Half the Black Country will have woken up on Wednesday morning covered in squeezes and bruises. '5-2? You cannot be serious...'

Yes, the Canaries finished the game with Wolves with a one-man advantage; yes, they were helped by at least two comedy defensive moments from the league leaders.

But, that all said, it was all that Norwich deserved. To win the game – by some considerable margin.

The extent of that margin would, in fairness, depend on just how many times Wolves managed to sling a harmless-looking set-piece deep into the Canary box and how many times someone in a yellow shirt got anywhere within touching distance of one in black inside that same, ever-vulnerable penalty area.

But at the other end, that five-goal haul was richly deserved. City had craft, they had creation, they had menace and, above all, in Leroy Lita they had a finish.

And they have that finish for another three games. After that and the 24-year-old is back to Reading in the full expectation that someone of Queen's Park Rangers' ilk will step in almost immediately with an 'emergency loan' move and with a fat cheque book awaiting come January.

It seems the man, who within the space of

40-odd minutes became Norwich's joint top scorer, won't be around these parts for long.

To say that will then leave City right back at square one again would be a mite unfair.

With a bit of luck, Doncaster Rovers at home this weekend should yield another three big points and if the trips to Derby and then Burnley can yield anything next week, then by the time that Lita packs his bags for home, the Canaries ought to be sitting somewhere in the midst of that mid-table pack.

Given this weekend's fixtures, there is also every chance that come 5pm tomorrow, the north half of East Anglia could have leap-frogged over the southern half.

An event that could have wider repercussions with one set of supporters feeling far better about themselves; another feeling far more unhappy about their sluggish, stuttering start to the new campaign.

There again, given the nature of both beasts few would put their house on the form book; quite the reverse could happen.

At which point the blue half of the great divide will probably give the manager the benefit of the doubt for a few more weeks.

As for the yellow half, mess it up now against Doncaster and it will send the city of Norwich into total despair.

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