But as it's supposedly the season to be jolly, I'm going to ignore it and pretend it never happened - just like the UEFA Cup final. (For fans who can't help but indulge in self-loathing, Anthony Vickers aptly and bluntly sums up the feeling amongst the Riverside faithful here.)
Instead, in an attempt to lift the dwindling gloom, I'm looking back on happier times by picking my MFC team of the decade. After all, it has been a great decade in Boro's history - despite the painful final twelve months.
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Goalkeeper: Mark Schwarzer
No contest for the keeper’s jersey. Big Aussie Schwarzer was Boro’s undisputed number one before leaving for Fulham in 2008. Skippy kept ten clean sheets for the Cottagers in his debut season. Meanwhile, Gareth Southgate ummed and aahed over Brad Jones and Ross Turnbull as Boro leaked 57 goals on their way to relegation. A quality goalkeeper who commanded his area and inspired confidence throughout the team. What a distant memory that now seems.
Right back: Luke Young
Not an easy position to pick. Boro have had a different first-choice right back in almost every season of the noughties. But we’ve hardly been spoilt – Stuart Parnaby, Robbie Stockdale and Michael Reiziger to name but a sorry few. Young, though, was a class above his predecessors, as well as his successor, Justin Hoyte. His sale to Aston Villa came in the wake of Schwarzer and George Boateng’s departures. This exodus of experience contributed heavily to our eventual downfall.
Centre half: Gareth Southgate (captain)
Boro’s first captain to lift a major trophy. Boro’s first captain to lead the club out in Europe. And Boro’s first captain to marshal the side in a showpiece European final – you can’t help but think he might be the last. A textbook captain who led by example rather than discipline, and an absolute gent to boot. I’m still gutted at the way Lamb and Gibson disposed of him as boss earlier this year.
Centre half: Ugo Ehiogu
Big Ugo arrived for a big fee – £8million – in 2000, but went on to justify it as a key part of Steve McClaren’s Riverside revolution. The partnership of Ehiogu and Southgate was one of the best in the Premier League around the middle of the decade, but unfortunately peted out as injury niggles caught up with Ehiogu. He might have added to his four England had he managed to stay fit during Sven Goran Eriksson’s tenure.
Left back: Franck Queudrue
The Frenchman was unheard of when he signed on loan from Lens in 2001. But then boss McClaren was quick to make Queudrue’s contract permanent after the buccaneering full back became a fans’ favourite for his committed and energetic play. He lost his way slightly after helping Boro to the 2004 Carling Cup, and was displaced by Emmanuel Pogatetz as Stevie Mac sought to bolster his squad for the upcoming European exploits.
Right wing: Gaizka Mendieta
Mendi left the club somewhat acrimoniously when his lucrative contract expired at the end of the 2007/08 campaign after being frozen out of the first team by Southgate. But under McClaren the silky Spaniard showed glimpses of the class that once convinced Lazio to pay nearly £30million for his services. And Teesside’s admiration for Mendieta was reciprocal – despite the disappointing end to his Boro career, he still lives in the area after settling with his family in Yarm.
Centre midfield: George Boateng
Every good team needs a destroyer in the middle of the park. Boateng was never an attractive player to watch – he could barely pass the ball in a Boro shirt – but he was a mighty effective ball-winner. He was also a big influence on the rest of the team, his energy and enthusiasm often galvanising the squad and fans in times of difficulty. And it was that side of Boateng’s game, rather than the footballing side, that we never managed to replace in the signing of Didier Digard.
Centre midfield: Bolo Zenden
The left-footed Dutchman didn’t spend his entire Boro career in the centre of midfield, of course, and indeed spent much of his firts season on the wing. But Bolo was shifted inside to accommodate the emergence of Stewart Downing, and it paid off. No other Boro side of the noughties had a player who scored freely from the midfield like Zenden did. He was sorely missed when he chose to leave for Liverpool at the end of his silly one-year contract. Unfortunately, it was a bad move for the player too as he struggled to make an impact on Merseyside.
Left wing: Stewart Downing
Without doubt the best player to come out of Boro’s prized youth academy in the past ten years. It was clear quite early that he was going to become a big player for his hometown club, but not many might have envisaged him notching up 20 England caps before the age of 24. It’s a shame that England’s fans haven taken to him as quickly as the Riverside faithful, but they will when he inevitably makes his mark at new club Aston Villa.
Striker: Mark Viduka
He was sometimes frustrating, big Mark was. Lethargic. Moody. Unfit. Didn’t run his socks off. But I don’t care. He hit 42 goals in three seasons which were hampered by injury, and not many of them were tap-ins. He scored some memorable goals and was always a lovely player to watch, boasting beautiful close control and bullish hold-up play. His lethal partnership with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink in his first two seasons on Teesside now seem a figment of my imagination as I watch Leroy Lita and Marcus Bent lead the line for us in 2009.
Striker: Alen Boksic
Probably the most controversial selection in my XI. Boksic, like Viduka, wasn’t always in tip-top condition, and had certainly seen his best playing days long before joining us from Lazio in 2000. He was part of the squad which came close to Premier League relegation before El Tel’s salvage operation. Without him, though, we might not have survived. He scored some vital goals, and continued to do so under McClaren. A very skilful player – though in fairness, he mightn’t have justified his reported £65k-per-week wages.
What d'ya reckon - have I got it right? Probably not. So let me know who would be in your Boro team of the decade.
