Hurrah! We've Scored a GOAL!

Despite reports from the Midlands indicating that Paul Lambert was behind the decision for the Walsall match to be called off, the City boss has insisted that he did not influence the late decision.

More than 2000 City fans had made the four hour trip from Norfolk to the Banks’s Stadium, only to be told the game was off when they arrived and the Walsall Chief Executive Roy Whalley has claimed that referee Matt Hayward postponed the game after pressure from Paul Lambert.

The match was called off less than an hour before kick off even though there were concerns regards the playability of the pitch earlier in the day, and  Hayward has insisted that he wanted to give the Walsall ground staff as much time as possible, having been given assurances earlier in the day.

Matches get called off all the time at this time of the year, but to leave making the decision so late in the day is just diabolical, especially for the City fans who had made the long journey and were waiting outside the ground to be let in.

If there were doubts about the playing surface earlier in the day, then the decision should have been made there and then, especially as there was no indication that there were problems with the playing surface.

As for the Walsall Chief Executive blaming the City Boss for postponing the match, then he perhaps needs to wake up and smell the coffee, find some funds for under soil heating and realise that the final judgement for such decisions lays firmly at the feet of the match officials.

Despite speculation linking him with a move to the Premier League, Paul Lambert has insisted that Fraser Forster will see out his loan period at Carrow Road until the end of the season.

The keeper, who joined on loan from Newcastle in September, has made 20 appearances for City and is now being linked with both Arsenal and Tottenham.

Lambert can ill afford to lose one of the backbones of his team, especially as his back up includes Declan Rudd and Jed Steer, with Michael Theoklitos clearly not part of his plans. 

Norwich will have defender Gary Doherty back from suspension ahead of the visit to Walsall after the defender missed the 2-0 win against Millwall on Boxing Day whilst serving a one match ban, but he is likely to return to the heart of Paul Lambert’s defence, with Russel Martin returning to right back and Jon Otsemobor giving way.

Fellow defender Jens Berthel Askou is still out with a foot injury and Michael Nelson is likely to retain his place in defence whilst midfielder Korey Smith is sidelined with a thigh problem.

Concerns surround the availability of DarelRussell and Stephen Hughes, who where both substituted during the fixture on Boxing Day, and Matty Gill and Tom Adeyemi are likely to start at the Banks’s Stadium.

The Canaries scored their 50th league goal against the Lions and in form midfielder Wes Hoolahan will again play behind front two of Grant Holt and Chris Martin.

The trio have scored 45 goals between them in all competitions so far this season and a win at the Banks’s Stadium could see the Canaries climb into the top two.

Declan Rudd (knee), Luke Daley (thigh) and Owain Tudur Jones (groin) are still sidelined through injury.

Steve Jones is the only concern for Walsall with the winger still struggling with a groin strain that has sidelined him for the past couple of weeks.

However, the postponement of the Boxing Day clash with Bristol Rovers could give Jones a chance of being fit for the clash.

Otherwise, manager Chris Hutchings has a full strength squad at his disposal as he looks to guide his charges back to winning ways.

Skipper Mark Hughes returns to the centre of defence after serving a one match ban in the 2-2 draw against Leyton Orient last weekend, a result which brought an end to successive defeats but saw the club lose a little ground on those around them.