Portsmouth v Middlesbrough

The club was founded in 1898 with John Brickwood, owner of the local brewery, as chairman, and Frank Brettell as the club's first manager. The club joined the Southern League in 1899 and their first league match was played at Chatham Town on 2 September 1899 (a 1-0 victory), followed three days later by the first match at Fratton Park against local rivals Southampton. That first season was hugely successful, with the club winning 20 out of 28 league matches, earning them the runner-up spot in the league. 1910-11 saw Portsmouth(Click here to buy Portsmouth tickets) relegated, but with the recruitment of Bob Brown as manager the team were promoted the next season.

Football was suspended during World War I, but following the resumption of matches Portsmouth(Click here to buy Portsmouth tickets) won the Southern League for the second time. Continuing success saw them in the Third Division for the 1920-21 season. They finished 12th that year, but won the league in the 1923-24 season. The club continued to perform well in the Second Division, winning promotion by finishing 2nd in the 1926-27 season, gaining a record 9-1 win over Notts County along the way.

Portsmouth(Click here to buy Portsmouth tickets)'s debut season in the First Division was a struggle. The next season they continued to falter, losing 10-0 to Leicester City, still a club record defeat. However, despite their failings in the league, that season also saw Portsmouth(Click here to buy Portsmouth tickets) reach the FA Cup final for the first time, which they lost to Bolton Wanderers.

Portsmouth(Click here to buy Portsmouth tickets) managed to survive relegation, and their fortunes began to change. The 1933-34 season saw Portsmouth(Click here to buy Portsmouth tickets) again reach the FA Cup Final, beating Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City and Birmingham City on the way. Unfortunately the club was again defeated in the final, this time to Manchester City.

Having established themselves in the top flight, the 1938-39 season saw Portsmouth(Click here to buy Portsmouth tickets) reach their third FA Cup Final. This time the club managed to defeat the favourites, Wolves, convincingly 4-1. Bert Barlow scored twice whilst Cliff Parker and Jock Anderson completed the famous victory.

League football was again suspended due to World War II, meaning Pompey hold the unusual distinction of holding the FA Cup for the longest uninterrupted period as the trophy wasn't contested again until the 1945-46 season.

League football resumed for the 1946-47 campaign. In Pompey's Golden Jubilee season of 1948-49, the club were tipped to be the first team of the 20th century to win the Football League and FA Cup double. However, Pompey crashed out of the FA Cup in the semi-final against Leicester City, but made up for it by claiming the league title in spectacular fashion. That season also saw a record attendance of 51,385, a record which still stands to this day.

The club retained the title the following year, beating Aston Villa 5-1 on the last day of the season, and are thus one of only five English teams to have won back to back titles since World War II. Although the team finished third in 1954-55, subsequent seasons saw Pompey struggle and they were relegated to the Second Division in 1959.

Portsmouth(Click here to buy Portsmouth tickets) went down to the Third Division in 1961 but were promoted back to the Second Division at the first time of asking under the guidance of George Smith. Despite limited financial means, Smith maintained Portsmouth(Click here to buy Portsmouth tickets)'s Second Division status throughout the sixties until moving upstairs to become General Manager in April 1970.

A cash injection, that accompanied the arrival of John Deacon as chairman in 1972, failed to improve Pompey's league position. With Deacon unable to continue bankrolling the club on the same scale, Pompey were relegated to the Third Division in 1976.

In November 1976 the club found itself needing to raise £25,000 to pay off debts and so avoid bankruptcy. With players having to be sold to ease the club's financial situation, and no money available for replacements, Pompey were forced to rely on an untried manager, Ian St John and inexperienced young players. Consequently, they were relegated to the Fourth Division in 1978.

Pompey were promoted back to Division Three in 1980, and in the 1982-83 season they won the Third Division championship, gaining promotion back to the Second Division. Under Alan Ball's management, Pompey narrowly missed winning promotion to the First Division twice before finally succeeding in 1986-87. Unfortunately, by the middle of the 1987-88 season the club was again in grave financial trouble, and Pompey were relegated straight back to the Second Division. The summer of 1988 saw Deacon sell the club to London based businessman and former QPR Chairman, Jim Gregory.

Jim Smith's arrival as manager at the start of the 1991-92 season, combined with the emergence of some good young players, sparked a revival in the team's fortunes and that year Pompey reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing on penalties to eventual winners Liverpool after a replay. The following season, Pompey missed out on promotion to the FA Premier League only by virtue of having scored one less goal than West Ham United.

In the summer of 1996 Terry Venables arrived at Pompey as a consultant, later taking over as chairman after buying the club for £1. The team enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in 1996-97, beating FA Premier League side Leeds United en route, but finished just short of the qualifying places for the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League.

Pompey's centenary season, 1998-99, saw a serious financial crisis hit the club, and in December 1998 Portsmouth(Click here to buy Portsmouth tickets) went into financial administration. Milan Mandarić saved the club with a takeover deal in May 1999, and the new chairman immediately started investing. However the club only survived on the last day of the 2000-2001 season when they won their final game and Huddersfield Town lost theirs, keeping Portsmouth(Click here to buy Portsmouth tickets) up at their expense.

Harry Redknapp took over as manager in early 2002, with Jim Smith as assistant. Just over a year later, Pompey were celebrating winning the Division One Championship and promotion to the Premier League, winning the title with a game to spare.

Since arriving in the Premier League, the club finished 13th, 16th and 17th in its first three seasons before being bought by businessman Alexandre Gaydamak in January 2006. With funds available for the manager to make big-name signings, the club finished their 2006-2007 season in the Premier League in the top half of the table for the first time.

