The best Middlesbrough XI from the last decade ft Chuba Akpom | OneFootball

Despite spending the majority of the last decade in the Championship, Middlesbrough have still fielded some brilliant players over the last 10 years.

The club has seen a total of seven permanent managers over the last decade, to varying degrees of success.

But other than a couple of scares, they have largely been perennial Championship play-off contenders.

For fans of many clubs, like Middlesbrough, pure work rate and playing with the passion that the badge demands is often enough to earn their admiration - traits that may go a long way to earning some spots in this squad.

And so, from a brief spell in the top flight to multiple promotion near-misses, quality players have been found in almost every Boro side in recent years, but which were the best?

The best Middlesbrough XI since 2014

Check out our best Boro XI from the last decade below!

GK - Victor Valdes

A transfer straight out of Football Manager, one of modern football's most decorated goalkeepers, Victor Valdes, somehow ended up on Teesside.

And it wasn't because he got lost on his way to Newcastle airport to sign for another top team elsewhere, - having only previously played for Barcelona, Manchester United and Standard Liege respectively - he was here to play for Middlesbrough, and boy did he show his class.

Perhaps his finest hours in a Boro shirt were both at The Emirates - where Aitor Karanka's side earned a 0-0 draw with Arsenal - and The Etihad, in a game where the former Spanish international's spirited performance allowed his side to steal a 1-1 draw in added time against Manchester City.

The World Cup and multiple-time Champions League and La Liga winner's stay in the North East may have been brief, but he remains the gold standard of Middlesbrough shot stoppers of the last decade.

Antonio Barragan might have taken this spot if it wasn't for his inability to take a throw-in, and so this spot goes to the bonkers, - but at times brilliant - Emilio Nsue.

Mind you, after picking up the Golden Boot at AFCON, Boro may well have got an even better version of the Equatorial Guinea international as a striker!

But even as a full-back, Nsue always showed his desire and ability to get forward and create chances, and in a resolute, well-organised Karanka defence, he was a spark of energy that caught teams off guard.

He gave us some laughs along the way too, none greater than this attempted flick against Fulham. In a position that hasn't been overly kind to Middlesbrough in the last decade, Nsue comes in as the best of a fairly poor list.

CB - Ben Gibson

Is there anything better than seeing a local lad come through the youth ranks of your club, before shining in the senior side?

Ben Gibson lived the dream of all Boro fans, and was a stalwart figure in Aitor Karanka's promotion-winning side.

Comfortable and assured on the ball, but welcoming of an old school physical tussle with big Championship centre forwards, he was about as good as you could get in the second tier during that victorious season.

His performances in the early stages of the 2016/17 Premier League season even earned him international recognition, as Gareth Southgate called him up for England's 2018 World Cup qualifier against Lithuania.

Over 200 appearances for his boyhood club, across which he rarely dropped below 7/10 each week, earns him a spot on this list.

CB - Daniel Ayala

There's an argument to be made that Daniel Ayala may even have been slightly better than the central defender we've just talked about.

As good as Gibson was with the ball at his feet, Boro's big Spaniard offered a totally different challenge for his opposition.

He was an imposing figure that forwards rarely got any joy out of, and he was as dangerous in the air from set pieces as any Boro player in recent memory. His seven goals in the 2017/18 Championship season speak to that.

LB - George Friend

Every now and then, a certain player walks through the doors of your football club, and leaves having built a connection with the fanbase to last a lifetime.

One of those who did exactly that at Middlesbrough was "Gorgeous" George Friend. With or without the armband, he was always a model leader, and another player who just did not have a bad game.

From his trademark left-footed chop that somehow worked every single time, to his trademark jump in front of the South Stand after every home win, I think it's fair to say that most Boro fans have yet to connect to a player quite the way they did with Friend.

RW - Adama Traore

Football fans have seldom seen a player quite like Adama Traore before. He could go to the Olympics and compete in both powerlifting and the 100 metres.

His dribbling ability combined with his unbelievable speed was a defender's worst nightmare, and the sheer sight of the Spaniard thundering down the Riverside pitch was a sight to behold.

Despite his end product not always being up to standard, he still has to earn a spot in this team for his pure game-changing ability, the likes of which many a Riverside veteran haven't seen for a very long time.

CDM - Jonny Howson

In every team full of flair and exciting attacking talent, you need a Jonny Howson to keep things ticking over, and everyone in line.

The former Norwich City midfielder arrived on Teesside in 2017, and has been practically the first name on the teamsheet for every single manager that he's played under.

Boro's metronome in the middle for many a year, and one of the classiest footballers to wear the red and white shirt over the last decade.

CDM - Grant Leadbitter

A best Middlesbrough XI of the last 10 years wouldn't be complete without the club's greatest skipper of that period, Grant Leadbitter.

The Chester-le-Street-born midfielder's 12 goals and 11 assists in 51 total appearances during the 2014/15 season, is one of the most impressive individual campaigns of a Boro player in recent times.

He even played through a hernia injury in the final months of the 2015/16 promotion season, because he knew how much his side needed him. An absolute warrior.

When your as classy as Stewart Downing, age is just a number. Arguably Middlesbrough's greatest product, he re-joined the club as a 30-year-old from West Ham in 2015, for a reported £5 million.

Any doubts about how much tread remained on his tyres were swiftly swept aside, as the Teessider played a key role in the club's promotion to the Premier League.

"Stewy" continued to be a reliable veteran presence at the club, making 170 total appearances until his departure in 2019. A real Boro hero, who always gave his all for the shirt.

CAM - Chuba Akpom

Two stadiums, two European campaigns and five cup finals, that's a long time to wait for a player to come along and score 20+ league goals in a season.

There weren't many who predicted it would be Chuba Akpom who would put an end to that wait either, but aren't the Riverside faithful glad to be proved wrong on this occasion.

Last season's 28 Championship goals was enough for the former Arsenal product to walk away with the Golden Boot award, and is arguably the greatest individual season in the club's modern history.

He walked through the doors of Rockliffe Park shortly after the aforementioned Valdes, as Boro fans marveled at the club's ability to once again attract some huge names to the North East.

The former Premier League champion with Manchester City joined the club on a season-long loan deal from Valencia, and immediately showed the ability that had seen him play at the highest level for the majority of his career.

He was exceptional at finding space in the box, and his strength was often too much for centre-backs to contain. A deadly finisher also, who, with better service in that 2016/17 Premier League season, would've likely seen his goal tally be comfortably higher than the nine he got.