By Steve Goldby
January 5 2005

Here's my first column of the year and here's wishing a very happy one to everybody. I've started to write this just before the Chelsea game and so the tone could change half way through... What a difference a couple of weeks can make. A mere twenty days ago optimism reigned supreme as we entered the Christmas period with the feeling that we could achieve our best ever Christmas points tally.

We left 2004 behind with a cup in the trophy room and were all set to enter 2005 with a cup full of cheer, marching towards Europe again and cementing our place amongst the elite.

Instead, dark clouds are hanging over the Riverside as we travel to Stamford Bridge with a bag full of injuries, little confidence and on the back of a very bad home defeat.

It wasn't so much the result against Manchester United that rankled but the performance. We huffed and puffed for a good period of the second half but never looked like blowing Fergie's house down. Despite the quality of the opposition, we should have done better.

At the beginning of the season, we knew we were on the verge of something special and despite our optimism running at unprecedented levels, we also knew that there were going to be off days and low periods.

Those low days are here now and could well remain until the spine of our team returns from injury. this is the time to get behind the team in the biggest way possible and like we never have done before.

The team needs our support right now in this difficult spell and if we are real supporters, we should be giving it wholeheartedly. Just like we were when we were winning.

Every team in the Premiership gets injuries and every team goes through rough patches where results are hard to come by. That is the time that you need to pull together more than usual and fight harder than normal.

All is not lost for Boro by any stretch of the imagination. We have pulled off bigger results than a win at Stamford Bridge before and even if the unthinkable happens and we get beaten tonight, then we are still in a much higher position than we have been in for years and are still alive in three major competitions.

Why shouldn't we win at Stamford Bridge tonight? They may be top of the league and looking like they are cruising to the title but we have been top six for the best part of the season and have been one of the teams to beat this campaign.

That may have changed slightly but we have not turned into a bad team overnight and the players who were bemoaning their lack of opportunity still have the chance to prove themselves.

I believe that we will win this game tonight and into the first minute, we look hungry...

    

The last time we won at Chelsea was in 1975. John Craggs and Alan Willey scored the goals. Both players scored a grand total of fourteen goals between them in their entire Boro careers.

With sixteen minutes gone, it's now difficult to see that statistic changing tonight as we are two goals down and looking like we could be humiliated.

People who I am communicating with online are turning their radio commmentary off and other fans are logging off and have moved on to other activities.

It's half time now and I still believe that we can get something out of this game. We have consistently played better in the second half this season. It really is time to get behind the team now. It seems like they need us more than ever. Let's not let them down.

The second half kicked off and Bernie Slaven's first comment was: "Is Cech a good keeper? I don't know, because I haven't seen him play yet..."

For those of you who may be interested, Cech played the whole of the first half. Even Bernie is losing his belief...

Negativity never helps. Remember where we were, not just ten years ago but twelve months ago. We are still higher in the Premier league than we were in any other January.

Always believe in the Boro. Because if you do, it will happen one day.

It did last year.

Until next week.

Steve