Thursday, January 04, 2007
Youngest backline ever
On May 7 2006, Middlesbrough rested the majority of their first team for a game at Fulham, three days before their Uefa Cup final hammering by Sevilla.
Goalkeeper Ross Turnbull (20) and defenders Andrew Davies (20), Matthew Bates (18), David Wheater (18) and Andrew Taylor (18) featured in a back-line boasting an average age of less than 19 (18.8 to be precise).
Steve McClaren's side contained seven teenagers at an average age of just 20, with just one player - the veteran then-26-year-old Malcolm Christie - over the age of 21.
"It's a proud day for Middlesbrough," said McClaren after the game, which they lost 1-0, "and for Steve Gibson, the chairman, who always wanted as his dream to field a team of players born within 30 miles of the stadium. Fifteen of the 16 in the squad were that. The performance was heroic."
Goalkeeper Ross Turnbull (20) and defenders Andrew Davies (20), Matthew Bates (18), David Wheater (18) and Andrew Taylor (18) featured in a back-line boasting an average age of less than 19 (18.8 to be precise).
Steve McClaren's side contained seven teenagers at an average age of just 20, with just one player - the veteran then-26-year-old Malcolm Christie - over the age of 21.
"It's a proud day for Middlesbrough," said McClaren after the game, which they lost 1-0, "and for Steve Gibson, the chairman, who always wanted as his dream to field a team of players born within 30 miles of the stadium. Fifteen of the 16 in the squad were that. The performance was heroic."
