In a time not so long ago, Boro fans had never heard of Afonso Alves and we had two skillful, exciting foreign talents leading our attack.
Their pace was frightening, their control exquisite. Perhaps they did not score quite as many goals as we wanted them to but they always looked threatening and their combined work rate was phenomenal.
Last night Southgate revisited those times by returning to his former attacking pairing of Tuncay and Aliadiere up front. No lone striker nonsense, no faffing about with Downing 'in the hole' just a proven partnership, two strikers who work well together, run themselves into the ground and will give everything for the team.
Yesterday the Boro produced a real team performance, won comfortably, scored two fantastic goals and I don't think Alves even warmed up.
This is not Alves' fault but I have repeatedly suggested that the Brazilian just does not fit in the Boro team and his omission from the starting eleven has not changed my mind.
Tuncay, who has looked disinterested and downright dismal at times recently was on fire, his overall play improved exponentially, all the little flicks and tricks we loved him for were in evidence and he has remembered that he can turn opponents without blinking. He looked like he was really enjoying himself, oh yes and he scored!
His old strike partner, Jeremie Aliadiere, had had barely a weeks worth of training and less than forty-five minutes against Wigan but he worked tirelessly, surged forward, won headers and gave the team the drive and creativity we have been sorely missing in his absence. He did not score but he looked dangerous and he did force an excellent save from Robert Green.
Both were subbed in the later stages of the game suggesting they may get the nod again on Saturday. Here's hoping!
And Downing did exactly what he did in the initial FA Cup match against West Ham, he scored an important goal. But this goal was a beautiful free kick which glided into the net, pure poetry.
Sorry, I'm getting carried away now but it has been so long since the fans witnessed anything like the football we were treated to last night.
The West Ham fans, a large contingent of around 4000 had been making a lot of noise in their distinctive accents, mostly "Your support is facking shit!" When Downing's goal hit the back of the net they shut up. Quickly. In fact they remained pretty much silent for the rest of the proceedings, so at least someone listened to MFC's wishes to "only sing when you score"! The sound of metaphorical bubbles bursting would have been easier to hear were it not for the delighted Boro fans' exultations.
For the first time since November, there were several contenders for Man Of The Match. Tuncay and Aliadiere have already been discussed, Matthew Bates was brilliant, Huth unmovable to the opposition whilst also being far more mobile than usual, Hoyte was lively and would have done more had he got the ball everytime he called for it having created acres of space for himself. Pogatetz was back to his best and Brad Jones kept his third clean sheet.
Granted some of the Hammers' finishing was disturbingly bad but Jones was solid and agile. The laid-back Aussie looked comfortable between the sticks and celebrated both Boro goals as enthusiastically as any of his team mates.
Julio Arca also had his best game in living memory and Gary O'Neil was far more effective on the wing than he has looked in the centre. Even the substitutes were dynamic, Emnes, Johnson and Walker all looked determined to prove their worth and attacked the game with gusto for the short time they were on the pitch.
For me, Matty Bates just edged it if only because he is a defender who not only puts in a shift out of position, he makes the position his own.
Instead of grasping desperately for positives, there is only really one problem with yesterday's FA Cup win over West Ham, that it was in the FA Cup, so no three points for the Boro!
Obviously the question now is can we play like that in the league?... and will it be enough? Okay, that is two questions but at least one will be answered on Saturday against Liverpool, let us hope we do not have to wait until the final game of the season or rely on other teams to answer the other.
First published on www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/fanzone - Feb 09
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