go out all the time, and I just thought that wasn’t the way. I thought they needed that professionalism on the pitch"; these players were dubbed the "Spice Boys" by the tabloid media for their off-field issues. He fell out with Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier in the summer of 1999, when he attempted to sign Marc-Vivien Foé without consulting him. Middlesbrough Houllier put Ince on the transfer list and the 31-year-old signed for Middlesbrough for £1 million in July 1999. He was signed by his former Manchester United midfield partner Bryan Robson. Ince received 11, 9 and 10 yellow cards in his three respective seasons. On 22 October 2001, in a 2–0 home win over rivals Sunderland, he was sent off for putting his hands to Niall Quinn's face. The following 10 March, he scored in a 3–0 victory against Everton at the Riverside Stadium to put Boro into the semifinals of the FA Cup, but he missed the defeat to Arsenal in that round due to suspension. In July 2002, Ince left Boro after turning down a two-year contract extension, citing the long commute from his home in the northwest. He played 106 games for Boro, scoring nine goals. Wolverhampton Wanderers In August 2002, Ince signed a one-year contract with Football League First Division side Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had just signed his former Manchester United teammate Denis Irwin. In his first season outside top-flight football, he helped the team to promotion via a 3–0 win over Sheffield United in the play-off final, assisting the second goal by Nathan Blake. Ince and Irwin signed new one-year contracts to remain with Wolves for the 2003–04 FA Premier League season. The team finished bottom and he was sent off in the last game of the season, a 2–0 loss to Tottenham at Molineux. With over 100 appearances to his name, Ince signed a new contract in June 2005. Through thigh problems, he missed four months between August and December. In April 2006, he announced that he wanted to continue playing for Wolves for a further season after speaking with his friend Teddy Sheringham. However, following Ince's failure to get the manager's job at Wolves in July 2006 on Hoddle's resignation, the newly appointed manager, Mick McCarthy, decided not to offer Ince a new contract. Throughout his time with the club, Ince declared his intention to return, at some point in the future,