So that's it then. Both managers said it, every pundit agreed with it and every player knew it: lose this one and we're relegated. And now we surely are. Newcastle won the battle, and are in poll position to win the miniature war at the foot of the table.

It's still not a certainty, of course, but you'd get fantastic odds on us surviving now. We've lurched through the last part of the season, lacking any consistency or form whatsoever, and with Newcastle now above Hull and West Brom beginning to get results, it would be a safer bet that we finish bottom of the league.

It was a better match than I'd expected, although it was certainly scrappy and tense. We got off to a dream start when Tuncay's neat touch and then Beye's clumsiness resulted in Boro scoring within three minutes. It was our first notable attack and totally against the early run of play, as Newcastle had threatened repeatedly right from kick off.

Far from being floored by the goal, Newcastle showed considerable guts and Viduka hit the post almost straight after. Steven Taylor equalised with a thumping header from a corner and within ten minutes we were back to square one. Typical. Boro had already thrown away fifteen points from winning scorelines this season prior to the game, so the sinking feeling as Taylor wheeled away in celebration was far from unfamiliar.

There were all sorts of vicissitudes after that. Newcastle continued to press, enjoying considerable possession, but they couldn't find an opening and we kept hitting them on the break. Gareth Southgate had granted Dutch youngster Marvin Emnes his first league start (some match to throw him into, eh?) alongside Alves up front, and our tactic right from the start was to hit long balls either into the channels or for Alves to knock on so Emnes' considerable pace could stretch the Newcastle back line. Nice idea, and it almost worked, as Emnes went very close to scoring when he picked up his own rebounded shot with a neat touch and fired agonisingly wide.

While Emnes looked very lively (begging the question of why we haven't seen more of him), Alves conspired to collapse mysteriously halfway through the first period. He was carried off and replaced by Marlon King, much to the bemusement of everyone watching. It seems an earlier tackle by Nicky Butt had broken his ankle and it was only a few minutes later that the injury actually hit Alves.

The second half saw Newcastle sit much deeper, presumably to counter our long ball breaks, and granted time and space we began to dominate possession. The team's pretty passing didn't get very far, however, and despite a few good chances we could not capitalise. The outstanding chance of the match fell to O'Neil who hit a venomous volley… straight into Harper's gloves.

Once again, the team's lack of firepower cost us dear. Newcastle, on the other hand, have the most strikers this side of Manchester City, and when Michael Owen repeatedly failed to do the job, Alan Shearer simply swapped him for Obafemi Martins. The sub worked wonders for Newcastle: the Nigerian took a great touch within seconds of arriving on the pitch and promptly buried the ball to render all our possession and passing meaningless.

The inevitable happened: our young team's confidence was destroyed and although we pressed more men forwards, sacrificing Shawky in defensive midfield for Adam Johnson's attacking instincts, Newcastle were buoyant and able to pick us off on the break. Lovenkrands tapped in the third from close range and there could have been more if not for a few sharp saves from Brad Jones. The Toon Army were able to celebrate wildly as the game was comfortably shorn up and the Boro fans left waiting miserably for the final whistle to blow.

I don't think Southgate particularly did much wrong in this game, although Shawky was a strange inclusion. He hasn't played for months (growing a swarthy beard in the meantime) and has publicly stated that he wants to leave. With Digard supposedly back from injury, why start a discontented Egyptian in the holding role? That issue aside, the tactics weren't bad and had we actually taken our chances and defended a little better we'd be grinning from ear to ear right now.

The reasons why we lost have less to do with what Southgate did on Monday and more to do with what he did right back at the start of the season. The familiar combination of problems (a blunt strikeforce, an error-prone defensive and a lack of experience and resolve) contributed to our downfall, and having assembled this team, Southgate is the source of these problems. When the problems were evident, he took little or no action to better the team in January and the current crop of players have shown to be lacking in key areas.

The question we should be asking (and many fans already have) is whether Southgate's failure this season is merely a phase of learning that will lead to him (and to Boro) bouncing back better and stronger a year or two down the line, or whether it's evidence that he just isn't cut out for this job. Nary a season ago, certain commentators were praising the job he did keeping us in the league after losing a strike force worth thirty goals. Now he has undone that good work. Is he a promising young manager or a previously lucky misfit?

Unless Southgate answers the question himself in spectacular fashion in the next two weeks by keeping us in the league, it's a question that will be brooded over long and hard as we prepare for the Championship this summer.