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Ten years ago today Boro slipped meekly out of the Premier League.

Gareth Southgate's side gave up an 11 years top flight tenure and began a long dark spell in the shadows.

Do you remember that last game? I do, despite conscious attempts to airbrush it from history.

It was a limp 2-1 defeat at West Ham on a final day when Boro needed to win well and hope Hull and Newcastle lost but when instead of going gung-ho they sat back and meekly accepted their fate.

It was a 14th defeat on the road for Southgate’s brittle Boro. They had not tasted victory away from home since Aston Villa in November.

It was another day when Boro looked shot-shy. They had scored just 28 goals in 38 games with the top scorers Tuncay on eight, Afonso Alves on seven and Mido managing a meagre five.

It was a day when Stewart Downing was crocked and most of the big money buys were banished leaving Southgate to pad out his squad with kids and play people out of position.

It wasn’t a great swansong. Boro surrendered their top flight spot without a fight. In fact, their grip on it had been prised finger by finger in previous weeks as they failed to raise themselves in games against fellow strugglers.

Carlton Cole fired in a first half opener then Gary O’Neil got a leveller soon after the interval but West Ham won it as a deflected Junior Stanislas shot slithered through Brad Jones’ Vaseline grip.

Jones actually made two good saves late on to prevent a humiliation but that made little difference: 11 years as part of the elite establishment ended with a whimper just three years after the UEFA Cup final.

All eleven of the players who started were still in the squad for the opener in the Championship the following August but have since been scattered far and wide.

Where are they now?

BRAD JONES

A ‘good shot-stopper’ but alarmingly butter-fingered on crosses, the long-time Aussie understudy keeper caused palpitations among Boro fans who were staggered when he joined Liverpool for £2.5m in 2010.

Jones played 74 games for Boro over a decade and finished his Riverside career not as number one but in rotation with youngster Ross Turnbull for a starting place.

After four years at Anfield, generally as an early rounds cup specialist, Jones, moved to Bradford for a year then in 2016 he joined Dutch side NEC Nijmegan. Impressing there earned a switch to Feyenoord where he kept 17 clean as the club won their first title in 18 years.

Last August Jones, now 37, signed a two year deal with Saudi club Al-Nassr.

TONY McMAHON

A rock solid ‘run through walls’ right back who came through the Academy and skippered the 2004 FA Youth Cup winning side then eased comfortably into the first team making his debut against Manchester United.

He played 36 top flight games and four times in Europe then was a mainstay after relegation with another 96 appearances before he was released in July 2012 after letting his contract run down.

A fans’ favourite everywhere he has been, MacMahon, now 33, he had spells at Sheffield United, Blackpool and Bradford then last summer he signed a two year deal at Oxford - although he spent the second half of last season on loan at League One rivals Scunthorpe.

DAVID WHEATER

The Redcar Rock had played at England at every youth level and as a Premier League hot prospect alongside first Jonathan Woodgate then Robert Huth had got as far as twice being called up for senior friendlies but never got off the bench.

He had been one of Boro’s best performers in the doomed basement battle and was made captain in the Championship but lost the armband and lost his way after Gordon Strachan took over.

He was flogged to top flight Bolton for £2.3m in January 2011 where he became a first team fixture and fans' favourite through what was to be a torrid spell marked by two relegations to League One and a long flirtation with financial doom.

Wheater, now 32, has just been released by Bolton as the club slipped to another relegation and anoth bout in administration.

ROBERT HUTH

Boro had just rebuilt the defensive Terminator and got him back to his best after two injury dogged seasons when relegation forced them to flog him.

The German international arrived from Chelsea with two title medals for £6m in August 2006 and Boro got their money back moving him onto Stoke after just four games in the Championship.

Huth, 34, played almost 200 games at Stoke and picked up an FA Cup runners up medal before switching to Leicester where he played a key role in their fairytale 2015-16 title victory.

An ankle injury rule him out of the entire following season forcing him to quit. He now does often perceptive and funny media work.

JUSTIN HOYTE

The athletic Arsenal right-back, out of position on the left in the game at West Ham, had arrived at the start of the season to replace £6m Aston Villa bound Luke Young and for all his technical ability and CV, never looked comfortable as the basement battle came to the boil.

He played 28 times that season and another 134 over five years following the drop. He was loaned to Millwall in November 2013 then signed full time for them in January 2014 but after the arrival of new boss Ian Holloway he was dropped and promptly disappeared off the radar.

In the summer of 2016 Hoyte, 34, signed for League Two strugglers Dagenham and Redbridge and played 25 games before being released after relegation. He is currently in his second season with American USL side FC Cincinnati.

GARY O’NEIL

The teak-tanned ‘good engines’ midfielder ran around a lot in the two years before Boro slipped through the trapdoor. He had arrived from Portsmouth for £5m in August 2007 and been a high energy if not always effective fixture in Gareth Southgate’s side.

He stuck around for 18 months in the Championship before switching to West Ham for £3m where he suffered a career threatening injury and the Hammers were relegated while he was sidelined.

He had a spell at QPR, clocked up a third relegation with Norwich then move don to Bristol, O'Neil, now 35, signed for crisis club Bolton last summer and was released this month after yet another trip through the trapdoor.

MATTHEW BATES

Classy and with bags of potential but injury dogged - FIVE cruciates - and ultimately unfulfilled.

Bates made his debut in 2004 and played in the UEFA Cup and had three times battled back from injury to nail down a first team place, if not a set position. In the relegation campaign he played 20 games spread between right-back, centre-back and midfield only to be injured again in pre-season.

