will take a couple of seasons to turn them into a dominant force pushing regulary for a European spot. With the right signings you can change that. Although I do think that UEFA Cup qualification in the first season is a reasonable target. To break into the top four will require some work and for those of you who play to win everything all of the time then I would have to say don't try Middlesbrough. For those of you who enjoy a bit of a challenge then Middlesbrough could very well prove to be the team to get you hooked on this years version.
Founded: 1876
Status: Professional
Reputation: National
Chairman Status: Loves the club
Favoured Personnel: Steve Gibson, Tony Mowbray, Colin Cooper
Fierce Rivals: Newcastle, Sunderland
Other Rivals: Chelsea, Leeds
Stadium: The Riverside Stadium
Capacity: 35,000 all seater
Pitch Size: Length: 105m Width:68m
Training Facilities: Top training facilities
Youth Facilities: Excellent youth facilities + youth acadamy
Media Prediction: 12th
Captain: George Boateng
Parent Clubs: None
Feeder Clubs: Darlington (England)
Transfer Budget: £5m
Wage Budget: £525k
In Real Life
Middlesbrough were formed in 1876 by members of the Middlesbrough Cricket Club. After three seasons the club moved from the Archery Ground in Albert Park to their new ground at Linthorpe Road. In the early years the club were playing as amatuers, this changed in 1889 when they turned professional. After only three years they reverted back to amatuer status and over the next 7 years playing as amatuers the club won 3 Northern League Titles and two F.A Amatuer Cups.
In 1899 the club returned to the professional leagues being elected into League Two. In 1902 the club won promotion to the First Division and also played their last game at Linthorpe Road and moved into their new home at Ayresom Park where they would remain until 1995.
In 1914 the club achieved its highest ever league position, finishing in third place in the First Division. However they never managed to stay at the top of the domestic game and only 10 years later they were relegated back into Division 2. A yoyo like few seasons followed and the club returned to the top flight after winning Division 2 in 1927. After one season in the top flight they dropped back down and won promotion again instantly.
In 1952 the club were relegated again and remained in Division 2 until 1966 when they were relegated to the Third Division but were promoted at the first attempt.
Jack Charlton
In 1975 Jack Charlton led the club to the Second Division League title in his first year as a coach.
In 1982 the club were relegegated to the Second Division and in 1986 the club came close to extinction. Following their relegation to the Third Division the club went into adminsitration and were saved at the 11th hour by a consortium which included current chairman Steve Gibson.
Back to back promotions took the club into the First Division only two years after almost closing their doors permanently. However the next season they were straight back down to the Second Division. Middlesbrough were one of the founding members of the Premier League, although the club were relegated after only one season.
In 1995 the club were promoted again and moved into their new home of Riverside Stadium. Their stay in the Premiership was short lived and they were relegated in 1997. Despite finishing in 19th the club reached the final of both domestic cup competitions, losing both.
Riverside Stadium
After just one season in the Championship the club were promoted, finishing 2nd on 91 points. The side defied the odds and again reached the final of the League Cup, despite being in the Championship, losing 2 - 0 to Chelsea in extra time.
Since returning to the Premiership in 1998 the club have become a mainstay. They have not finshed lower than 14th since re-joining the top flight. The club lifted the League Cup in 03/04. In 2006, playing in Europe for only the second season in their history, the club reached the final of the UEFA Cup losing to Sevilla by a scoreline of 4-0.
In Football Manager
Middlesbrough, in FM 08 are an almost carbon copy of what they are like in real life. They have strength throughout the squad but not in depth and could do with some bolstering in every position to take them to a higher level. You start with a very young squad, the average age of the side is only 24 and some of the youngsters they possess are superb, like Lee Cattermole, Andrew Taylor and Stewart Downing.
The initial aim of the board is to obtain a top half finish which should be done fairly easily. To help you achieve this you are given a mere £5m, which is a relatively small budget in comparison to other clubs in the Premiership but with the players at your disposal, that shouldn't pose any real problem to you.
If you are feeling brave you could aim for European Qualification via your final league place, I feel this is possible and if you decide to aim that high the board will back you with an additional 2.75m taking you up to £7.75m and increased wage budget which would sit at £625k. If you do that and then make some budget adjustments you can raise your kitty up to around the £14m which is more than enough to bring in some new faces.
The squad
Goalkeepers'
Fighting it out to be handed the starting berth between the sticks are the Austrailian duo of Mark Schwarzer and Brad Jones. In my opinion the no1 position should be handed to the ageing but reliable Mark Schwarzer, at 34 only has another 2 or maybe three seasons left in him and at the start of the season he is the better option out of the two.
(Schwarzer)
As back up you have understudy Brad Jones. At 25 he is possibly a long term second choice keeper and although he is decent enough I wouldn't have him as my no1 and I may, if I were you, look at bringing in somebody else to take over from Schwarzer as he gets older and his stats start dropping.
