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Where are they now? Boro's 97/98 Promotion XI - Date: 15 Mar 2012

With Middlesbrough battling hard to win promotion to the Premier League this season, let's cast out minds back to the 1997-98 campaign when Boro finished as runners-up in Division One and returned to the top flight at the first attempt.

The second tier was strong that year – Nottingham Forest won the league and Boro, Sunderland and Charlton all battled it out for the second automatic promotion spot.

That spot would be decided on the final day of the season. Had they existed back then, Boro would have been a free bet site favourite with punters sticking their mortgages on a home win against Oxford United. Local rivals Sunderland hosted Sheffield United. Both sides needed to win but Sunderland also needed a favour from Oxford.

Boro hammered Oxford 4-1 and even though Sunderland won their match 2-0, they were condemned to the play-offs by a single point. While Boro prepared for life in the Premier League, Sunderland went on to lose a remarkable final against Charlton which ended 4-4 after extra time and saw the Addicks win 7-6 on penalties.

Here is the starting XI that beat Oxford that day and what became of the players afterwards:

Goalkeeper – Mark Schwarzer

Schwarzer joined Boro from Bradford City in a £1.5 million deal in February 1997 and is arguably the club's best ever piece of business in the transfer market. The Australian goalkeeper spent over a decade at the Riverside Stadium and racked up 367 league appearances – 445 in total. His time in the North East was rewarded with a League Cup winners medal in the 2003-04 season and he also reached the final of the UEFA Cup with Boro at the end of the 2005-06 campaign. Schwarzer, now 39 years old, currently plays for Fulham where he has made over 100 league appearances and reached the Europa League final in 2010.

Defender – Craig Harrison

A young man at just 20-years-old compared to some in this line up, Harrison made 19 appearances for Boro during their promotion season. However, a lack of first team football saw him join both Preston North End and Crystal Palace on loan before he signed for the Eagles on a permanent transfer in August 2000. A horrific leg break in 2003 saw him retire from playing and since then he has moved into Welsh football. He has held both assistant manager and managerial positions at Airbus UK Broughton and was appointed Director of Football at The New Saints in December 2011.

Defender – Nigel Pearson

After joining Boro in a £750,000 move from Sheffield Wednesday in 1994, Pearson captained the club to promotion twice and lead them to three domestic cup finals before retiring in 1998. Since then, Pearson has carved out a career as a coach, assistant manager and manager. Whilst in charge at Carlisle United, he signed goalkeeper Jimmy Glass on loan who famously scored an injury time winner against Plymouth Argyle, which kept Carlisle in the Football League at the expense of Scarborough. Pearson kept Southampton in the Championship following his appointment as manager in February 2008 but by June was in charge of Leicester City. In June 2010, he was appointed as manager of Hull City before returning to the Foxes in November 2011.

Defender – Curtis Fleming

During his time at Boro, Fleming won promotion to the Premier League three times. He played in the FA Cup final in 1997 and League Cup finals in 1997 and 1998 but the First Division winners medal in 1995 was the only honour he won at the club. He made 266 league appearances in 10 years before joining Crystal Palace in 2001. Spells at Darlington, Shelbourne and Billingham Synthonia followed before retiring in 2007. He joined Livingston as assistant manager to former Boro midfielder Mark Proctor in June 2007 before linking up with former club Crystal Palace and Eagles team mate Dougie Freedman in July 2011 as Development Coach.

Defender – Gianluca Festa

Festa arrived at the Riverside in the middle of their relegation battle during the 1996-97 season and while many players left following relegation, the Italian defender stayed and helped the club win promotion. He saw a goal ruled out for offside during the 1997 FA Cup final against Chelsea during one of three Wembley finals he played in and he was awarded Player of the Year in 1998. After making over 130 league appearances he helped Portsmouth win promotion to the Premier League before returning to Italy. In 2003 he helped Cagliari win promotion to Serie A before spending the next five years in the lower reaches of Italian football. In April 2010 he was appointed as assistant to head coach Giorgio Melis at Cagliari before switching to technical area member at the Rossoblu.

