And it was all yellow...

... well, not quite - but given that both of Norwich's goals in Saturday's 2-1 defeat were scored by Chris Martin, the facts were never going to get in the way of a good headline.

With our defensive woes exacerbated by the news that Steven Taylor will be up on bricks for ten weeks following the operation on his dislocated shoulder, our display at Carrow Road hardly gave much cause for optimism ahead of the daunting trip to Old Trafford. Danny Simpson, James Perch and Tamas Kadar were also all missing through injury, and reserve team right-back James Tavernier found himself playing in a central role alongside Fabricio Coloccini.

Our fellow promotees looked brighter and sharper, though we could have left with a draw had Nile Ranger's effort not been dubiously disallowed for offside. Our goal came courtesy of Big Lad, who'd been on the pitch all of two minutes before putting the finishing touches to a move involving fellow new arrivals Wayne Routledge and the Xisco Kid.

With injury denying Fraser Forster the opportunity to appear against the side he helped to the League One title, Tim Krul endured a poor afternoon by his own standards.