Freeze A Jolly Good Fellow

Norwich City 3-1 Exeter City

The problem when your team is doing well is that other clubs start to take notice. It was with much alarm that I watched on the Thursday before this game as Paul Lambert got gradually shorter.

He started the day at about 20-1 to become the next manager of Premier League Burnley. By the time I was skidding my way home through the snow after another early shift he was odds-on favourite. The more pessimistic City fans waited for the inevitable announcement. Thankfully it never came and by Friday morning Lambert was in the mood to puff out his chest and declare his undying love for the canaries. It made for a tremendous atmosphere for the Exeter match.

Having spent much of BBC Radio Norfolk's breakfast show on Thursday and Friday reading out school closures (more than 360 each day) I wondered whether the cold snap that was gripping Britain may even be too much for the Carrow Road undersoil heating. Not a bit of it. Only 6 games kicked off at 3pm in the whole league but this was one.

Even a goal from ex-Ipswich striker Marcus Stewart failed to prevent Norwich from winning again.

New signing Oli Johnson also made a terrific start to his City career, coming off the bench and beating three of four players with his first few touches of the ball before curling an effort wide. It would have been the most dramatic debut since Marc Libbra scored 15 seconds into his Carrow Road bow. Johnson got a song quicker than anyone though. 'Oli, Oli, Oli' - it may not be imaginative but it was good enough for 'Iwan, Iwan, Iwan' Roberts and 'Earnie, Earnie, Earnie' Earnshaw when they were leading the canaries line.