Middlesbrough F.C.

Middlesbrough Football Club ( MID-əlz-brə) is a professional association football club based in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire. They compete in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Nicknamed "the Boro", they were formed in 1876 and are the 12th oldest football league club in England and Wales. The club have played at the Riverside Stadium since 1995, having previously played at Ayresome Park for 92 years, from 1903 to 1995. Middlesbrough were one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992, and have spent all but two seasons of their entire history as a professional club competing within the top two tiers of English football. Their highest league finish to date was third place in the top flight in the 1913–14 season. The outbreak of the First World War stunted their push for a first top division title, though the club pushed again during the inter-war years, finishing fourth in the 1938–39 season before the Second World War halted the English leagues and again prevented a push for a first title. The club came within minutes of folding in 1986 before they were saved by a consortium led by board member and later chairman Steve Gibson. A remarkable recovery saw the club immediately earn back-to-back promotions to the top division in the 1986–87 and 1987–88 seasons. The club were runners-up in the FA Cup and League Cup in 1997 while also being relegated following a controversial 3-point deduction, and losing another League Cup final the following season. Under Steve McClaren, the club won the League Cup in 2004, its first major silverware, and reached the 2006 UEFA Cup final. The club has played one Premier League season since relegation in 2009. Middlesbrough is the only major professional football club in the greater Teesside area (the 14th biggest urban...