Final match of the 2008-09 season and the challenge for Boro is simple - beat West Ham and hope that Newcastle and Hull lose in order to escape relegation. Newcastle and Hull kept their half of the bargain by losing to Aston Villa and Manchester United respectively. Boro lost. Their 12th consecutive away defeat which extended their already achieved club record and equalled a PL one, so were relegated to English Footballs second tier for the first time since 1997 with Ravanelli, Emerson and friends.