Boro's Christmas slump has reared its ugly head for another year, we couldn't win at home but we were doing nicely on the road and then, as soon as shops started playing Band Aid and the Christmas Coca Cola adverts appeared, it all fell apart.
Arsenal was the exception, but it still only earned us a point. Hull was a repeat of Liverpool all those months ago, Fulham was just bad and Everton was truly dreadful.
And this is with players coming back...
Tony McMahon was excellent against Arsenal but he proved himself to be a dirty and careless player against Everton as he gave in to his frustrations, repeatedly committing pointless and sometimes dangerous fouls.
Aliadiere kept trying, forcing corners and displaying the will to win that the majority of the team were severely lacking but he second guesses himself and without support starts to look a little lost.
His substitution seemed to have been precautionary, he was alternating between rubbing his jaw, his head and the back of his thigh before he made way for Adam Johnson but we lost the tiny bit of creativity we had when he left the pitch.
That is not to say bringing on Johnson was a bad idea, he was arguably our man of the match even though he played less than forty-five minutes and looked bright and tricky. Downing was not contributing anywhere near enough and should have made way for Johnson. But a straight swap is not something Southgate seems to favour.
Downing was far from the only player not pulling his weight, the fans were out in force but less than a third of the team turned up. Even the usually reliable Pogatetz was fulfilling neither his role as captain nor his position at centre back.
Why oh why did Southgate bring on Alves?! Having arbitrarily taken off an under-performing Tuncay, Southgate then completely lost the plot and forgot that Mido and Alves cannot, will not and do not play together.
All of these issues constitute recurring problems.
We can't score, we can't keep clean sheets and our midfield may as well have a doormat in the middle so opposition players can wipe their feet as they stroll past Arca and O'Neil.
The reason the fans are so disappointed is that this year we really believed things would be different.
A fresh young team hungry for success and bursting with pride to be playing for the club. That in a nutshell is what Southgate was aiming for. Unfortunately, despite his intelligence and desire for improvement, Southgate is repeating his predecessors mistakes.
Top of the list in my eyes is buying Alves. £12.5 million, a club record fee, paid for a player who even when he summons up a smidgen of enthusiasm for the game cannot find the net, doesn't play well with others and won't take people on.
Not far behind is the acquisition of Mido. Eight clubs at the age of twenty-five tells its own story.
Robert Huth shows flashes of brilliance but even on the odd occasion that he's fit, they are few and far between. I cannot understand paying £6 million for a player who failed his initial medical at the club.
Then there's the home-grown players. It is disturbing to see the lack of professional pride and passion exhibited by young lads who grew up loving the Boro. For a team so young we looked incredibly jaded.
Listening to Southgate's post match interview full of frustration with just a hint of desperation did not fill me with confidence.
What worried me is he kept saying the same thing, 'it should work' and when it doesn't he seems at a loss to do fix it. His knowledge of the game is hampering his progress.
However this is not a 'Southgate out' column, partly because I don't think it has quite come to that but mostly because I'm not so sure it would change anything. Robson, McClaren, Southgate, different managers, different teams but something is obviously wrong a little higher up the pecking order.
Whatever is rotten in the state of MFC needs to be extracted and eradicated because if we fall down a division we won't be coming back up any time soon.
First published on www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sport/fanzone - Dec 08
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