| 1986-87 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Colin Henderson |
| Manager | Bruce Rioch |
| Football League Third Division | 2nd |
| FA Cup | 3rd round |
| League Cup | 2nd round |
| Top goalscorer | League:Bernie Slaven (17) All:Bernie Slaven (21) |
| Highest home attendance | 18,523 vWigan Athletic Away: 13,835 vAFC Bournemouth |
| Lowest home attendance | 3,690 vPort Vale[1] Away: 2,788 vNewport County |
During the 1986–87 season,Middlesbrough participated in theFootball League Third Division following their relegation theprevious season. They were promoted back to theSecond Division at the end of the season having finished second in the league.
During the 1986–87 season, Middlesbrough maintained the white band on their home kit from the previous two seasons and were sponsored byDickens.[2]
        Home colours |    Away colours
|
The financial problems that had been plaguing the club since the early 1980s almost led the club into extinction following their relegation the previous season.
AfterAlf Duffield's resignation near the end of the previous season, Boro had been operating without a chairman. On 21 May 1986, the worst fears of Middlesbrough fans were realised. Debts believed to be in the region of£2 million meant the club were forced to call in theprovisional liquidator. Late in July, theInland Revenue took the club to court, claiming that it was owed £115,156 in tax arrears and so the judge issued awinding up order. On the second of August,Bruce Rioch and twenty-nine other non-playing staff were sacked by theOfficial Receiver and the gates ofAyresome Park were padlocked. Some players chose to remain and train under Rioch and coachColin Todd, while others chose to leave.
Steve Gibson approached the local council,ICI and Graham Fordy ofScottish & Newcastle for help. An advert was placed inThe Times for help, andHenry Moszkowicz was one of those who replied. Gibson reached an agreement with former chairman Alf Duffield, who was owed £500,000, that he would wind up the company. Clubs in less serious situations had previously used liquidation to get out of problems, but when it came to Middlesbrough's turn, theFootball League showed a lack of support.
The council was unable to meet its £200,000 share of the pot to help the club, meaning Gibson and Moszkowicz had to raise their inputs. Three days before the start of the season, the league introduced a ruling meaning the club had to have £350,000 in working capital and show it could pay all creditors 100 pence in the pound. The death of the club was then announced onTyne Tees Television.
A meeting with the Football League took place on Friday 22 August. Notes were passed from room to room between the league's representatives and the consortium.Colin Henderson agreed a deal with ICI for abond, meaning that they would pick up a major part of any subsequent debt, and the consortium put in their £825,000. With ten minutes to spare before the registration deadline, the documents were signed by Graham Fordy, Reg Corbridge and Henry Moszkowicz. In recognition of Henderson's achievements in delivering the bond in a format acceptable to everyone, he was named chairman of Middlesbrough Football & Athletic Company (1986) Ltd., the new company formed by the purchase ofBlackplay Ltd., a dead company, off the shelf. Gibson, Fordy, Corbridge and Moszkowicz formed the board. The club had been saved and the deal was announced to the public at the town hall.
Win Draw Loss
| Game | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result F–A | Attendance | Boro Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 August 1986 | H[1] | Port Vale | 2–2 | 3,690 | Stephens (2) |
| 2 | 30 August 1986 | A | Wigan | 2–0 | 2,904 | Turnbull,Mowbray |
| 3 | 6 September 1986 | H | Bury | 3–1 | 6,499 | Stephens (2),Slaven |
| 4 | 13 September 1986 | A | Gillingham | 0–0 | 4,888 | |
| 5 | 17 September 1986 | A | Bristol Rovers | 2–1 | 3,768 | Slaven (2) |
| 6 | 20 September 1986 | H | Chesterfield | 2–0 | 7,633 | Mowbray,Laws |
| 7 | 27 September 1986 | A | Fulham | 2–2 | 3,852 | Laws,Hamilton |