He bounced back and was made skipper under Tony Mowbray in 2010 but after an impressive season another cruciate early the following term effectively ended his Boro career.

Bates, now 32, had a loan spell at Bristol, then a stint at Bradford before joining Hartlepool in June 2014. He was caretaker-boss as they slipped out of the Football League in 2017, then assistant to Craig Harrison and eventually took over the job full time but was axed in November 2018.



JULIO ARCA

Argentine Mackem Julio Arca joined Boro for £1.75m as Gareth Southgate’s first signing in July 2006 and became a first team fixture for six seasons, although only after moving from left-back into midfield.

In the relegation campaign he played 21 games and briefly wore the kryptonite armband. After the drop he became a key play and made 103 appearances over the next three campaigns before suffering a broken toe hanging up his boots in 2013.

Since then he has played football for fun, turning out for Sunday side Willow Pond and then joining South Shields, who he led to three promotions in four years and FA Vase triumph at Wembley in 2017.

Arca, now 38, is currently on the coaching staff at Sunderland's Academy.

ADAM JOHNSON

Hmmmmm. Where to start? Adam Johnson was a burgeoning talent with three years on the fringes before forcing himself into the first team picture in the relegation season when he played 24 times, often on the right with Stewart Downing a fixture on the left.

After relegation - and the £12m exit of Downing to Villa - he briefly became Boro’s most creative force scoring 12 goals in 28 games before a £7m January move to moneybags Manchester City.

He won the FA Cup and the Premier League title at City before moving to Sunderland then seeing his career and life implode after his conviction for sexual offences against a minor.

Johnson, now 31, was released last month after serving half of his six year sentence.

MARVIN EMNES

‘Project’ Emnes was in its early stages during the relegation season. A £3.2m buy from Sparta Rotterdam in July 2008 he played 15 games with scoring in the league then after the drop and after the exit of boss Southgate he suffered a torrid time.

He was not a Gordon Strachan kind of player and barely featured after the Scot arrived and wasn’t even given a squad number for the next season and was farmed out on loan to Swansea for the first time.

Under Tony Mowbray, Emnes enjoyed a brief flash of intensity, scoring 18 goals in 2011-12 leading to a £4m bid from Swansea that was rejected. It was downhill after that as he became an unhappy and ineffective figure.

Under Aitor Karanka he was first loaned to Swansea then flogged for £2m in July 2014 where his career drifted. He played just 19 times in three years and then was briefly reunited with Mogga on loan at Blackburn before an ill-fated move to Belediyespor in Turkey.

Emnes, now 30, joined Vancouver Whitecaps last season but left without making an appearance.

TUNCAY SANLI

Turkish trickster Tuncay had been one of the few bright sparks in a bleak few years and was top scorer with eight in the relegation season.

The popular playmaker had arrived on a free from Fenerbahce in July 2007 to add guile up front and started well only to run out of steam and magic as the service dried up.

After just three cameros in the Championship he made what seemed an unsuitable move to long-ball Stoke then quickly shuffled between Wolfburg, Bolton and Bursaspor before a spell in Qatar then on to two years at Pune City in the Indian Super League.

Tuncay, now 37, has just rejoined Fenerbahce to work in their Academy.

Subs:

Ross Turnbull - now 34, left to warm the bench at Chelsea and despite playing only 19 times over four years in all competitions ended up with Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup winners medals. After spells at Doncaster and Barnsley he joined Leeds in 2015 but broke an ankle and left the following year without playing a game. IN 2018 he was a keeper coach at HArtlepool but left with Matty Bates.

Joe Bennett - now 29, the lively Academy left back came off the bench to make his debut at West Ham. Ignored by Strachan he flourished under Mowbray before making a £4m move to Aston Villa in August 2012. He had a season long loan at Brighton and shorter stints at Bournemouth and Sheffield Wednesday before joining Cardiff in 2016. He was mainstay of the Championship promotion campaign and a first team fixture in the Premier League last term.

Josh Walker - the much travelled midfielder, now 30, never really established himself at Boro after stepping up from the Academy. He had four loan spells then another four after moving to Watford in 2010. A spell at Scunthorpe, then Gateshead then he made a brave move to Bengaluru in India before coming home to play for Scottish League Two side Edinburgh City.

Jonathan Franks - another Academy product and debutant at Upton Park, Franks, now 29, became a regular under Strachan before a back injury hampered his Boro career. Franks, He moved to Hartlepool in 2012 for three solid years then switched to the Scottish Premier League with Ross County where he won the League Cup. He later joined Wrexham, briefly popped up back at Pools and is currently at Icelandic side IBV.

Rhys Williams - another Academy graduate, a classy defender dogged by injuries, Williams, 30, quit Boro after 12 years to move back to his native Australia with Perth Glory in the summer of 2016 then the following year moved on to Melbourne Victory. Last summer he joined Saudi side Al-Qadsiah.

Jonathan Grounds - Academy left back Grounds, now 31 never quite made the breakthrough at Boro but has carved out a solid career for himself since leaving. He joined Oldham in 2012 before a switch to Birmingham where he became a first team fixture over five seasons. He spent last term on loan at troubled Bolton..

Mohammed Shawky - the Egyptian midfielder was a fringe figure playing just 18 games in two-and-half seasons. He was released in January 2010 to join Turkish side Kayserispor and later had a spell with Malaysian side Kelantan under boss George Boeteng then returned to Egypt with Al Arab Contractors. Now 37, he hung up his boots last term.