City boss Paul Lambert is likely to be a more than interested observer tomorrow night as Wembley plays host to a crucial Euro2012 qualifier between England and Wales.
The Welsh, buoyed by their first Group G win of the campaign on Friday night against Montenegro, will go into the clash as the total underdogs as England look to capitalise on their own, comfortable success against Bulgaria at the weekend.
The Welsh will, of course, also go into battle with two Canary stars in their midst in the shape of Andrew Crofts and one of the heroes of the hour on Friday, striker Steve Morison.
With West Bromwich Albion due at Carrow Road on Sunday and with the likes of Zak Whitbread, Elliott Ward, Daniel Ayala and James Vaughan already littering his treatment room, Lambert will be keeping every finger crossed that the pair come through a real Battle of Britain unscathed.
Morison, for one, was clearly relishing the prospect of an international outing at Wembley as his meteoric rise through the footballing ranks of late shows little sign of slowing.
His first international goal for Gary Speed’s troops merely reinforced his credentials to compete at the highest level of English football and as he made clear when speaking to reporters afterwards, there will be few niceties to be exchanged on the field of battle – either before or afterwards.
Demonstrating the kind of single-minded determination that has seen the one-time non-league hopeful reach the top of the professional game, Morison admitted that he wouldn’t be looking to swap shirts with anyone afterwards.
Rubbing John Terry up the wrong way was what his game was all about.
“If there was a friend I’ve played against I might swap shirts, as I did in the Championship a couple of times with people I had played with at youth-team level,” said the Canary striker, who enjoyed quite a week given that it also included his 28th birthday.
He is, he insists, there by rights tomorrow night. And he is no different to anyone else on that pitch – be they Terry, Wayne Rooney or Ashley Young. And as such, he has no need to run for Wayne’s jersey afterwards.
“I don’t feel I want to run over to somebody after the game and ask for their shirt because, as far as I’m concerned, we’re all on the same level if we are on the same pitch,” said Morison, quoted on the WalesOnline site.
“If you go out there and go and get somebody’s shirt, nine times out of 10 you have pre-empted doing that. You have thought before the game that ‘I’ll get his shirt…,’ and, from a personal opinion, if he’s not my friend and I’ve not known him off the pitch, I have no reason why I want his shirt.
“In internationals I have not swapped shirts with anyone – I have always kept my own. If somebody wants to ask for mine I’ll be more than happy to do so, but I’m not going to be somebody who goes up and asks somebody for theirs.
“I think you need to be like that. There’s no right or wrong way of doing it. I’m not criticising anybody else who swaps – it’s just the way I am.”
It is an excellent, ‘No fear!’ attitude that Morison brings to the party – be it for club or country.
He signalled his arrival in the Premiership on the very first day with the big assist en route to Wes Hoolahan’s strike away at Wigan and will, no doubt, keep Canary skipper Grant Holt on his toes for the rest of the season.
The two can equally work well in tandem – both offering the kind of probing work-rate that Norwich will need by the bucket-load this campaign to keep their prized Premier League status intact.
Who gets whose shirt afterwards will, likewise, be of no concern to Lambert, whose own single-minded determination to get on in the game would see him uproot to Germany from his Scottish homeland.
With the best will in the world, he would have struggled to earn a Champions League winners medal with either Rangers or Celtic.
His principal concern will be that both Morison and Crofts return to Colney this week in one piece ahead of the Baggies clash.
Three games, two draws and two points into their great Premier League adventure and Lambert knows that the Canaries have to make home advantage count points-wise and it will be all hands on deck this weekend trying to prise all three out of Albion’s hands.
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