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Paul Gascoigne's return to English football with a £3,450,000 move
from Rangers to Middlesbrough proved to be an extremely disappoining one
for the England midfielder. The wayward genius was never able to
reproduce the form that had made him the greatest English player of his
generation and, with Bryan Robson keen to cut the 'Boro wage bill, he
was handed a free transfer to Everton in the summer of 2000. Gascoigne,
never one for a quiet entrance, had made his Middlesbrough debut in the
Coca-Cola Cup final defeat to Chelsea beneath the twin towers of Wembley
(see photo above) - a ground that held both good and bad
memories for Gazza.
'Boro returned to the top-flight at the end of that
1997-98 season but Paul, still coming to terms with his shock omission
from Glenn Hoddle's England squad for the 1998 World Cup, failed to
shine on the big stage. There was the odd flash of the old brilliance,
such as his splendid goal which won the game for 'Boro at Leicester
City, but it was not the Gazza who had so thrilled the English crowds
back in those halcyon days at Newcastle and Tottenham. If the 1998-99
season was a disappoinment the following campaign was even more so as
Gascoigne managed just eight League appearances, scoring one goal. His
Middlesbrough career ended amid contoversy when he elbowed Aston Villa's
George Boateng during a 4-0 defeat at the Riverside in mid February. It
proved to be the last game that Paul would play for the club and it was
a sad end to what had been a difficult couple of years for the gifted
midfielder. (David Scranage)
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