Manchester United used to have the biggest and most blasé crowds in the country. Now they are just the biggest. A record Premiership attendance shoehorned into Old Trafford to see Wayne Rooney but he fell short of his most exhilarating peaks and there was no disguising the Mancunian melancholy engulfing the stadium at the end.
The disappointment was inevitable given that Arsenal's form makes the nine-point gap feel like a chasm. Only the most pessimistic United supporter could have envisaged they would be so far behind while the leaves were still dropping from the trees and the sense of despair was compounded here by the fact that their opponents arrived with half their usual team missing.
To put Middlesbrough's performance into perspective, Mark Viduka, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Franck Queudrue, Ray Parlour, Michael Reiziger and Joseph-Désiré Job were all absent. Hence their right flank comprised a full-back, Tony McMahon, and a winger, James Morrison, who were making their first Premiership starts, while on the bench was another member of their FA Youth Cup-winning team, Andrew Taylor, and a fourth teenager, Danny Graham, who spent last season on loan at Darlington.
In the circumstances their manager Steve McClaren could reflect upon a hugely satisfying day's work. "It's one of the most memorable performances I have seen from my side in three years at the club," he said. "I'm so proud of the players because I don't think anybody who saw our team-sheet before the game would have given us any hope. Nobody would have given us a prayer."
McClaren is actually entitled to feel slightly aggrieved that Middlesbrough did not emerge with their third victory here in four seasons and his fifth against Sir Alex Ferguson in eight meetings. When they led through Stewart Downing's breakaway goal just after the half-hour, Gaizka Mendieta had a splendid chance to double that lead as Boudewijn Zenden's clever dummy left him with a clear sight at Roy Carroll's goal in the 63rd minute. Despite having time to control the ball and pick his spot, Mendieta's usual composure failed him and his miss was the catalyst for United's first prolonged spell of second-half pressure, culminating in Alan Smith's late equaliser.
Smith, a substitute, had been on the pitch only 13 minutes and his expertly taken header from Cristiano Ronaldo's cross was the ideal way to remind Ferguson that, with six goals in 12 games, he could hardly have done more to justify a place in the starting XI. Smith's performance bristled with indignation and his sympathisers might also have noted that Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy could only manage one shot on target between them.
That is not to say Rooney had a bad game. The teenager was among Ferguson's busier players, continually linking up midfield and attack, but there was a marked difference from his performance against Fenerbahce in the Champions League last Tuesday. "Young Wayne was maybe a bit tired," Ferguson offered by way of explanation. "Last week was his first game for 96 days and maybe he paid the price here."
Instead the most impressive 18-year-old on the pitch was Morrison. Middlesbrough played with courage and conviction, with McClaren displaying his tactical astuteness by deploying George Boateng just in front of his back four. Boateng's robust tackling was one of the reasons why Rooney, whose natural tendency is to drop deep, will ultimately regard his first Premiership match in United's colours as a chastening experience. Gareth Southgate and Chris Riggott were magnificent in the centre of defence and their raw but talented youngsters played as though devoid of trepidation.
"The important thing is that we did not come here to defend or to launch it up the pitch," said McClaren. "To get a result here you have to defend manfully, score first and ride your luck, and we did all that. But, above all, we played some great football."
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect for Ferguson was the length of time it took United to re-assert themselves after Morrison had hared down the touchline, evading Gabriel Heinze, and crossed for Downing to angle a left-foot shot beyond Carroll. United, starting sixth in the table, had begun the game confidently, with Ronaldo shimmering with menace, but failed to work up a head of steam again until the final 20 minutes when Smith was brought on for John O'Shea, whose transition from defence to central midfield has had only limited success.
Middlesbrough played with such composure, indeed, that Roy Keane, having been booked for a challenge that necessitated Stuart Parnaby's early withdrawal, could have been sent off after taking out his frustration on a linesman. Rooney should also have been disciplined after scything down Boateng and a brief altercation late on with the Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.
Ferguson, wearing one of his sternest expressions, bemoaned the number of opportunities that United squandered during the final exchanges, when it was their bad luck that the two best chances fell to a defender, Gary Neville. He could also reflect on a Van Nistelrooy header that looped on top of the crossbar and, in the first half, Parnaby's goal-line clearance to deny the same player.
"It was just one of those days, I'm afraid," grizzled the home manager, not for the first time this season. United cannot expect to catch Arsenal, or get anywhere close, as long as it remains one of those days .
Man of the match: George Boateng (Middlesbrough)
How Rooney fared
13min Heavily involved from the start, he instigates United's first incisive attack with a measured pass for Gary Neville to cross on the right.
24 First shot of the afternoon but he drags his effort well wide from 25 yards.
31 Off target again as he swings his left foot at Ruud van Nistelrooy's knock-down.
40 Fortunate not to be booked after hacking down George Boateng with a cynical challenge.
68 Tees up Cristiano Ronaldo for a shot but cannot convert the rebound from Mark Schwarzer's parry.
74 A perfectly weighted ball for Van Nistelrooy, who miscues his shot over the crossbar.
78 Another flash of petulance as United win a corner and he tries to grab the ball from Schwarzer.
