Sad to say, but I would probably have settled for a point from this one. Although no-one was too excited at the prospect of Steve MacLaren taking over at Elland Road during the summer, that was as much to do with his sordid Old Trafford connections as any perceived lack of managerial experience. It has to be said he is showing all the signs of doing a good job.

Boro, previously most famous for their apparent desire to sign every Villa centre half (Shaun Teale was getting excited) and producing a stultifying lack of goal-mouth action, are developing into a formidable and - dare I say it - youthful outfit under MacLaren. He's even showing the tell-tale early signs of a Ferguson-like booze and stress complexion. Be afraid. After our mostly anaemic recent performances, this was one to approach more in hope than expectation.

More muscle in the middle

Whilst it is difficult not to admire the kind of football Ell Tel wants us to play, his selection sometimes leaves something to be desired. A tricky away game in the north east is not the time to rely on the less than awesome physical presence of Macca, Bowyer and Barmby in the middle of the park. I regularly shed more than their combined weight first thing in the morning with a mug of tea in one hand and the paper in the other. Fine players that they all are, it was hard to know where possession was going to come from - particularly when Boetang and Geremi dragged their huge frames into view.

To be fair to our Stevie Mac he spent the afternoon putting himself about and when he has the ball, we never lose it. Bow started quietly but spent the second half seeming more like his old self (get it signed Lee), but I remain to be convinced of Barmby's merits. To give him his dues, he never stops grafting and he has been involved at the sharp end of some of our best football all season. We've seen worse (Mr Aizlewood anyone?), but its difficult not to feel a little frustrated when Olly and Batts are nowhere to be seen.

Slow start

Under Wilkinson we used to start like a train. On a good day we could beat the best teams in the first 20 minutes. On a bad day we would lose the league cup final to Villa. Nuff said. Under O'Leary we always seemed to start the second- half as if the players had spent half-time having a nice lie-down and a cup of Horlicks in the story corner. Suffice it to say I deliberately retain very little recollection of George Graham's Leeds.

Under Venables the team seemed to have developed the unhappy knack of starting EVERY game terribly. The only time I can remember us dominating from the off this season is the Sunderland game. Not the best example. Saturday was no exception.

Being honest, we were lucky to be on level terms at the midway point. The Duke was battling away at the front, playing his best football for a while, but the game was going past the midfield and an increasingly frustrated Alan didn't appear to know where he was supposed to be playing. Am I the only person who doesn't understand the point of playing Smiffy wide and H up front? I mean it, am I missing something? One effect of the way we are currently playing is the way that it exposes the full-backs. Lucic looks to be a useful player and we should give him credit for being involved in both goals. He also defended well but he will endure worse afternoons than this because when he receives the ball he has nobody wide to pass to.

Woody was magnificent. He strides through games with the sort of class and calm that he has rarely displayed off the field. If he can marry the two - and the signs are good - he will be England's second centre-half (hopefully alongside Campbell). Radebe and Mills were also looking solid but as a team we were having to defend too much.

One nil

We took the lead slightly against the run of play. A good move down the left led to Bowyer's delightful chest into Viduka's path. Displaying those patented 'quick feet for a big man' the Duke made Ehiogu look silly, turning him inside out and inviting a clumsy trip on the edge of the six yard box. Our number nine never struck me as the best man to take a spot kick but he fair rattled this one in the bottom corner past his national team mate Schwarzer. One up.

To be fair to Boro they hit back well. To be fair to us we defended well. However, the equaliser was not unexpected. A corner was only partially cleared and when Geremi was played in down the inside right channel, Radebe was slow coming up and left him onside. A neat pass across the middle gifted Joseph Desire Job with the simplest of chances. Robinson had no chance. A phrase we seem to hear all too often.

Half time high jinks

Middlesboro really don't like us. It's probably insecurity because they live in a town that makes Swinnow look like New York. It may also have something to do with their ambiguous Yorkshireness. I live in south London but the air in Stockton still tastes rancid to me. They do make lovely chemicals mind. Anyway, relations between the two sets of fans took a battering at half-time when the stadium staff - in their wisdom - decided to close all the food outlets in the away end. Oh yes, and they didn't announce it. Now I don't understand why chopping a dog's balls off is supposed to calm it down. In the same situation I would be a little angry. If the stewards were worried about our fans why antagonise them more? I can understand why they would stop selling booze but every man deserves his pasty. It was sausage roll suicide.

Away improvement

The lads played much better in the second half. Bowyer was buzzing around, Harry managed to look interested and Woody was once again showing his class. It was also the sort of game that Smithy thrives on. In a word, physical. A lot has been said about his sending off and he was certainly unlucky, particularly with the second booking. There can be little doubt that Rob Stiles - the worst of a bad bunch of refs in the Premiership - sent him off for reasons other than football alone. Alan has a reputation.

Everyone admires Smith's talent, aggression and drive but you do have to question his judgement at times. Whilst the second booking was an absolute joke, he put himself in a difficult position by scything their lad down when there was no need. With a yellow card against his name and every no-name ref in the country desperate to send him off, it is a question of when - and not if - Alan will be sent off.

2-1

We took the lead through a goal that says much about what Venables is trying to achieve at Leeds. Lucic was tenacious to win the ball which moved rapidly through one of the tightest defences in the league through a combination of Kewell's pace and strength and Viduka's eye for an angled back heel. When Schwarzer clawed Harry's well struck shot from inside his left hand post, Bowyer had the drive and energy to poke home the rebound. A goal of class to match the way the team had played their way into the half.

Equaliser

Once Alan had gone off there was an inevitability about Boro's leveller. The annoying thing is that without the imbalance in numbers, we were in line for three points that would have been as welcome as they were unexpected. Never mind. All things considered and with the referee to contend with as well, this was a valuable point earned - even if it felt like two lost. An awful corner was missed by everybody except Southgate (who hadn't helped Smithy's cause) and he poked the ball over the line. Why does he only score against us?

Homeward

And that was that - apart from two potentially significant things. Leaving the ground was a particularly hairy experience. Groups of Teeside's marauding youth wandered around setting upon random groups of Loiners. Needless to say the feds were nowhere to be seen.

We were cheered, however, by Ell Tel's spirited defence of Smith on Radio 5. After allowing his interviewer to expound the theory that Alan is a marked man because of 'media coverage' Venables pointed out the BBC are not averse to mentioning his disciplinary record. Defending his own. Any more of that and all the doubters will be convinced.

This game was not a significant milestone in the history of Venables' Leeds. It did tell us a lot about where the team is now - and hopefully where they are going. This team will not lack for commitment or flair and whilst the tactics may not always be crystal clear, I suspect we are rarely going to be bored. For those of us who lived through Graham's Leeds, that is no small mercy.