Middlesbrough's recent slump from European contenders to Premiership also-rans has been caused, in no small part, by their inability to find the back of the proverbial 'onion bag' often enough.

Sports Writer Paul Fraser takes a look at the players whose job it is to keep the goals-for column ticking over.

ONE of the worst kept secrets on Teesside is that Steve McClaren has been searching far and wide for months to bring in some fresh firepower to boost his Middlesbrough squad.

But if that fact alone isn't enough to prove Boro are in desperate need of a goalscorer, then the statistics this season speak for themselves.

If you consider the dreadful return from the side's front-men since August it is little wonder McClaren's boys now sit in the bottom half of the table.

And it is fair to say that had it not been for Boro's impressive defensive record - only Southampton and Chelsea are better at the back in the Premiership this term - the Riverside outfit could well be in the midst of a relegation scrap.

Take Szilard Nemeth, Massimo Maccarone and Alen Boksic. At the start of the season the trio were seen as the Teessiders' main attacking threat. Back in August at least two of these - injuries permitting - were expected to start every game this season.

But that is no longer the case. All three have failed to light up the top-flight and have consistently failed to wreak havoc in opposing rearguards. Here's the evidence:

Szilard Nemeth, 25:

He has been the best striker this season for Boro, although his form has been erratic.

He has scored five goals in 12 starts - not a bad return - but in the games where he has failed to find the back of the net he has only been a peripheral figure.

When he grabbed Slovakia's goal against England in the European Championship qualifier in October he was tipped for great things back in England. But he has failed to fulfil the potential seen in him by former Boro chief Bryan Robson.

Robson set up a deal to bring Nemeth to Teesside from Inter Bratislava in the summer of 2001, but he has struggled to perform regularly. Despite his disappointing form he is still Boro's joint top-scorer.

Massimo Maccarone, 23:

So far he has been a misfit. At £8.15m he is a costly and, at present, ineffective buy. Early-season promise indicated Boro's gamble had paid off. He had scored four goals by September 28 and looked like a player of great potential.

However, after that Saturday afternoon in Tottenham, Maccarone did not hit another goal in 2002. Quite how he had the cheek to issue a 'play me or I'm off' ultimatum to his manager is anybody's guess.

After his electric start to life in England - he was brilliant on his home debut against Fulham in August, scoring two goals - he has been unable to cope with the uncompromising defences he has come across.

But, to his credit, last Saturday the Italian international showed his strong character by stepping up and coolly slotting in an equalising penalty against Southampton. That strike brought to an end an abysmal run of 14 appearances without a goal.

Regardless of Maccarone's failings though, like Nemeth, he is currently Boro's top scorer with five goals.

Alen Boksic, 33 next week:

Earning a reported £63,000 a week, the Croatian has worked harder under McClaren than for his predecessor Robson. He has tracked back to help out the midfield and defence, but there is no way he has done enough to justify his weekly pay packet.

In his two and a half years in the North-East, Boksic has made just 64 starts for Boro - at a cost to chairman Steve Gibson of £122,000 a game. Ridiculous by anyone's standards, particularly for a forward who has only scored 22 times since arriving in August 2000.

Boksic, out of contract in the summer, has been told he is playing for his future by McClaren. But he too has been largely ineffective in the final third.

The Croatian's talent is not in question. Anyone who has played for some of Europe's biggest clubs - Juventus, Lazio and Marseille - must have something.

But the Riverside faithful have become increasingly frustrated with the £2.5m capture. Had he been in full flow this season then Boro may well be sitting in the top six, instead of occupying their place in the bottom half of the table.

With the above trio all struggling McClaren has been trying hard to draft in a new front-man - most recently Tottenham's Les Ferdinand and Derby's Malcolm Christie.

Ferdinand would have been short-term but former shelf-stacker Christie is full of potential.

But even he is not an out and out goal poacher and his record for the Rams of 29 goals in 89 starts proves just that, although he has managed to achieve a ratio of a goal every three games at a struggling side.

Whether it is Christie, Maccarone, Nemeth or Boksic, Boro need a 20-goals a season man and they need him quickly.

Joseph-Desire Job has filled the hole behind the front two well - scoring four goals in 17 starts in a lively campaign - but he has been McClaren's most creative player.

Noel Whelan, who scored his first goal of the season seven days ago, and Dean Windass, now at Sheffield United, have both been tried up front.

And maybe it is time McClaren handed Whelan a run in the side for impressive performances in the reserves.

Meanwhile, one last thought: Whatever happened to the so called Argentinian wonder-kid Carlos Marinelli?

He disappointed when starting the first three Premiership games of the current campaign and he has not been seen against England's elite since.

Marinelli was another South American hailed as the next Diego Maradona. But funnily enough he, like many before him, has failed to live up to the maestro's name.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.