Midfielder – Paul Merson

Former Arsenal midfielder Merson became the most expensive player to join a non-Premier League club when he arrived in the summer of 1997 in a £4.5 million deal. During his only season at Boro he played in 45 out of the 46 league matches, scoring 12 goals. Citing a desire to move closer to his family in the south, Merson joined Aston Villa in a £6.75 million transfer in August 1998 and went on to make over 100 league appearances in almost five years at the club. Alongside former Boro team mate Festa, he was instrumental in Portsmouth's promotion to the Premier League in 2003 and went on to play for Walsall who he also managed for nearly two years. Since retirement, Merson has been a regular pundit for the Sky Sports show “Soccer Saturday”.

Midfielder – Paul Gascoigne

Gascoigne left Rangers where had made a huge impact for life in Division One with Boro in a £3.4 million deal in March 1998. His first appearance for the club was as a substiute in the League Cup final against Chelsea and he played seven matches in Division One as Boro won promotion to the Premier League. His first season in the top flight saw him make 26 appearances and score three goals but subsequent appearances were limited by personal problems. He joined Everton on a free transfer in July 2000, reuniting him with former Rangers manager Walter Smith and spells at Burnley, Gansu Tianma of China and League Two side Boston United followed before retiring in 2004. He had an ill-fated spell as manager of Kettering Town which last just 39 days in 2005. Since retirement, Gascoigne has had well publicised problems with alcohol and gambling.

Midfielder – Robbie Mustoe

Mustoe spent 12 years at Boro after joining the club in a £375,000 transfer from Oxford United and was a consistent member of the first team. He played in all three of the club's Wembley finals and was honoured with a Player of the Year award in 1999 which he shared with Hamilton Ricard. After making more than 450 appearances in all competitions, Mustoe left the Riverside in 2002 to join Charlton Athletic before ending his career in League One at Sheffield Wednesday in 2004. Mustoe moved to the USA where he coached at Bentley and later Boston College and now works as a commentator and analyst for ESPN.

Midfielder – Andy Townsend

Townsend arrived at Boro shortly after the the 1997-98 season began in a £500,000 transfer from Aston Villa. He made 37 appearances during the promotion winning campaign and formed an effective midfield partnership with Paul Gascoign as the club finished comfortably in mid-table in their first season back in the Premier League. However, Townsend found himself out-of-favour at the beginning of the 1999-00 campaign and joined West Bromwich Albion for £50,000 in 1999. He made just 17 league appearances for the Baggies and a recurrent knee injury forced his retirement in July 2000 at the age of 37. He has since moved into broadcasting and has appeared on radio and television, including talkSPORT, BBC Radio 5 Live and ITV.

Striker – Alun Armstrong

With Boro looking to clinch promotion, striker Armstrong arrived in February 2008 in a £1.6 million move from Stockport County. He score seven goals in 11 appearances as the season drew to a close, including two in the final match against Oxford. In December 2000 he moved to Ipswich Town and scored the winner in a 1-0 victory against Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup. He also scored against the Italian giants in the return leg but the Tractor Boys were knocked out 4-2 on aggregate. A switch to Rushden & Diamonds was sandwiched between two spells at Darlington before finishing his playing career at Newcastle Blue Star in the Unibond Division One North.

Striker – Craig Hignett

The 1997-98 season proved to be Hignett's last in a Boro shirt and he scored seven goals in 35 league appearances, including a brace against Oxford. A six month spell at Aberdeen was ended when he joined Barnsley for £800,000 in 1999 who were looking for a return to the Premier League following their relegation. Hignett scored 20 goals and helped the team to the play-off final but the Tykes were beaten 4-2 by Ipswich Town. A £2.2 million move to Blackburn Rovers transpired in the summer of 2000 and scored seven goals as the club returned to the Premier League. Hignett won the League Cup with Rovers in 2002 and went on to play for Leicester City, Leeds United, Darlington, Apollon Limassol, Spennymor United and returned to the Football League with Hartlepool United before retiring in 2007. He was part of the Academy coaching staff in 2008 and now works as a pundit and after dinner speaker.

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