Middlesbrough: Another Year Of Mediocrity?

Gareth Southgate's arrival at Riverside Stadium in 2006 proved to be a turning point in the club's path towards remaining in the English Premiership. His first season was considered, by most, as a more impressive one than the past 2007-2008 campaign with the Boro.

In the 2006-2007 season they managed 12 wins and 46 points, finishing 12th in the process, whilst in 2007-2008 the team recorded two fewer wins (10), and four fewer points (42), with the net result of finishing a place lower in 2007/08. Additionally they faced an embarressing FA Cup exit by Cardiff City.

Another drop in the 2008-2009 campaign saw the Smoggies finish with 38 points, extremely close to relegation zone.

Summer transfers for Boro

The summer transfer window for Boro saw Southgate splurge £7 million on two new signings, which he hopes can briefly raise hopes at the Riverside Stadium. The signing of Emnes and Digard have substantially reduced the age profile of the team in effect.

Emnes, the 20 year-old Dutchman, certainly has a promising future ahead of him. He has certainly impressed Sparta Rotterdam when he scored eight goals and became a fan favorite.

Digard, the 22 year-old Frenchman, has his playing style draw immediate comparisons to the french midfield rock Patrick Viera. Yet, from observing his performance in the U-21 French team, he does suffer to have an instant impact on a game, especially from such a sensitive position such as midfield.

Consequently, do these two youngsters really merit this kind of dough?

For some, the addition of two young and upcoming players would spell future success. For others, the development of such players are time consuming, especially if one a young player is attempting to adapt to a totally different system of play than the one he grew up learning.

Continue the Success of the Youth Academy

The youth academy at Middlesbrough has been high-volume in recent seasons, and arguably the most productive in the Premiership in terms of players brought through into the first team. 

While not all have gone on to establish themselves in the first team at the Riverside, there are still plenty who have come through the youth ranks in the current first team, such as David Wheater, Adam Johnson, Seb Hines and Matthew Bates. 

All of these are expected to make strong impacts this season in the Premiership. Keeping this supply line going will ensure that, like Arsenal, Middlesbrough may not have to resort to spending huge spending on transfers if they can keep them coming from the youth team.

Final Verdict

With long term programs in place to guarantee the future of Middlesbrough underway, although not terribly exciting, another season of slight improvement, (back to the total of 46 points managed in 2006/07), may be the most realistic target for Southgate and Middlesbrough for next season. 

While this might equal mediocrity in most people’s eyes, remaining comfortably in the Premiership, without falling into danger of relegation, (thereby guaranteeing themselves the substantial TV revenue and high crowd attendances) should be a more than satisfactory outcome, if achieved for Middlesbrough next season.