1992–93 Middlesbrough F.C. season

During the 1992–93 English football season, Middlesbrough competed in the inaugural season of the Premier League. It was Middlesbrough's first season in the top flight since relegation in 1988; Middlesbrough regained promotion to England's top flight by finishing second in the old Second Division (renamed the First Division after the foundation of the Premier League).

Middlesbrough
1992–93 season
ChairmanColin Henderson
ManagerLennie Lawrence
StadiumAyresome Park
Premier League21st (relegated)
FA CupFourth round
League CupSecond round
Top goalscorerWilkinson (15)
Average home league attendance16,724

Season summary

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Middlesbrough enjoyed a good start to the season, winning four of their first seven games – including a superb 4–1 home win over Yorkshire rivals and reigning champions Leeds United – a run that sent them sixth in the table. Unfortunately, they couldn't quite keep up the momentum but still, up to their thrilling 3–2 victory over Blackburn Rovers on 5 December 1992, they enjoyed stable mid-table form, winning six, drawing six and losing six of their first 18 games. Unfortunately, three consecutive draws followed and from then, starting from a 1–0 home defeat to strugglers Crystal Palace before the new year, the club struggled and went into freefall during the entire second half of the season, winning just three of their next 18 fixtures and picking up just ten points from a possible 54, a run that ultimately resulted in the club's relegation looking inevitable with three matches left.

However, a 3–0 win over Tottenham Hotspur gave them a very slim glimmer of hope for an unlikely survival; on the other hand, they would never look like pulling off the 'great escape' that relegation rivals Oldham Athletic would soon perfect. With just two matches left, they were already three points adrift of Sheffield United and five adrift of Crystal Palace, both having a game in hand. Despite a 3–2 win at Sheffield Wednesday, results went against them: Palace beating Ipswich Town 3–1, Sheffield United condemning Nottingham Forest to relegation by winning 2–0 at the City Ground and Oldham stunning title chasers Aston Villa 1–0 at Villa Park which also saw Manchester United clinching their first top-flight title for 26 years. With these results, Middlesbrough were left with a virtually impossible survival task, with only one game left and were three points adrift of Sheffield United who had two games left with a vastly superior goal difference of −3 against Boro's −21. They needed the Blades to lose both of their final games with a miracle 18-goal swing and to beat third-placed Norwich City in their final game for any chance of survival. Sadly, Boro's relegation was confirmed before a ball was kicked on their closing fixture as the Blades beat Everton 2–0 at Goodison Park. A 3–3 draw with Norwich City for Boro at least meant that they finished a difficult season on a high note in the final three games, going down fighting, and it gave them a glimpse of positivity in gaining promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt for next season. They finished in 21st place, five points adrift of safety.

Middlesbrough's kit was manufactured by Admiral. The shirt sponsor was Imperial Chemical Industries.

Final league table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
18 Southampton 42 13 11 18 54 61 −7 50
19 Oldham Athletic 42 13 10 19 63 74 −11 49
20 Crystal Palace (R) 42 11 16 15 48 61 −13 49 Relegation to Football League First Division
21 Middlesbrough (R) 42 11 11 20 54 75 −21 44
22 Nottingham Forest (R) 42 10 10 22 41 62 −21 40
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Results

