Having been somewhat destroyed by Chelsea at home 2-0, next up we faced the might of Stoke City away in what was deemed as a must-win game. We drew 1-1. Granted, we played pretty poorly for most of the game, there were a few positives to take from this game.

Firstly, other than Middlesbrough beating Hull City, other teams around us also were beaten. Hull (as mentioned), Sunderland and also Blackburn Rovers all lost, meaning that we are just two points off safety, one behind local rivals Sunderland.

Having gained an unlikely point from Stamford Bridge and also from the Smoggies away at The Riverside with two back-to-back scoreless draws, it seems that Joe Kinnear is bringing some much needed stability to our battered and bruised football club. The point at Stamford Bridge was a hugely uplifting and deserved result at a stadium where we would normally concede three or four goals and go home very fed up. The team showed fight and spirit, whilst super Shay Given proved once more that he is one of the greatest goalkeepers in the land with a string of superb saves, repeating the achievement a week later at Boro. Also worth a special mention is the huge improvement seen in the heart of our defence, with Fabricio 'the hair' Coloccini and Sebastian Bassong putting in memorable shifts recently, the latter looking excellent, especially considering his tender years.

I have to say that although I do not want Kinnear to stay as manager in the long run by any means, I am pleased that he has been given the job at least until the end of this season. He will bring fight and determination to the team, as well as some (probably short term) stability that should see us avoid relegation with ease judging by recent performances. Also, he has stated recently that funds will be available in January to strengthen our tiny squad, without the need to sell. However, if I remember rightly, isn't this what Keegan said, only to be left somewhat embarassed and humiliated by a disastrous regime that broke promises? Kinnear has also insisted that he is the man who chooses the players to bring in, with Dennis 'inch-high, private-eye' Wise simply given the task of going out and getting them, which is surely what should have happened whilst Kev was the boss. Strange, eh?

After a truly horrific display against local rivals Sunderland on Saturday, we battled hard for a much-needed 2-1 win against West Brom on Tuesday night. After putting in a surprisingly decent first half in which we could and should have scored more than the two goals we got, things were running smoothly.

It took only nine minutes for us to break the deadlock. A wonderful through ball from the hopefully rehabilitated Joey Barton allowed Shola Ameobi to run at their last man, only for the naive Ryan Donk to bring our very own Pele down with a clumsy tackle. Barton clutched the ball and pelted home the penalty, his second goal for us and his his second penalty for us also. So two goals, two penalties, that is.