Key man: Gareth Southgate
The England central defender, signed from Aston Villa a year ago, has replaced Paul Ince as club captain. Proved a hugely positive influence on and off the pitch last term, and was runaway winner of Middlesbrough’s player-of-the-season award. His partnership with Ugo Ehiogu was the cornerstone of the team’s newly watertight defence. One of football’s more intelligent figures, Southgate is a natural leader and in the form of his career

Coach: Steve McClaren
Hailed as one of the world’s best by Sven-Göran Eriksson, he returns from World Cup duty with a growing reputation. Signs are that he can manage egos and budgets as well as coach

Full squad
Goalkeepers 1 Mark Schwarzer 25 Mark Crossley Defenders 5 Gianluca Festa 6 Gareth Southgate 17 Ugo Ehiogu 27 Robbie Stockdale 28 Colin Cooper 29 Jason Gavin 33 David Murphy 37 Franck Queudrue Midfielders 12 Jonathan Greening 21 Mark Wilson 23 Carlos Marinelli 24 Phil Stamp 30 Stuart Parnaby 32 Allan Johnston 36 Mark Hudson, Geremi, Juninho, George Boateng Forwards 8 Szilard Nemeth 11 Alen Boksic 16 Joseph-Desire Job 20 Dean Windass 26 Noel Whelan 31 Luke Wilkshire, Massimo Maccarone

Strongest XI

Nationalities
England (11), Australia (2), Italy (2), Cameroon (2), Scotland (2), Ireland (1), France (1), Argentina (1), Croatia (1), Slovakia (1), Wales (1), Brazil (1), Holland (1) Total 27

Players in
Massimo Maccarone, Geremi, Franck Queudrue, Juninho, George Boateng

Players out
Paul Ince, Robbie Mustoe, Chris Bennion, Dean Gordon, Christian Hanson, Michael Debeve, Anthony Ormerod, Mark Summerbell

Instant expert
Ground BT Cellnet Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, TS3 6RS
Telephone 01642 877 700
Capacity 35,000
Shirt sponsor BT Cellnet
Ticket office 01642 877 745
Can I get a ticket? Tickets can be booked in advance using credit cards
How to get there A 15-minute walk from Middlesbrough railway station
Club call 09068 121181
Club shop 01642 877 720

New boy: Massimo Maccarone
A star of the European Under-21 tournament held in Switzerland in May and one of the hottest young properties in Italian football. His £8.15m fee was probably boosted after the goal he hit against David Platt’s England Under-21 side

Money talk
Top earners Boksic £41,500, Maccarone £30,000, Southgate £26,500

Total wage bill £25m (2000 accounts)
Boro have a tendency to hover around halfway, and their wage bill is the League's 11th highest while their turnover (£27.68m) is the 14th highest

Where are they now?
Alan Comfort His career was curtailed by a broken leg, and the Reverend Alan Comfort is now a vicar in east London