Middlesbrough entered the 2012-13 season having just missed out on the playoffs by one position the previous year and were tipped as one of the favourites to go up.
Tony Mowbray made a number of shrewd free transfers over the summer, with many players such as Grant Leadbitter and Andre Bikey becoming key members of the Boro first team.
He also brought in Josh McEachran on loan from Chelsea, partnering him with Leadbitter in the middle of the midfield. Mowbray was unable to hold onto prospect Joe Bennett, who went to Aston Villa for a reported £4m.
After the first half of the Championship season, Sports Mole takes a look at Middlesbrough's performance so far.
August
The season started with a League Cup win away to Bury, but the league campaign began disappointingly, with a sluggish 1-0 defeat away to Barnsley.
However, Middlesbrough recovered for the rest of the month, winning every other game including a 3-2 home defeat of Burnley, a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace and a place in the third round of the League Cup by beating Gillingham 2-0 away.
September
In September Middlesbrough entered a period of inconsistent results, with the opening day of the month bringing a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Millwall at The Den.
After the international break Boro overturned struggling Ipswich Town 2-0 at home, before being beaten 4-1 by Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.
They recovered once more to win 2-1 at Ewood Park before the return to the Riverside ended with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Leicester City, leaving Boro just above mid-table.
They also moved into round four of the League Cup with a good 3-1 win at Deepdale against Preston North End.
October
October started with Boro's first draw of the season – 2-2 at home to Derby County after a late equaliser from the Rams' Paul Coutts. Then came a run of straight wins to put Middlesbrough right back into Championship contention.
Three days after the Derby draw Marvin Emnes and Scott McDonald scored to overturn an early Watford goal to win 2-1.
After the two-week break, Boro won three games in six days against Brighton & Hove Albion, and at home to Hull City and Bolton Wanderers – McDonald with a brace in the final game.
The run continued into the League Cup with a win away to fellow North East side Sunderland, McDonald scoring the only goal.
November
The winning run in October moved Middlesbrough up to third in the Championship and November started in exactly the same manner with a thumping 4-1 win away to Charlton Athletic.
Boro were stopped from scoring for only the second time of the season, since the opening day defeat, when they drew 0-0 at Nottingham Forest, but recovered three days later to put three past Sheffield Wednesday in a 3-1 win.
Next came the biggest test of Boro's season, a trip to league leaders Cardiff City. They were defeated 1-0 and a week later went down 3-1 at home to Bristol City.
They recovered to beat Huddersfield Town 3-0 with a brace from McDonald but lost for the third time in four Championship games when they were edged out by Birmingham City at St Andrew's. Despite the dip in form, Boro remained third in the league at the end of the month.
December
Middlesbrough returned to form in December, edging out Peterborough United in a pulsating 3-2 encounter and a week later disposed of Wolverhampton Wanderers with two late goals from Emnes and McDonald.
They were very unlucky to lose 2-1 away to Leeds United after dominating much of the encounter, but on Boxing Day they overcame Blackburn Rovers 1-0, the result leading to the sacking of Rovers boss Henning Berg.
Boro's strong finish to the first half of the season has seen them end it just a point off the automatic promotion spots in third in the Championship. It ensures that Middlesbrough are slightly exceeding pre-season expectations.
Matt Domm
