Have Captain Canary and Big Bird ever been seen in the same place at the same time?

Carrow Road became Sesame Street on Saturday as Norwich City brought us a win over Rotherham with the letter S and the number 5.

Scorers: Sara, Sorensen, Sainz, Sargent and Sara’s second. City slick, sublime and sixth.

It may not be a bad time to start brushing up on the sort of simple arithmetic that Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster and their pals tried to teach us when we were little. It might come in very handy during the run-in.

After 37 games Norwich City’s grasp on a play-off place is, to keep the S theme going, slim. Goal difference is all that’s keeping them above Hull City.

Could it be that the most important goals of the Canaries’ season have been winners against Hull by Adam Idah and Christian Fassnacht? A stoppage time scramble on the opening day and one off the Swiss winger’s knee, thigh or hip on a Friday night in January. Goals that were very much substance over style.

It’s all so tight that any number of individual moments could be picked out from the season and labelled as ‘pivotal’. That’s why Borja Sainz’s red card at Middlesbrough last week was such a big deal.

Norwich City were so dominant that Ashley Barnes had time for a nice sit down before he scored the only goal of that first half hour. The Sainz sending off completely changed the momentum of the game.

Norwich City collapsed quicker than the England cricket team in India. Their inability to deal with a setback that is fairly common in football has left a nagging concern that their run into the play-off places might be built on sand. Whether they have the resilience to turn their recent good run into something tangible in May is a debate that can wait until the going next gets tough.

It's true to say that with Sainz on the pitch City would have stood a better chance of winning the game. Bobby Madeley’s decision to send him off was a mistake that the official himself has admitted to.

At least that is one of the conclusions that can be drawn from the successful appeal that left Sainz free to give Rotherham the kicking that he definitely did not dish out to Jonny Howson.

I have some sympathy with the referee in this instance. Commentators also have to try and make a call as soon as something happens. When Sainz clashed with Howson my instinct was to suggest that he could be in trouble. Fortunately, the nearby monitor soon underlined how soft the decision was and our coverage could be adapted accordingly.

Championship referees don’t get that luxury. Unless you bring in VAR. There is every chance that a quick look at a replay in Stockley Park might have kept 11 Canaries on the pitch at The Riverside. Let’s say, for arguments sake, that it would mean victory and now a three-point cushion in the play-off zone for David Wagner’s team.

Here’s the dilemma. Many Norwich fans have said that one thing they don’t miss about being in the Premier League is VAR. The match-going experience is a much more organic one.

There are no long waits for decisions that are shown again and again to those at home while fans in the ground have no idea what’s happening.

Most importantly of all when your team scores, they score, and you can celebrate without the nagging fear that it might be chalked off a few minutes later.

The pay-off for not having video replays is that refereeing errors cannot be corrected. Fans just have to live with the odd decision during a season that will cost vital points.

It also means that we get more chance of welcoming back another of our Sesame Street friends. There’s nothing like a controversial red card to bring out the Oscar The Grouch in all of us.

 

Dates for diary

Now that Norwich City are in the top six it’s probably worth having a look ahead to what ‘might’ happen in May.

It’s not tempting fate, it’s not jinxing anything, it’s just sensible planning.

If you haven’t got the play-off dates lightly pencilled into your diary at this point you are running the risk of accepting an invite to something you’ll be desperate to get out of.

For the record, the Championship play-off final takes place on Sunday, May 26. A lot has to happen for Norwich City to be there but others in football will already be sweating about that big game.

Unusually the promotion decider takes place the day after the FA Cup final. This weekend that competition reached the quarter final stages. Leicester go to Chelsea on Sunday while on Saturday Coventry play Wolves away. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that those fixtures will be won by the Championship teams.

There is still a chance that Leicester or Coventry could reach both the FA Cup Final and The Championship play-off final. What would happen then?

If neither of them are at Wembley in May one of the alternatives is that the play-off final is an East Anglian derby. Norwich City v Ipswich Town in a one-off game for promotion. It doesn’t bear thinking about.  

Not least because it would mean the authorities having to get both sets of fans from Norfolk and Suffolk to Wembley simultaneously. There will be a lot of people with important jobs hoping for results to go their way over the next couple of months.