1988–89 Middlesbrough F.C. season

During the 1988–89 English football season, Middlesbrough finished third from bottom in the Football League First Division and were relegated after just one season.

Middlesbrough
1988–89 season
ChairmanColin Henderson
ManagerBruce Rioch
StadiumAyresome Park
First Division18th
FA CupThird round
League CupSecond round
Simod CupFourth round
Top goalscorerLeague: Slaven (15)
All: Slaven (18)
Highest home attendance25,197 (vs Liverpool, 11 March 1989)
Lowest home attendance6,853 (vs Portsmouth, 21 December 1988)

After a decent first half of the season, having occupied seventh place in November, they won just one of their last 17 League matches and fell into the relegation places on the final day of the season after losing 1–0 to Sheffield Wednesday.[1] Bernie Slaven was one of the First Division's top scorers with 15 goals in the League, but Peter Davenport scored just four times after signing from Manchester United.

Middlesbrough were eliminated from both the FA Cup and the League Cup at the round they entered each competition. They were beaten by lower league opposition, Grimsby Town and Tranmere Rovers respectively.[2]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
16 Luton Town 38 10 11 17 42 52 −10 41
17 Aston Villa 38 9 13 16 45 56 −11 40
18 Middlesbrough (R) 38 9 12 17 44 61 −17 39 Relegation to the Second Division
19 West Ham United (R) 38 10 8 20 37 62 −25 38
20 Newcastle United (R) 38 7 10 21 32 63 −31 31
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(R) Relegated

Results

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Football League First Division

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27 August 1988 1 Derby County 1–0 Middlesbrough Derby
Stadium: Baseball Ground
Attendance: 19,432
3 September 1988 2 Middlesbrough 2–3 Norwich City Middlesbrough
Mowbray  
Burke  
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 18,595
10 September 1988 3 Manchester United 1–0 Middlesbrough Manchester
Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 40,442
17 September 1988 4 Middlesbrough 1–0 Wimbledon Middlesbrough
Hamilton   Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 17,709
24 September 1988 5 Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 Middlesbrough London
Slaven  
Mowbray  
Stadium: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 23,427
1 October 1988 6 Coventry City 3–4 Middlesbrough Coventry
Slaven      
Burke  
Stadium: Highfield Road
Attendance: 14,527
8 October 1988 7 Middlesbrough 1–0 West Ham United Middlesbrough
Pallister   Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 19,608
22 October 1988 8 Middlesbrough 2–1 Luton Town Middlesbrough
Slaven  
Cooper  
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 17,792
29 October 1988 10 Middlesbrough 4–2 Millwall Middlesbrough
Slaven  
Ripley  
Burke  
Parkinson  
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 19,788
5 November 1988 11 Liverpool 3–0 Middlesbrough Liverpool
Rush  
Aldridge  
Beardsley  
Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 39,489
19 November 1988 13 Arsenal 3–0 Middlesbrough London
Merson    
Rocastle  
Stadium: Highbury
Attendance: 32,294
26 November 1988 14 Middlesbrough 0–1 Sheffield Wednesday Middlesbrough
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 19,310
3 December 1988 15 Nottingham Forest 2–2 Middlesbrough Nottingham
Brennan  
Ripley  
Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 17,742
10 December 1988 16 Middlesbrough 3–3 Aston Villa Middlesbrough
Brennan  
Hamilton  
Mowbray  
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 18,096
17 December 1988 17 Middlesbrough 0–0 Charlton Athletic Middlesbrough
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 16,065
26 December 1988 18 Everton 2–1 Middlesbrough Liverpool
Glover   Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 32,651
31 December 1988 19 Norwich City 0–0 Middlesbrough Norwich
Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 16,021
14 January 1989 21 Southampton 1–3 Middlesbrough Southampton
Kerr  
Slaven  
Burke  
Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 13,157
21 January 1989 22 Middlesbrough 2–2 Tottenham Hotspur Middlesbrough
Cooper  
Ripley  
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 23,691
4 February 1989 23 Middlesbrough 1–1 Coventry City Middlesbrough
Slaven   Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 17,352
18 February 1989 24 Luton Town 1–0 Middlesbrough Luton
Stadium: Kenilworth Road
Attendance: 8,187
21 February 1989 25 Millwall 2–0 Middlesbrough London
Stadium: The Den
Attendance: 11,396
26 February 1989 26 Middlesbrough 1–1 Newcastle United Middlesbrough
Slaven   Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 24,385
11 March 1989 27 Middlesbrough 0–4 Liverpool Middlesbrough
Beardsley  
Houghton  
Aldridge  
McMahon  
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 25,197
18 March 1989 28 Middlesbrough 0–1 Derby County Middlesbrough
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 16,580
25 March 1989 29 Wimbledon 1–1 Middlesbrough London
Slaven   Stadium: Plough Lane
Attendance: 11,396
27 March 1989 30 Middlesbrough 3–3 Everton Middlesbrough
Slaven  
Parkinson
Davenport  
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 23,151
1 April 1989 31 Charlton Athletic 2–0 Middlesbrough London
Stadium: Selhurst Park
Attendance: 6,696
8 April 1989 32 Middlesbrough 3–3 Southampton Middlesbrough
Hamilton  
Slaven  
Burke  
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 16,983
11 April 1989 33 West Ham United 1–2 Middlesbrough London
Keen   Slaven     Stadium: Upton Park
Attendance: 16,217
18 April 1989 34 Queens Park Rangers 0–0 Middlesbrough London
Stadium: Loftus Road
Attendance: 10,347
29 April 1989 36 Aston Villa 1–1 Middlesbrough Birmingham
Davenport   Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 18,590
6 May 1989 37 Middlesbrough 0–1 Arsenal Middlesbrough
Hayes   Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 21,803