| 8 | 30 September 1986 | H | Swindon | 1–0 | 9,221 | Laws |
| 9 | 4 October 1986 | A | Rotherham | 4–1 | 4,321 | Stephens (2),Laws (2) |
| 10 | 11 October 1986 | H | Blackpool | 1–3 | 11,470 | Stephens |
| 11 | 18 October 1986 | H | Walsall | 3–1 | 8,349 | Stephens (2),Laws |
| 12 | 21 October 1986 | A | Notts County | 0–1 | 4,405 | |
| 13 | 25 October 1986 | A | Bristol City | 2–2 | 8,800 | Slaven,Laws |
| 14 | 1 November 1986 | H | AFC Bournemouth | 4–0 | 10,702 | Stephens,Slaven,Hamilton,Ripley |
| 15 | 4 November 1986 | H | Bolton | 0–0 | 10,092 | |
| 16 | 8 November 1986 | A | Darlington | 1–0 | 9,947 | Stephens |
| 17 | 22 November 1986 | A | Newport County | 1–0 | 2,788 | Mowbray |
| 18 | 29 November 1986 | H | Chester City | 1–2 | 9,376 | Slaven |
| 19 | 13 December 1986 | H | Doncaster | 1–0 | 8,100 | Mowbray |
| 20 | 21 December 1986 | A | Brentford | 1–0 | 5,504 | Slaven |
| 21 | 26 December 1986 | H | Carlisle | 1–0 | 14,216 | Gill |
| 22 | 27 December 1986 | A | Mansfield | 1–1 | 5,042 | Proudlock |
| 23 | 1 January 1987 | A | York City | 1–3 | 8,611 | Mowbray |
| 24 | 3 January 1987 | H | Newport County | 2–0 | 9,595 | Gill,Stephens |
| 25 | 24 January 1987 | A | Bury | 3–0 | 3,485 | Slaven (2),Laws (pen) |
| 26 | 7 February 1987 | H | Bristol Rovers | 1–0 | 9,610 | Ripley |
| 27 | 14 February 1987 | A | Chesterfield | 1–2 | 4,085 | Slaven |
| 28 | 17 February 1987 | A | Port Vale | 0–0 | 3,263 | |
| 29 | 21 February 1987 | H | Fulham | 3–0 | 9,361 | Slaven,Hamilton (2) |
| 30 | 28 February 1987 | A | Swindon | 0–1 | 11,341 | |
| 31 | 3 March 1987 | A | AFC Bournemouth | 1–3 | 13,835 | Slaven |
| 32 | 7 March 1987 | H | Bristol City | 1–0 | 10,220 | Mowbray |
| 33 | 14 March 1987 | A | Walsall | 0–1 | 7,332 | |
| 34 | 17 March 1987 | H | Notts County | 2–0 | 9,845 | Stephens,Slaven |
| 35 | 21 March 1987 | A | Blackpool | 1–0 | 7,132 | Stephens |
| 36 | 28 March 1987 | H | Rotherham | 0–0 | 9,569 | |
| 37 | 5 April 1987 | H | Darlington | 1–1 | 11,969 | Slaven |
| 38 | 11 April 1987 | A | Bolton | 1–0 | 5,858 | Slaven |
| 39 | 18 April 1987 | H | York City | 3–1 | 10,546 | Ripley,Stephens,Turnbull |
| 40 | 20 April 1987 | A | Carlisle | 1–0 | 5,993 | Pallister |
| 41 | 25 April 1987 | H | Brentford | 2–0 | 9,942 | Slaven,Turnbull |
| 42 | 28 April 1987 | H | Gillingham | 3–0 | 11,937 | Stephens,Slaven,Turnbull |
| 43 | 2 May 1987 | A | Chester City | 2–1 | 3,788 | Mowbray,Hamilton |
| 44 | 4 May 1987 | H | Mansfield | 1–0 | 13,543 | Hamilton (pen) |
| 45 | 6 May 1987 | H | Wigan | 0–0 | 18,523 | |
| 46 | 9 May 1987 | A | Doncaster | 2–0 | 3,556 | Hamilton,Ripley |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bournemouth(C, P) | 46 | 29 | 10 | 7 | 76 | 40 | +36 | 97 | Promotion to theSecond Division |
| 2 | Middlesbrough(P) | 46 | 28 | 10 | 8 | 67 | 30 | +37 | 94 | |
| 3 | Swindon Town(O, P) | 46 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 77 | 47 | +30 | 87 | Qualification for theThird Division play-offs |
| 4 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 83 | 60 | +23 | 85 | |
| 5 | Gillingham | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 65 | 48 | +17 | 78 |
Win Draw Loss
| Round | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result F–A | Attendance | Boro Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1R 1st Leg | A | Hartlepool | 1–1 | 2,356 | Slaven | |
| 1R 2nd Leg | H | Hartlepool | 2–0 (3–1 agg) | 7,735 | Ripley,Hamilton | |
| 2R 1st Leg | H | Birmingham | 2–2 | 9,412 | Stephens,Ripley | |
| 2R 2nd Leg | A | Birmingham | 2–3 (4–5 agg) | 4,987 | Laws (2) (1 pen) |
| Round | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result F–A | Attendance | Boro Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1R | 15 November 1986 | H | Blackpool | 3–0 | 11,205 | Bernie Slaven (3) |
| 2R | 7 December 1986 | A | Notts County | 1–0 | 7,415 | Hamilton |
| 3 | 10 January 1987 | H | Preston | 0–1 | 15,458 |
The following are all the players who were involved the Middlesbrough F.C. first team at some point during the 1986-87 season.[4]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
