Atkinson justifiably picked out the goalkeeper, Dave Beasant, and central defender, Jon Olav Hjedle, for praise and "some" of the midfielders for decent performances. He ignored the front pair altogether, though he later said Van Hooijdonk was "so-so".Though still ready with a quip, Atkinson looked tired. As it was, a stooping header by the excellent Martin Keown, from Emmanuel Petit's 34th minute corner, was enough.Johnson was one of Forest's better players. A defence of Arsenal's quality was never likely to be overly troubled by this and, though Andy Johnson hit a post soon after half-time, there was always a feeling that the champions had an extra gear in reserve. The pitch did not help, nor the absence of Steve Stone and Chettle - identified in advance by Atkinson's coach, Peter Shreeves, as their best players - but the passing was poor and support play haphazard.They did not so much build attacks as throw them together in the hope that one might work out. It was as near as he got to success all afternoon.While there was enough sand on the pitch to make him feel he had never left Barbados, an illusion strengthened by unexpected sunshine at kick- off, it was sleeting down by the end and the journey from Bridgetown airport to the Bridgford Stand must have seemed a long one in every respect.Forest looked a First Division side masquerading as a Premiership one. While there was plenty of effort from all but Pierre van Hooijdonk, who seemed to believe he really was on the beach, there was a desperate lack of quality.

So low is confidence that Steve Chettle's "captain's message" in Saturday's match programme included phrases like "we look set to spend next season in the First Division" and "we desperately need something to happen".In his own column Atkinson admitted "time is not on our side", which made his decision to spend the week in Barbados, rather than coaching his new team, all the more mystifying.It enabled him to arrive with his perma-tan topped up to an unhealthy looking degree but left him so unsure of his surroundings he initially went to the wrong dug-out, sitting down next to a startled Fabian Caballero.Perhaps remembering the Arsenal substitute's recent elbow on Ryan Kidd at Preston, Atkinson got up sharpish as well as sheepish. Then he arrived in November to take over a team whose position owed much to injuries, who had won 5-0 the previous week, and were not even bottom, let alone adrift.Forest, by contrast, have not beaten a Premiership team since August, are seven points from safety and patently short of quality. Until the Football Task Force turn their attention to complex issues like club ownership, rather than skirting around the game's vested interests, it will remain so. At present, therefore, Forest fans have to put faith in a board they have little faith in, or hope Ron Atkinson really can work miracles.The best crowd in four months suggested many do, but without substantial investment - way above the reported pounds 2m available to him - Atkinson has little hope of repeating last season's escapologist act at Sheffield Wednesday.

Middlesbrough: Fleming, Ricard, Pallister.Referee: S Lodge (Barnsley).Man of the match: Bowyer.Attendance: 37,473.. AT THE turnstiles Nottingham Forest handed out paper hats enabling fans to proclaim their backing for Big Ron but the supporters knew where the responsibility for saving their team really lay. Outside the City Ground before Saturday's 1-0 defeat by Arsenal they were offering their own giveaway, of leaflets outlining the official supporters' club's latest moves to persuade the board either to provide financial resources or sell up to someone who will. The best of luck to them but, as fans from Brighton to Manchester City have found, it is a long and bitter process shifting a board that does not want to go. Substitutes not used: Ribeiro, Halle, Robinson (gk).Middlesbrough (3-5-2): Schwarzer; Vickers, Festa, Pallister; Fleming, Mustoe, Gascoigne (Beck, 62), Maddison (Cooper, 62), Gordon; Deane, Ricard.

Substitutes not used: Stamp, Summerbell, Beresford (gk).Bookings: Leeds: Harte. You had better ask someone who is."You do not need to be an expert to estimate Smith's destination. His vehicle is only just on the road and he will have a lot of defenders contemplating the scrapyard.Goals: Smith (21) 1-0; Bowyer (27) 2-0.Leeds United (4-3-1-2): Martyn; Harte, Wetherall, Radebe, Granville; Bowyer, Hopkin, McPhail (Haaland, 76); Kewell; Smith (Korsten, 81), Hasselbaink. So much so that when he was substituted after 81 minutes every one of his team-mates made a point of applauding him."He has a chance," O'Leary said with the twinkle in the eye of a man who knows he has far more than that "How far can he go? I'm no expert. After 21 minutes when he drove the ball past Mark Schwarzer after Hasselbaink's greediness had worked in Leeds' favour for once.Smith turned provider with a chest-down, turn and 40-yard pass to Bowyer six minutes later and spent the rest of the game tormenting his elders in the red shirts. Glenn Hoddle should seriously re-examine his England credentials and quietly store Gazza's in the archives.Bowyer had a marvellous match and he needed it to surpass Alan Smith whose precocity is a delight for Hoddle and anyone with England's future at heart. At 18 he would be the most exciting young striker in the country if Michael Owen had followed Trevino into golf instead of his father into football.Even before he scored he showed staggering aplomb and quick feet to flick Hasselbaink's pass with his heel beyond Steve Vickers' challenge and was halted only by a poor shot.

"I thought it was appropriate."Any side which contains Paul Gascoigne is going to have a pace problem at its core and Leeds exploited it ruthlessly. There have been claims that he should be included in England's plans but anyone who was at Elland Road would realise how hollow they are.There was an international-class performance in midfield on Saturday and it did not come from Gascoigne, who was lost in a sea of speed and endeavour, but from Lee Bowyer. "We were fortunate to be only two goals down at half-time, not five. You just can't start games like that."David O'Leary, his Leeds counterpart, was as diplomatic as Robson was frustrated when he was asked about the disparity in the respective ages of the teams. "Let's just say I wanted to play a high tempo game," he said. The body was straining but the mind could not cope with players willing to interchange positions and if Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's choice of options was as accurate as his shooting we would have witnessed a massacre of Anfield proportions."How can you outplay Aston Villa one week and next week go away and be all over the place?" Robson asked.