Stan didn't go to Bury. Having set out his stall in his last column, he got himself a take-out from the The Shed on Sprowston Road, passed Mrs Stan a book to read, and settled down to listen to Norwich go through the motions and move seamlessly into the next round of the FA Cup.
It looked set to be a nice night, for a few seconds at least…
Now, in the cold light of morning, as Stan's close associate Mark 'Giant Danny Baker' Burrows cooks up a humble pie for Stan to tuck into, things don't feel too good. If ever the Canaries got a rude-awakening as to how tenuous our revival, and how frail our squad, is, then losing 2-1 to Bury, in a replay, is surely it.
By all accounts we were poor. We did not appear up for it, we took Bury for granted, and we got our just deserts (humble pie with cream on). Oh, the majesty of the cup.
First things first, the team out there was weakened. Play Shacks and Doc without adequate support from the full-backs and we all know trouble is brewing.
Without Johnny O – surely the most improved player under Roeder – and with Bertrtand still settling into his surroundings, so old problems came back to haunt us.
Once again, Stan implores Glen, Doomy, Delia, Sharon or whoever to stop playing silly buggers and SIGN TINY TAYLOR NOW. An while your at it, keep an eye out for a promising right-back to deputise for Johnny O.
For the defence is the bedrock on which any decent team is built. It needs to be reliable and have cover. Ours is temperamental and lacking depth.
The midfield? Well they had a stinker. Fair go, Rusty, Foz and Pattison have been excellent in recent weeks. If Stan's memory is right, then that is only the second time Foz has been on a losing side this season.
Perhaps, and only perhaps, the fact that Roeder opted to play a 4-3-1-2 formation unsettled the boys.
Whatever, we did not really get a grip on the game in any proper sense of the word. Bad day at the office, Worthy used to say. Let's hope so.
And so the attack. Jamie missed the target again and Hucks continued to underwhelm. What is up with the great man at the moment? True, as we all know, he never shines unless he plays, first and foremost, as a left winger, but he is not firing on all cylinders right now.
Is the US calling? Has the fire burnt out? Is he miffed at not being the first name on the team sheet? Who knows, but I hope we get to see some more vintage Hucks before the season's out. The man is a legend and we love him – so do it for us Hucks…
By contrast, and Stan says this with a heavy heart, he doubts we'll see much more of Ryan Jarvis. Having been touted for so long as the 'great white hope', he seems unable to raise the bar.
No doubt he will dine out on his goal against Liverpool and remain the biggest thing in Fakenham for the rest of his life. But, who cares?
This is Norwich City we are talking about, life and death, our identity and culture. Once again, Roeder and the board should have seen enough to know salvation may have to be imported.
Looking on the bright side, we are spared two trips to Southampton and can – get ready for it – 'concentrate on the league'. Perhaps losing to Bury will get a defeat out of the way and allow us to maintain our unbeaten run in the Championship.
It remains disappointing, though, that another year passes with City dumped out of the cup at an early stage. For all the inevitability of top-flight football at the moment, the FA Cup is – and should remain – at the heart of the English game.
Last night, our only contribution to this great competition was to prove big time Charlies are always fallible.
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