Middlesbrough F.C. survival from liquidation

This article details Middlesbrough Football Club's liquidation in 1986.

At the start of the 1981-82 season, Middlesbrough were in the Football League First Division. The season ended with them finishing bottom of the league and being relegated. It has been claimed that the team had been severely weakened by the sales of star players such as Craig Johnston, David Armstrong and Mark Proctor. Dutch midfielder Heini Otto had, however, successfully integrated into the team.

In February of that year, Boro chairman Charles Amer and his son Kevin, who was a director, both resigned from the board. George Kitching moved in to take over as chairman but it was his unenviable task (at the club's ninetieth annual meeting in December 1982) to report to shareholders that the club had suffered an annual loss of £307,718.

The Manager Bobby Murdoch was asked to resign in September 1982 after poor performances, and Harold Shepherdson was appointed caretaker until a permanent replacement could be installed. After only 6 months as chairman, Kitching resigned and Mike McCullagh took over, with Keith Varley as vice-chairman. The board appointed Malcolm Allison as full-time manager. Allison took the team to a point away from home in his first game in charge but the team only went on to finish 16th.

The next season, things continued to decline. Boro's form was poor in both the League and cup (although they were never in serious danger of relegation), but more worryingly for the board the club was getting into serious financial problems. Malcolm Allison was being pressured into off-loading star players to keep the club afloat. Late in March 1984, Allison sensationally claimed that it was "better for the club to die than to linger slowly on its deathbed", a quote which was swiftly followed by his sacking. Jack Charlton guided the club through the rest of the season, assisted by Willie Maddren, and they finished 17th, a place down on the previous season.

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