Defenders'
Playing out on the right of a back four, I would recommend one of the clubs summer signings, Luke Young. The seven time England cap arrived from Charlton for a fee rumoured to be around the £2.5m mark and should be the automatic choice for this position. Without having another out and out right back to choose from you can pick either Andrew Davies or the super talented Seb Hines if Young picks up an injury or suspension.
On the opposite flank you have three players to choose from and they come in the form of Julio Arca, Emmanuel Pogatez and Andrew Taylor. I would have suggested using Pogatez and if he has a dip in form then opt to use Taylor, however Pogatez is out for around 5 months so the spot goes to the talented and potentially superb young English stalwart Taylor. In saying that, you cannot discount Arca but in my opinion he is a versatile squad player who should only really be used to cover injuries in any number of postitons.
Playing at centre back I would opt for the experience of Jonathan Woodgate, the clubs highest valued player at £7m, and the dependability of Robert Huth. Middlesbrough's youth academy has produced some excellent players over recent seasons and as back up to the main centre backs you have Seb Hines and Andrew Davies who can both double up as right backs. Also in the mix is Chris Riggot.
(Left to right:Taylor, Woodgate, Huth, Young)
Midfielders'
Middlesbrough have some decent midfielders but could do with some strengthening in this department. Like in defence I would go for using 4 players. Playing on the right I would opt for FM 07 superstar Sanli Tuncay. He may not be all that he was on last years version but I still think he is a cut above his only competitor for this position who is Gary O'Neil.
On the opposite flank you have England regular Stewart Downing and he will rampage up and down the wing tearing opposition defence's apart time and time again. If anything happens to the winger then you will have the ever versatile Julio Arca who can come in as cover, so I would look at bringing in another left sided midfielder.
Middlesbrough have 4 central midfielders to choose from. You have club captain George Boateng, Lee Cattermole, Mohammed Shawky and Brazilian Fabio Rochemback who is the only one of them with an overly offensive mindset.
I would use either George Boateng or Lee Cattermole as the gritty ball winning holding midfielder, rotating the two so Cattermole is getting additional first team experience as you have to remember, he is only 19. Playing in the other central midfield berth I would opt for Fabio Rochemback, giving him a sense of freedom to make foward runs in the hope of helping out the two strikers.
(left to right: Downing, Boateng, Rochemback and Tuncay)
Stikers'
In seasons past Middlesbrough have had some really talented hitmen like Yakabu and Mark Viduka. In this years version I feel this is where they are weakest. With four players to choose from, one of them being a 17 year old winger come striker, they do need some new faces to be brought in.
Of all the available players I would use the strength and height of Mido with the pace of Jeremie Aliadiere. The former Arsenal player feeds well of the flick ons from his Egyptian strike partner Mido.
Cover for the duo comes in the form of South Korean internationalist Lee Dong-Gook and hotly tipped youngster Jonathan Franks.
(left to right: Aliadiere and Mido)
Potential Stars
Middlesbrough's youth academy has become an integral part of their foundation, with several of their current first team members graduating from within the club, as opposed to bringing in expensive foriegners. As a result some of the best youngsters have already featured in the first team, so the three I am sharing with you are from the reserve and U18's.
Nathan Porrit - A lot of people will have heard of this youngster after his name was continually brought up in allegations regarding corruption in football. He has been dubbed the next Ryan Giggs and with some of the stats he has at a tender age of 17, its almost guaranteed that he will become a big player.
David Wheater - This young centre back made the break through into the first team two seasons ago making a couple of appearances. Since then he has spent time on loan at Doncaster, Wolves and Darlington to gain some first team experience. Although the likes of Seb Hines are slightly better, he is good enough to be flung in if required.
Herold Goulon - The 19 year old French defensive midfielder is another whom I rate highly and I think if you send him out on loan for a season or two then bring him back, he will be ready to challenge for a first team spot.
Tactical Recommendation
With the players you have at your disposal I would suggest using a flat 4-4-2 with certain players being allowed to push forward. The full backs should also be allowed to surge forward to help out the wingers getting crosses in on the overlap. Mido should win a lot of high balls, getting shots on goal and flick ons for other players to pounce on.
Transfer Recommendations'
I suggest you strengthen the squad in its entirety. The most essential departments requiring new faces would be a left winger and a striker. Followed by a right back and a goalkeeper to take over from Mark Schwarzer
Like my ther guides, I am not going to tell you who to buy as everyone has their own views on this.
Conclusion
Middlesbrough pose a bit of a challenge and they are not a one season game. It will take a couple of seasons to turn them into a dominant force pushing regulary for a European spot. With the right signings you can change that. Although I do think that UEFA Cup qualification in the first season is a reasonable target. To break into the top four will require some work and for those of you who play to win everything all of the time then I would have to say don't try Middlesbrough. For those of you who enjoy a bit of a challenge then Middlesbrough could very well prove to be the team to get you hooked on this years version.
