BORO BACK TO THE FUTURE; It's deja vu at Riverside as: Southgate's men outfoxed...

A POPULAR former Boro skipper brings his newly-promoted team to the Riverside and parks the bus across the goal.

Gareth Southgate's men build up a head of steam and carve out a string of sitters that are either spurned with cavalier abandon or somehow stopped by an inspired keeper.

Shots are blocked, go screaming over and wide and it seems inevitable that at some point Boro must score.

Then the visitors make a rare raid forward to snatch a cruel goal, twist the knife and leave the frustrated fans either silent and shell-shocked or furious and vocal as the early-season optimism fizzles out into dark fear and uncertainty.

That was almost es xactly a year ago - September 27 - when Tony Mowbray arrived with West Brom, Alves put in a missed sitter masterclass and despite recently buttered fingers on international duty, Scott Carson suddenly looked like England's No 1 again.

Fast forward a year and some fatal flaws are revisited as Nigel Pearson - another steely would-be pretender to the throne, to listen to the underpass buzz - brings a limited Leicester with a simplistic gameplan and pulls off a deja vu smash-and-grab raid.

This time visiting keeper Chris Weale made two wonder saves from first a Sean St Ledger diving header, then a Mark Yeates bullet header from an Adam Johnson cross. And as the relentless pressure built there were a series of teasing balls into the Foxes' box and a flurry of shots charged down in frantic scrambles and right at the death the ball was fumbled at the feet of David Wheater eight yards out but his stabbed shot was deflected wide.

Naturally Leicester had scored by then after Boro's defence crumbled when it was put under pressure for the first time in the second half. And not one person in the ground was in the slightest bit surprised.

We all knew the script. We could all hear the scenery being moved around backstage.

So what's changed? The stakes, for one thing. Boro's defeat to a side who had not won away this term and who set themselves out to hang on for a draw has heaped the agony on under-fire Gareth Southgate.

Two defeats in a row at the Riverside have soured a season in which he knew he had to win his home games to keep the restless natives on board.

After a bright start built on a rock-solid defence, Boro have now taken just one point from nine and leaked eight goals, including two damaging late ones in the last two games.

For many among the crowd that is totally unacceptable.

Yes, Boro remain three points off the promotion spots - but only by default. They can't look to other results every time they falter. That safety belt failed last term. Boro must take fate into their own hands.

Had Boro not retreated and prepared the ground for a self-inflicted double blow at Coventry in a game they dominated, had Boro put Leicester to the sword in the second half pummeling, had Boro kept their concentration and discipline at Bristol City and not leaked a late goal they would be sat on top of the table now and even the most hostile fan would be reluctantly lauding the boss for delivering.

Instead, they have slumped predictably when it mattered, in front of a Riverside crowd increasingly acting as a jury -many of whom have now finished their deliberations and are itching to put on the black cap to pass sentence.

Many have already made their judgement. The crowd of 18,577 was a new low for a Riverside league game, the lowest for over 15 years and it pointed to a now tangible evaporation of support for the entire Southgate project.

Not that the fans were unfair.

They were patient through the soul-sapping purgatory of a turgid first half and the mandatory booing at the break was half-hearted and short-lived.

And as Boro piled on the pressure in the second, they got behind the team with gusto. Very few actively want the team or the boss to fail.

But as soon as Leicester scored the despair kicked in.

Thousands started to stream away but many more stayed to voice their discontent. The only thing audible over the cat-calls and booing was the noise of knives being sharpened.

Southgate admitted after the game that he knew expectations were high, he knew supporters demanded Boro bounce straight back up and he slapped a target on his back and said he was ready to take whatever flak was coming.

And there is a lot of flak coming. After Leicester scored the visiting fans started to taunt the Boro boss with a chorus of: "You're getting sacked in the morning"... and it was immediately taken up by sections of the home support.

At one point towards the end the boss came out into the technical area to scoop up a loose ball and was booed - even by the tartan-rugged radical fringe of the West Stand.

And as the whistle went there was an uncompromising chant of "out, out, out."

That will not go away unless the team start winning, fast.

Ironically it was a night when the gaffer answered many of his critics with some shrewd tactical changes that edged Boro into the driving seat.

When Leicester packed the midfield, he quickly slotted Gary O'Neil inside where he could have more impact.

And while he is accused of not being able to use his bench effectively, the introduction of Mark Yeates and Leroy Lita transformed the game, gave Boro an extra edge in the box and the Irishman delivered a string of brilliant inviting crosses into the danger zone.

But goals win games and Boro just could not score. Pearson admitted his side were lucky on the night but that won't make Boro fans any happier.

Nor will the fact that although all Boro's rivals faltered -even an Albion side declared champions elect a fortnight ago -they couldn't take advantage.

This is a side that cannot make its chances count. And you only get so many chances.

CAPTION(S):

MAKING HIS MARK: Mark Yeates brought some zip Picture by IAN COOPER REACH FOR IT: Marvin Emnes in a challenge with Leicester City's Wayne Brown FELLED: Boro's Jeremie Aliadiere is hacked down Picture by IAN COOPER HEADS UP: Above right, Sean St Ledger in action Picture by IAN COOPER ANGUISH: Scorer Lloyd Dyer celebrates to leave Boro in despair as Brad Jones is beaten while, below, Leroy Lita peps things up but can't find a way through