Rumours surfaced in October 2007 about the possibility of Gaydamak selling his stake in the club, with Irish property developers Brian and Luke Comer mentioned as possible suitors.

The football club was originally formed by Middlesbrough(Click here to buy Middlesbrough tickets) Cricket team players to stay fit during the winter. They won the FA Amateur Cup in 1895 and again in 1898. The club turned professional in 1889, but reverted to amateur status in 1892. They turned professional permanently in 1899. After two seasons, they won promotion to the First Division, where they would remain for the next 22 years.

In 1903 the club moved to Ayresome Park, their home for the next 92 years. In 1905 the club sanctioned the transfer of Alf Common for £1000, a record fee. Over the next few years, their form fluctuated greatly, rising to 6th in 1907–08 before dropping to 17th two seasons later. The club rose to their highest league finish to date, 3rd, in 1913–14. World War I soon intervened and football was suspended.

Before competitive football resumed, Boro won the Northern Victory League, but the team were unable to maintain their previous form and finished the 1919–20 season in mid-table. They remained in the First Division for the next few seasons, but were relegated in 1923–24 after finishing bottom, ten points adrift of their nearest rivals.

Three seasons later, they won the Division Two title. During that season, debutant George Camsell, who had signed from Third Division North side Durham City the previous season, finished with a record 59 league goals, which included nine hat tricks. He would continue as top scorer for each of the next ten seasons. Their tenure back in the top flight lasted only one season, and the club were relegated. They were promoted at the first attempt in 1928–29, winning another Second Division title. Boro then remained in the First Division until 1954.

The decade before the war saw the emergence of Wilf Mannion and George Hardwick, both of whom would go on to become England internationals in the years ahead. Boro climbed to fourth in the last full season before World War II and were expected to challenge for the title next season, but the war intervened. After the war, the club was unable to recover the form of the previous seasons and hovered around mid-table and exited in the early rounds of the FA Cup. Soon afterwards the team began to falter, eventually suffering relegation in 1953–54. This was the start of a 20 year spell outside the top division, but saw the emergence of one of the club's top goalscorers, Brian Clough, who scored 204 goals in 222 games, before he left for Sunderland. Over that period, Boro maintained reasonable progress in the Second Division but were never serious contenders for promotion. After a fourth place finish in 1962–63, Boro endured a steady decline and were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history in 1966.

New manager Stan Anderson returned the club to the second flight at the first attempt. Boro then would not finish below ninth during the next eight seasons. The FA Cup saw the club never get past the quarter-finals, a feat they were still yet to accomplish in their history. By 1974 Jack Charlton had taken over as manager and guided the team back to the top flight. They ensured promotion as early as 23 March, and with eight games of the season left, they became runaway champions, finishing with a record 65 points.

Back in the top flight, the team had some reasonable cup success, reaching later rounds, but nothing more. 1975–76 however was when Boro won their first silverware as a professional side, lifting the Anglo-Scottish Cup in its first season after a two-legged final win over Fulham.

Boro experienced severe financial difficulties during the mid-1980s. Middlesbrough(Click here to buy Middlesbrough tickets) were dropping down the table, and finished 19th in the 1984–85 season. In April 1986 the club had to borrow £30,000 from the PFA to pay wages. The final game of the season saw Boro relegated to the Third Division once more. That summer, the club called in the Provisional Liquidator and shortly afterwards, the club was wound up and the gates to Ayresome Park were padlocked. Without the £350,000 capital required for Football League registration, a new rule, it seemed inevitable that the club would fold permanently. However, Steve Gibson, a member of the board at the time, brought together a consortium and with ten minutes to spare before the deadline, they completed their registration with the Football League for the 1986–87 season. Following the registration came both a change of club crest and a change of the official company name to Middlesbrough(Click here to buy Middlesbrough tickets) Football and Athletic Club (1986) Ltd.

Over the next two seasons, Boro gained successive promotions into Division Two and then into Division One. The next season though, they came straight back down to Division Two, and with it came the then British transfer record move of Gary Pallister to Manchester United for £2.3m. Despite constant promotion and relegation, Middlesbrough(Click here to buy Middlesbrough tickets) were founder members of the FA Premier League for the 1992–93 season.

Player-manager Bryan Robson, from Manchester United, took charge in 1994 and Middlesbrough(Click here to buy Middlesbrough tickets) were brought back into national attention.Following promotion to the Premier League and high-profile purchases like diminutive Brazilian Juninho, many considered Middlesbrough(Click here to buy Middlesbrough tickets) were on the way up. However, a difficult 1996–97 season was compounded by a deduction of three points imposed just after Christmas, as punishment for the club's failure to fulfill a fixture against Blackburn, which ultimately resulted in relegation. Without the points deduction, Boro would have had enough points to avoid relegation. At the same time, the club managed to reach both the League and FA cup finals for the first time, but lost out in both. They were again runners up in the League Cup final the next year too, despite being in the second tier

The 2003–04 season was the most successful in the club's history as they finally won a major trophy after beating Bolton 2–1 in the League Cup final under manager Steve McClaren. This success also ensured that Boro would qualify for Europe — the UEFA Cup — for the first time, in which they reached the last 16. UEFA cup qualification was achieved for the second consecutive year after a dramatic 1–1 away draw with Manchester City thanks to a late penalty save from Mark Schwarzer in the last game of the season.

On 27 April 2006, Middlesbrough(Click here to buy Middlesbrough tickets) reached the UEFA Cup final in Eindhoven, following two comebacks from 3–0 down. However, the team lost 4–0 to Sevilla. Following the cup final, McClaren left to head up the England team, and captain Gareth Southgate took over, despite not having the coaching qualifications, but he was allowed to continue after receiving special dispensation.