Middlesbrough's renaissance

The city of Middlesbrough is currently experiencing somewhat of a renaissance, and the same can be said for its football club.

Surrounded by ironstone deposits, Middlesbrough was one of the driving forces for the industrial revolution during the turn of the 20th century. When the world became less dependent on iron and steel, the city fell into disrepute and was known as one of the worst places to live in the United Kingdom despite still having the third largest port.

Other than being the birthplace of the famous Captain James Cook, Middlesbrough FC -- affectionately nicknamed ‘Boro’ or ‘Teessiders’ by their fans -- is the main source of pride for the city.

Due to the downtrodden image of its city, the people of Middlesbrough have carried this depressing sentiment over to the Riverside Stadium. Whether it is true or not, fans of the team believe their club tends to collapse during the late stages of a match, or even the season as a whole, which has given rise to the popular phrase, ‘Typical Boro’.

In the last decade, Middlesbrough has desperately tried to reverse its poor image.

Middlesbrough was the first city in the UK to implement the CCTV cameras and loudspeakers to control the crime rate, which is still nearly twice that of the UK average and fourth highest in England despite seeing reductions every year since 2007.

The football club is also doing its part as disturbances in the past have forced the city to ban alcohol consumption in the stadium seats. Furthermore, the standing section has been entirely replaced by seats because the fans in this section were just too rowdy.

Ticket prices for children were reduced, encouraging greater family attendance at the games. As a result, Middlesbrough FC also has one of the highest proportions locally born as well as female season-ticket holders in Britain.

However, all these changes have made attending games at the Riverside a more subdued affair, and in my opinion, quite boring.

As one of the founding 20 teams of the Premier League in 1992, Middlesbrough had been a mediocre mid-table side until 2001, when the club appointed manager Steve McClaren. Shortly after, in 2004, Middlesbrough won the Carling Cup for their first and only trophy. The win ensured the team qualified for Europe, another first.

Though they were eliminated in the UEFA Europa League Round of 16, Boro managed to qualify for the event again the following year. This time they qualified based on league standings after a crucial Mark Schwarzer penalty-shot save against Manchester City in extra time of the last game of the season.

A series of incredible three-goal comebacks in the second leg of the quarter-finals and the semifinals put Boro through to their first European final against Sevilla. However, the Spanish side was a class above the Teesiders and triumphed 4-0.

It didn’t matter. The city of Middlesbrough was in jubilation just to make it that far.

Not only did it give the team increased publicity, but it also introduced the world to McClaren, who was the architect of their improbable run.

Shortly after, the English coach left Middlesbrough to take the high-pressured position of being England manager after Sven-Goran Eriksson failed to reach the semifinals in the 2006 World Cup. McLaren actually fared worse than the Swede as England didn’t even qualify for Euro 2008 and was promptly sacked.

This left a big hole for Middlesbrough. In a bold move, chairman Steve Gibson decided to anoint former England player and Boro captain Gareth Southgate as the new manager. This was considered a controversial decision as Southgate had absolutely no managerial experience and didn’t possess the required coaching qualifications (UEFA Pro License); he received special exemption to continue managing, while taking the UEFA Pro course.

The results were disastrous. Within three years Middlesbrough were relegated from the Premiership to the Football League Championship. Southgate was finally let go in October of 2009 after a poor start in the new league.

The team then suffered through two years of Gordon Strachan and his Scottish imports, whom he knew from his days as Celtic manager. Finally, current bench boss Tony Mowbray was hired near the end of last season, and turned things around, restoring hope for Boro fans.

This season, Middlesbrough is a contender in the League Championship and currently sits fourth in the table. If the campaign were to end today, Boro would play in a four-team playoff for the third and final promotion spot back to the Premiership.

However, even as it stands, the team is well in range of Southampton and West Ham, who sit atop the league and more importantly, the two automatic trips to compete with the Premiership big boys.

So, can they pull off a dramatic turnaround or will it just be another case of typical Boro?