One of the great joys of football is that even when you think you know what will happen, it always manages to surprise. 

The pre-season narrative has been fairly bleak with Norwich fans. Many saying the team will be battling it out in mid table with some even saying they should be more concerned about bottom six than top six.

Personally, I have been more optimistic than this with the break between seasons seemingly giving Norwich a chance to refresh and the friendly games showing a team with a clearer identity and cohesion. However, none of it suggested Norwich would be able to deliver such a comprehensive display as the one that arrived at Carrow Road on Saturday.

Opening days of the season are tough, teams are usually still in a state of flux with the transfer window still open leading to some players casting their eye towards futures elsewhere and ideas developed in pre-season not always being ready for the full test of league football.

Norwich seemingly managed to elevate themselves in their attack from the games in Austria and Germany, with no other team taking more shots than Norwich this weekend.

There was of course the customary defensive howler which will linger in the mind of David Wagner, as it was Norwich’s ability to shoot themselves in their own foot that a huge contributor to last season’s failings. Don’t let the fact it took a slightly dubious last-minute winner to get the result over the line, Norwich were good value for the three points and it would never have been so close if it wasn’t for a wonder save denying Josh Sargent an opening day goal.

Making the victory all the sweeter were the contributions of the two academy products that provided the goals.

Jon Rowe had a standout performance, despite Gabriel Sara, Jack Stacey and Dimi all being excellent, but I want to fully sing the praises of Adam Idah.

This is a player that has become the target of so much abuse from his own fans despite the challenging circumstances he has faced. Coming through as a young player is always hard, especially when it is for a team struggling and he has been competing for a place against one of Norwich’s greatest ever strikers.

Add into that bad luck with injuries and it isn’t a huge surprise he hasn’t been able to show his best ability. Idah is on his third Norwich manager now and they have all been keen to have him involved in the first team; his international manager Stephen Kenny has also been enthusiastic about Idah’s talent and his future.

The Pink Un: David Wagner was all smiles with his players after his side's 2-1 win over Hull CityDavid Wagner was all smiles with his players after his side's 2-1 win over Hull City (Image: Focus Images)

At 22 he has plenty of time ahead of him to show his best and while in his 10-minute cameo against Hull he didn’t have time to put in the all-round display Jon Rowe did, scoring that crucial winner can hopefully be the boost he needs.

I couldn’t think of a player I’d have wanted to score that goal more than Idah and hopefully this is the beginning of a fantastic, injury free, season for him. He certainly deserves it.

I’m trying to avoid getting too carried away as this is just one game and not against the toughest opponents, but I would like to think all fans agree that we haven’t seen a performance as coherent and enjoyable as this for a long time.

Time will tell whether it is the beginning of a successful season or not, but an enjoyable result and performance should never be passed up when the opportunity presents itself.