The 8 most underrated Middlesbrough players (Ranked) | OneFootball

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Plenty of players have passed through the doors at the Riverside Stadium with Middlesbrough and been underrated by both their current fanbase and other football fans of the English game.

In their current side, the likes of Jonny Howson, Paddy McNair, and Dan Barlaser stand out as some of those individuals who have not always been given the credit they deserve in recent years, mainly from rival fans.

That trio will be looking to go one better this season under Michael Carrick, with promotion the goal yet again for his side after finishing fourth in a play-off spot last season. They improved dramatically last term under the guidance of the former Manchester United midfielder.

Middlesbrough, however, have spent 14 seasons of this century as a Championship club, with 10 others coming in the top-flight. Despite that, they enjoyed great success in their Premier League stint, winning the League Cup as well as enjoying two years of UEFA Cup competition.

They have had real quality at various times in the last couple of decades, including in the Championship as well as during that incredible couple of years under Steve McClaren and Gareth Southgate.

Here, we're looking back over time in this piece, with Football League World's Middlesbrough fan pundit Dana Malt picking who she thinks have been the club's eight most underrated players, ranked from eight to one.

Do you agree with these picks? Would you replace any of the players in this list?

Marcus Tavernier

The 24-year-old joined Boro's academy in 2013 from Newcastle United, and broke through to the first-team in 2017, but became a heavily established player during the 2019/20 season. He would go on to make 155 appearances for Boro, scoring 18 and assisting a further 18 times, too.

After impressing for the side for a number of his last few years in North Yorkshire, he was sold last summer to Premier League side AFC Bournemouth. He scored four and collected five assists for the Cherries last season. However, his industry and work rate were also things he became renowned for, beyond his attacking contribution.

Cristhian Stuani

A summer 2015 arrival from Espanyol, Stuani scored one of the most important goals in Boro's recent history when opening the scoring in a 1-1 home draw to Brighton & Hove Albion, which won promotion to the Premier League at their opponents' expense. The goal's worth could be valued at around £170 million at the time.

He scored 11 goals to help his side gain promotion, with the 36-year-old scoring or assisting 17 goals in 67 appearances for Middlesbrough; however, he was so much more than just the goals for the side as an all-round forward. Since he left the club in 2019, he has gone on to become captain of Girona and scored over 100 goals as well, and is seemingly a popular player wherever he has gone.

Fabio Rochemback

Fabio Rochemback signed for Middlesbrough from Barcelona in September 2005, arriving with a big reputation. Three years later, he departed the Riverside to join Sporting CP in the Liga Portugal after an eventful spell in the North East, where he was a key player for much of his time.

Rochemback has long since retired at the age of 32 in 2014, but he left England with a very respectable record. The versatile midfielder managed seven goals and eight assists in his time at Middlesbrough, contributing to 14th, 12th and 13th placed finishes in the Premier League before the club were relegated a season after his departure in 2009. Perhaps highlighting how crucial he was to the side.

Doriva

Doriva was signed by Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren in January 2003, on loan until the end of the season. After five impressive displays for the club, Doriva was handed a one-year contract with Middlesbrough in July 2003.

In his first full season at the club, Doriva was paired in midfield alongside George Boateng. However, he found his chances limited after this, due to the emergence of Stewart Downing and the conversion of Boudewijn Zenden to central-midfield but was a quality operator for much of his time at the club, despite rarely finding himself on the score sheet, and unfortunate to lose his place. Doriva ended his career at Boro with 110 appearances and one goal.

Chris Riggott

Following his arrival from Derby County in 2003, the fans immediately took to Riggott, scoring twice on his second appearance in the Tees-Wear derby against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, which Middlesbrough won 3-1. In the 2004/05 season he made 32 appearances, contributing to the team's most successful top-flight season since the Premier League was established.

Riggott became the first-choice central defensive partner for Gareth Southgate, in a successful season which saw the club reach the UEFA Cup final, where he stood out and was generally regarded as being one of the best individuals for Middlesbrough during the season, including scoring the third goal of four needed to overturn a 3-0 semi-final deficit against Steaua Bucharest. He played 148 times for the club, departing in 2010 permanently.

Slizard Nemeth

Middlesbrough signed the striker on a five-year contract, after earlier that season, he had a trial at their local rivals Sunderland. Nemeth scored 23 goals in 117 Premier League appearances for Middlesbrough and became known as the 'Lizard King of Teesside' and 'Slovakian Express' for scoring regularly off the bench. That perhaps evidences why he was underrated, having not been handed as many starts.

Nemeth added to his reputation with the fans when in the 2005/06 season he turned down numerous transfer offers, including interest from UEFA Cup winners CSKA Moscow. However, unfortunately, he faced serious competition in attack that season from Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Yakubu, and Massimo Maccarone, leading to his exit in January.

Robbie Mustoe

Mustoe played with distinction for Boro for 12 years, following his arrival from Oxford United in 1990. He left the club in the summer of 2002, having made more than 450 appearances in all competitions for the side as a defensive-midfielder.

Players who can reliably win the ball back and regain a foothold for their team in a game are often overlooked, which Mustoe was key to doing for Boro. In his book Woody and Nord, current England manager and former teammate of Mustoe's, Gareth Southgate, describes Mustoe as "one of the most honest professionals in the game."

Alvaro Negredo

Boro's most recent season in the Premier League in 2016/17 was a disappointing one as they were comfortably relegated, with Aitor Karanka losing his job two months before the end of the campaign. Having already had a spell in England with Manchester City, Negredo linked up with his fellow Spaniard Karanka at Boro on a loan deal from Valencia.

He scored nine Premier League goals for Middlesbrough, but ultimately Negredo was powerless to stop the club from dropping back to the Championship. He was a popular figure for the most part, but certainly contributed to more than just goals despite finishing as top scorer. He would put himself about and win plenty of battles in attack and hold up the ball to help give Boro a structure to get up the pitch and support him.