- Thanks to Boro Kit Retro for their help
This kit would have been eligible for the Twice as Nice series but for Middlesbrough’s participation in the end-of-season Championship play-offs.
For 2014-15, adidas riffed on the classic Boro chestband but rotating it to look like a sash, while the change kit was a dark grey and navy hooped effort. With the red and black stripes of Bournemouth present in the second tier, a third kit was going to be required at Dean Court in March but it ended up being premiered before that.
In January 2015, Boro were away to Brentford and, while they could have worn the change shirt with home shorts and socks, it would have made for an overall clash and so instead they took to the field in all-white – the fetching look helped them to a 1-0 win.
Essentially, the shirt was just the Tabela 14 teamwear option, but what made it look somewhat fresh was the fact that the adidas stripes went from the shoulder to the hem, a rarity in the modern era at the top level. Both Wales and Schalke had versions of this design, but with the ‘sleeve free zone’ mandated by so many competition organisers nowadays. The home shorts and teamwear socks completed the outfit.
The game at Bournemouth wasn’t a success as Aitor Karanka’s lost 3-0 but they went on to finish fourth, setting up a play-off semi-final against the side in fifth – Brentford. Once more in all-white at Griffin Park, Boro won 2-1 before a 3-0 home-leg win sent them to Wembley. Though they lost to Norwich City in the final, it laid the foundation for the second-placed finish of 2015-16 and a return to the Premier League.
