By The Freedom Bear
March 24 2005

Oh dear, oh dear. The smog season just goes from bad to worse. From being UEFA Cup certainties, Teesside was brought back down to earth with a humbling defeat against a Southampton team who hadn't won away all season.< Southampton came to the smogside with a gameplan and a tall striker. Oh dear.

The Bear has realised that opposing teams now know the smogs are shockingly bad at defending high balls, and even worse at winning the knock downs.

On top of this, opposing teams realise Downing is the only attacking threat, therefore the smogs are easy to stifle.

The Bear says the formation was predictable, and whilst he has no problems understanding the selections, the way the team played was woeful. No heart, no bite, no ability, totally inept.

It wasn't magnificent, it was embarassing. The smogs rarely threatened and could have easily lost by more. This wasn't pretty, and it certainly wasn't worth £30 a ticket.

The Bear believes that if people witness a load of heartless fools playing for the team they love, then they have every right to boo. This was one to forget, and things aren't going to get any better. DUD.

The Bear is not surprised though, the warning signs were there for all to see before Christmas which incidentally is when The Bear first predicted the smogs would ultimately plummet into the realms of midtable obscurity.

Unfortunately, due to some exceptional personal circumstances, The Bear was unable to predict the Southampton match through ComeOnBoro.com or FMTTM.

However, The Bear did verbally predict a 3-1 Southampton win, and so therefore increases his awesome success rate - that'll do for The Bear.

Add this to The Bear's last four predictions, and you have a record that even Nostradamus would be proud of.

But remember kids, being right is often more of a hindrance than a gift.

So where do the smogs go from here? The Bear would suggest that regardless of injuries, taking seven points from a possible thirty is simply not good enough.

The smogs team smacks of just going through the motions, with seemingly few players caring about the league finish or indeed the fans.

Now The Bear has never been a great McClaren admirer, but hasn't ever really seriously entertained the thought of replacing him. Until now.

Sure, The Bear understands that injuries have significantly contributed to our downfall, but the fact remains, that the 'squad' players currently being used are all proven Premiership players, with many of them even playing on the international scene at some point.

The problem hereby lies with a squad of players who OK, aren't world beaters, but ARE - or should be - good enough to beat Southampton.

Simple passes go astray, there is no drive, there is no movement, and the tactics on too many occasions have been wrong.

At the end of the day, The Bear states that its the manager who selects the team, tactics, and is responsible for motivation, none of which have been there recently.

The bear recognises the fact that the smogs have come far under McClaren, but every manager's time runs out.

The key is, to get rid of them at the right time, and not to leave it until it is too late.

The Bear believes the club has gone stale and with no cups to play for, the smogs are going to continue to plummet down the league, and at this rate will finish below ninth.

For a squad of the smogs ability, performances, tactics and desire are severely lacking.

The Bear believes it is time Gibbo got ruthless. The last few months have been horrific, and plenty of managers get relieved of their duties for less.

The Bear desires a manager with some PREVIOUS managerial experience, instead of getting another Manure cast off who will use Middlesbrough as their learning curve.

TFB. Team Freedom Bear. Bear for Manager.