FA Cup

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7 January 1989 3 Middlesbrough 1–2 Grimsby Town Middlesbrough
Slaven   Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 19,190

League Cup

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28 September 1988 2 (1st leg) Middlesbrough 0–0 Tranmere Rovers Middlesbrough
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 12,084
11 October 1988 2 (2nd leg) Tranmere Rovers 1–0 Middlesbrough Birkenhead
Stadium: Prenton Park
Attendance: 8,617

Simod Cup

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14 December 1988 1 Middlesbrough 1–0 Oldham Athletic Middlesbrough
Glover   Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 7,439
21 December 1988 2 Middlesbrough 2–1 Portsmouth Middlesbrough
Slaven  
Glover  
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 6,853
11 January 1989 3 Middlesbrough 1–0 Coventry City Middlesbrough
Davenport   Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 9,910
28 January 1989 4 Middlesbrough 2–3 Crystal Palace Middlesbrough
Slaven  
Cooper  
Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 16,314

Squad

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Appearances and goals

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Appearance and goalscoring records for all the players who were in the Middlesbrough F.C. first team squad during the 1988–89 season.

No. Pos Nat Player Total Division 1 FA Cup League Cup Simod Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   ENG Stephen Pears 33 0 26 0 1 0 2 0 4 0
GK   ENG Kevin Poole 12 0 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF   ENG Colin Cooper 42 2 35 2 1 0 2 0 4 0
DF   IRL Alan Kernaghan 26 0 23 0 0 0 2 0 1 0
DF   ENG Nicky Mohan 8 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
DF   ENG Tony Mowbray 44 3 37 3 1 0 2 0 4 0
DF   ENG Gary Pallister 44 1 37 1 1 0 2 0 4 0
DF   ENG Gary Parkinson 41 2 36 2 0 0 2 0 3 0
MF   ENG Mark Barham 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF   ENG Mark Brennan 31 3 25 3 1 0 2 0 3 0
MF   ENG Mark Burke 33 5 29 5 1 0 1 0 2 0
MF   ENG Gary Gill 10 0 8 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
MF   ENG Dean Glover 15 3 12 1 1 0 0 0 2 2
MF   SCO Gary Hamilton 43 4 36 4 1 0 2 0 4 0
MF   ENG Paul Kerr 24 1 20 1 0 0 2 0 2 0
MF   ENG Mark Proctor 10 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MF   ENG Stuart Ripley 42 3 36 3 1 0 2 0 3 0
FW   ENG Peter Davenport 28 5 24 4 1 0 0 0 3 1
FW   ENG Paul Proudlock 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
FW   ENG Trevor Senior 5 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
FW   IRL Bernie Slaven 44 18 37 15 1 1 2 0 4 2

References

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  1. ^ Vickers, Anthony (26 November 2017). "The Middlesbrough FC year that was: Fairytale fades, big money flop & and final day despair". Teesside Live. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  2. ^ Jones, Richard (2002). The Essential History of Middlesbrough. Headline. ISBN 0755311434.