Just throw that poisoned chalice on the big pile of broken hoodoos over there….
The “curse” of the manager of the month award (and Charlton’s run of 12 games without a win) may have had superstitious supporters and the old school once- bitten cynics quaking before the game, predicting a “typical Boro” nailed-on home defeat.
A long history of institutional inconsistency demanded a post-gong flop at home to an ailing team on the slide.
But Aitor Karanka is no respecter of this club’s time honoured traditions as the 3-1 win over Charlton showed. He doesn’t do “typical Boro.” Whatever whispered medieval mumbo jumbo is floating around the Teesside ether, he doesn’t buy into it.
He goes about his meticulous preparations, gets his team focused and organised and demands daily incremental improvement. He’s a fiercely driven and professional individual. He’s not going to let fans' fears projected onto the pitch seep into his universe.
So, no curse of the boss gong. No turkey poisoning post-Christmas slum. No campaign cracking January jitters. No buckling at Brentford in the big test of an away trip to a top six side. No prime-time freezing in front of the cameras.
This is a meaner, mentally stronger Boro fixed on the prize of promotion. They are winning even when not at their best.
And that is in a division where so often the opposition game plan is geared to not letting you be at your best. Good. We are going to need that strength and determination in what is shaping up to be the most cut-throat Championship summit scrum in decades.
The terrace tension was almost tangible as Boro – dominant in the opening spell – were pegged back just before the break while rivals Bournemouth and Derby were cruising. You could hear the quiver in the Tannoy voice as the half time scores were read out.
It wasn’t - and can’t be in early February - but it felt like a watershed moment in the season.
It felt like this new Boro had passed a huge unspoken cultural test.
Had they stuttered now and stumbled to a draw – or worse – you sensed that the belief built up over the last month may have fractured into ‘told you so’ underpass mumbling.
But Karanka gave his stuttering squad ‘Los Hairdryos” at the interval and they came out firing to quickly score and settle nerves in the stands.
It has under-pinned a growing sense of possibility: this team CAN win promotion. They ARE good enough.
It was, on reflection, a polished display, the shaky 20 minutes before the leveller aside.
There were flaws of course. This is the Championship and the team is far from perfect.
Boro looked creaky at the back – especially down the ring-rusty right where Ryan Fredericks and Kenneth Omeruo are still playing their way back – and there were a few early warning sirens.
But Boro soon plugged the gaps, took control of midfield and started to carve through and create chances. It looked a foregone conclusion as the front line picked into the penalty box.
Then Boro were punished for taking their foot off the gas, for over-elaborating and show-boating, becoming complacent and allowing the intensity to drop.
The goal came from the one real lax moment at the back – Big Ken allowed his man to wriggle away and put the ball into the dangerzone when really he should have made the tackle or committed a foul – but after that Boro rebooted and refocused.
But either side of that sluggish spell Boro played some neat stuff especially up front.
Man-of-the-moment Tomlinho put in a real gong show and played like he suddenly believes he is a match winner.
He put together an awesome clip reel of deft FIFA flicks, tricks, drag-backs, spins and a sublime weighted passes into shrewdly spotted spaces that had supporters salivating
It was as if Aitor was sat in the dug-out deftly pressing the buttons on his Playstation controller like a bedroom Messi
But as well as the tasty ‘tekkers’ Tomlin was working hard, closing down and linking up and contributing to a solid team display.
It was a fantastic individual display capped by a good assist and a sizzling goal to seal it.
When he won the Championship player of the month award there may well have been some eyebrows raised among Riverside regulars.
He probably hasn’t been Boro’s best of late (Ben Gibson for me but there are other candidates too) – but against Charlton he put in a display that engraved exclamation marks and underlined his name on the precious glassware.
He wasn’t the only one. Bar 20 minutes.
It was a good performance, if not quite a classic.
Aitor was disappointed they fell short of his high demands but it was comfortable, there was plenty of movement, creativity and crisp passing; energy and industry; organisation and tactical nous; spirit and determination. The whole promotion palette.
Coming hot on the heels of the gritty battle at Brentford, the game showed this side can mix and match styles, shapes and tempos and have the ability to do whatever it takes to win.
And it was needed. Boro’s win was a timely one. The top four won again. The pace is not dropping off at all. The intensity at the top is incredible.
It will come down to the ability to scrap and claw to victories, especially over the congested coming month, the February ‘fixturebomb’ .
Boro go into the sandpit at Blackpool on Tuesday for another high-stakes encounter on a night when the top two clash in Bournemouth.
Something has to give. All Boro can do is keep on raising the bar, grinding out wins, breaking ancient hoodoos and keep on closing in on the real prize this season.
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