2007–08 Middlesbrough F.C. season
888.com's contract with the club expired, and after prolonged negotiations leading to a delay in the release of the new kit,[5] Middlesbrough announced that the new sponsors would be GPS manufacturer Garmin on 20 July 2007.
[10] This meant Boro had only two strikers remaining in Yakubu and Lee Dong-Gook having also released Malcolm Christie and Danny Graham at the ends of their contracts.
Right back Luke Young was also brought in on 26 July 2007 for £2.5 million from relegated Charlton Athletic following the departures of Abel Xavier and Stuart Parnaby on free transfers.
[13] After just short of a hundred appearances, youth academy graduate James Morrison moved on to West Bromwich Albion for an initial £1.75 million.
[14] Two games into the league season, Egyptian striker Mido was brought in from Tottenham Hotspur for £6 million in order to improve the team's attacking options, beating off competition from Sunderland and Birmingham City.
[22] At the same time, Jason Euell moved to Southampton on a free transfer after having his contract cancelled,[23] and David Knight was released to join Swansea City.
[25] The early part of the transfer window saw prolonged and widespread reports linking Boro with Brazilian strikers Afonso Alves of Heerenveen[26][27] and Fred of Lyon,[28][29] interest which was later confirmed by Gareth Southgate.
AZ Alkmaar claimed they had signed a pre-contract agreement with Alves, though the Dutch FA ruled against them, while Southgate said a move for Fred was looking "complicated" and "unlikely".
The first move however, saw Academy product Andrew Davies leave the club for Southampton for an undisclosed fee, following a successful three-month loan spell.
[36] Meanwhile, Celtic signed a pre-contract agreement with Middlesbrough's young striker Ben Hutchinson after the club failed to agree a new contract with the 20-year-old.
[78] The game was suffered from allegations of abusive chants towards Mido by Newcastle United fans, prompting an inquiry into the incident by the FA.
[82] Middlesbrough, still struggling with injuries, made it almost a month without a win when they lost 0–2 to Everton, Yakubu playing but not scoring in the victory over his former side.
Wheater, Cattermole and Aliadière returned to the starting lineup, but the match began the same way as Middlesbrough's previous four: conceding a goal within the opening ten minutes.
[94] Julio Arca made his first start since September following his return from injury, replacing Rochemback who was suspended after picking up five yellow cards.
[95] The festive programme continued badly with a 0–3 defeat away at Birmingham City, Downing opening the scoring with an own goal, giving the hosts their first home win under new manager Alex McLeish.
Tuncay gave Boro the lead against a Portsmouth side that hadn't scored at home since September, and it was enough to give them their third away victory of the season, their second 1–0.
[99] Boro didn't begin the new year the way they had hoped in their game versus Everton at home, failing to take their chances and succumbing to a 0–2 defeat.
[100] Reserve team captain Jonathan Grounds made his Boro debut for the visit of Liverpool to the Riverside, with Pogatetz suffering with a virus.
[102] Manager Gareth Southgate announced after the game that Boateng had been relieved of his captaincy to allow him to "be free in his mind to enjoy his football".
[105] Aliadière got his third goal of the season at home to Fulham, while Alves made his debut after an hour as Boro did the double over their opponents with a 1–0 win.
[109] Following the Reading game was the home FA Cup tie versus Cardiff, where the team were defeated 2–0, producing a dreadful performance.
Changes saw Arca dropped from the squad after a run of poor performances and Rochemback moved to the bench as Shawky and Boateng formed the new centre midfield partnership.
Referee Steve Bennett gave Villa a penalty for a handball by Luke Young while the defender was looking the other way, which Gareth Barry slotted home.
[117] Grounds replacing the injured Taylor was the only change to the side for the game at White Hart Lane, which saw them up against former centre-back Jonathan Woodgate.
[120] Chris Riggott was recalled from his loan period at Stoke City for the home tie versus Portsmouth, and put straight into the side also featuring the return of Mark Schwarzer and Fabio Rochemback.
In the second half Tuncay scored from another corner to put Middlesbrough 2–0 up, and complete the double over Portsmouth, along with their first two-goal winning margin since 1 September 2007 against Birmingham.
At Tottenham, Mohamed Shawky and Graeme Owens made their first senior appearances for Boro, with Tom Craddock making only his second, as part of an injury ravaged side devoid of first team players in both attack and defence.
A Paddy Kenny own goal after 114 minutes of play gave Boro the win and a home tie to Cardiff City in the sixth round.
[140] It was confirmed on 19 November 2007 that goalkeeping coach Paul Barron had left the club to take up a similar role with North East rivals Newcastle United.
In the 2007–08 Premier Academy League the team finished fourth out of ten teams in Academy Group D. The Under-15s side lifted the Nike Trophy in April in the tournament held over four days at the University of Warwick, beating the U15 sides of Reading, Tottenham Hotspur, Derby County, West Ham United, Manchester City and Sheffield United to lift the trophy.