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Premier League

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Date Opponents Home/
Away
Result
F–A
Scorers
15 August 1992 Coventry City A 1–2 Wilkinson
19 August 1992 Manchester City H 2–0 Slaven (2)
22 August 1992 Leeds H 4–1 Wilkinson (2), Wright, Hendrie
29 August 1992 Southampton A 1–2 Wilkinson
1 September 1992 Ipswich H 2–2 Kernaghan, Wilkinson
5 September 1992 Sheffield United H 2–0 Falconer, Wright
12 September 1992 Manchester City A 1–0 Own Goal
19 September 1992 Queens Park Rangers A 3–3 Kernaghan, Wright, Falconer
26 September 1992 Aston Villa H 2–3 Slaven, Own Goal
3 October 1992 Manchester United H 1–1 Slaven
17 October 1992 Tottenham Hotspur A 2–2 Mustoe, Wilkinson
21 October 1992 Nottingham Forest A 0–1
24 October 1992 Sheffield Wednesday H 1–1 Wilkinson
31 October 1992 Norwich City A 1–1 Wilkinson
7 November 1992 Liverpool A 1–4 Phillips
21 November 1992 Wimbledon H 2–0 Hendrie, Morris
28 November 1992 Oldham Athletic A 1–4 Falconer
5 December 1992 Blackburn Rovers H 3–2 Hendrie (3)
11 December 1992 Chelsea H 0–0
19 December 1992 Arsenal A 1–1 Own Goal
26 December 1992 Everton A 2–2 Hignett (2)
28 December 1992 Crystal Palace H 0–1
9 January 1993 Queens Park Rangers H 0–1
17 January 1993 Aston Villa A 1–5 Hignett
26 January 1993 Southampton H 2–1 Mohan, Wilkinson
30 January 1993 Leeds United A 0–3
6 February 1993 Coventry City H 0–2
9 February 1993 Sheffield United A 0–2
20 February 1993 Nottingham Forest H 1–2 Phillips
27 February 1993 Manchester United A 0–3
2 March 1993 Ipswich Town A 1–0 Wilkinson
9 March 1993 Wimbledon A 0–2
13 March 1993 Liverpool H 1–2 Own Goal
20 March 1993 Blackburn Rovers A 1–1 Hendrie
22 March 1993 Oldham Athletic H 2–3 Mohan, Hignett
3 April 1993 Chelsea A 0–4
6 April 1993 Arsenal H 1–0 Hendrie
10 April 1993 Everton H 1–2 Wilkinson
12 April 1993 Crystal Palace A 1–4 Wilkinson
20 April 1993 Tottenham Hotspur H 3–0 Wright (2), Wilkinson
1 May 1993 Sheffield Wednesday A 3–2 Falconer, Pollock, Hendrie
8 May 1993 Norwich City H 3–3 Falconer, Wilkinson, Hendrie

FA Cup

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers
13 January 1993 Round 3 Chelsea H 2–1 Wright, Falconer
23 January 1993 Round 4 Nottingham Forest A 1–1 Falconer
3 February 1992 Round 4 replay Nottingham Forest H 0–3

Coca Cola Cup

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Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A
Scorers
23 September 1992 Round 2
First leg
Newcastle United A 0–0
7 October 1992 Round 2
Second leg
Newcastle United H 1–3 Wilkinson

First-team squad

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[1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   ENG Andy Collett
GK   ENG Brian Horne (on loan from Millwall)
GK   ENG Ian Ironside
GK   ENG Stephen Pears
GK   ENG Ben Roberts
DF   ENG Michael Barron
DF   IRL Curtis Fleming[2]
DF   ENG Phil Gilchrist
DF   ENG Jon Gittens
DF   ENG Chris Kamara (on loan from Luton Town)
DF   ENG Alan Kernaghan (captain)
DF   ENG Richard Liburd
DF   ENG Nicky Mohan
DF   IRL Chris Morris[3]
DF   ENG Gary Parkinson
DF   ENG Jimmy Phillips
DF   ENG Andy Todd
DF   SCO Derek Whyte
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   IRL Graham Kavanagh
MF   IRL Alan Moore
MF   ENG Robbie Mustoe
MF   ENG Michael Oliver
MF   ENG Andy Peake
MF   ENG Jamie Pollock
MF   ENG Mark Proctor
MF   ENG Phil Stamp
MF   ENG Tommy Wright
FW   SCO Willie Falconer
FW   SCO John Hendrie
FW   ENG Craig Hignett
FW   ENG Neil Illman
FW   LCA Dwight Marshall[4] (on loan from Plymouth Argyle)
FW   IRL Bernie Slaven[5]
FW   ENG Paul Wilkinson

References

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  1. ^ "All Middlesbrough players: 1993". www.11v11.com.
  2. ^ Fleming was born in Manchester, England, but was raised in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
  3. ^ Morris was born in Newquay, England, but qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his mother.
  4. ^ Marshall was born in Saint Lucia, Jamaica (now Saint Lucia).
  5. ^ Slaven was born in Paisley, Scotland, but qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandmother.