Middlesbore

As far as football club chairmen are concerned, they don’t come any better than Steve Gibson. He is passionate about Middlesbrough and thanks largely to his efforts, they have a terrific stadium and state of the art training facilities. More importantly, he doesn’t try to do the manager’s job for him and he is not prone to knee jerk reactions when things aren’t going according to plan.

So when a man like Steve Gibson expresses a little disquiet, his views should be taken seriously. He is acutely aware that the level of support at the Riverside Stadium is declining – a substantial 2,000 down on last season – and as an intelligent man he will know why. The fans are not being entertained and they are voting with their feet. In short, Middlesbrough have become Middlesbore.

In view of the level of investment, the people of Teesside – and especially Steve Gibson – deserve better. And since the manager has been touted in some quarters as a possible successor to Sven Goran Eriksson, the Football Association might wish to follow events in the north east with interest.

The more cynical observer might conclude that this was a game so dire that it got the referee it deserved. On that basis, the standard of refereeing in the lower leagues wouldn’t bear thinking about.