Unfortunately, it did not work out that way, because Preston equalised shortly after Rusty's dismissal in the eightieth minute and Norwich dropped two precious points. Then, just when we thought it could not possibly get any worse, along came the Swans and the Canaries were on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline after taking a 1-0 lead, then wasting at least three good chances to go further ahead before half-time.
The dismissal of the Doc on Saturday evening, after just twenty minutes at the City Ground, brought back memories of a similar scenario at St Mary's a few weeks ago; but Matty Pattison could hardly have chosen a better time to score his first goal for Norwich and this seemed to inspire the whole team with the courage that had been missing in recent games.
Add to that some excellent saves from David Marshall and, for only the second time this season, the travelling fans were able to celebrate an away win. Viewed in this context, beating the bottom club 2-1 will only mark a significant turning point in the season if the players show the same level of courage and commitment against the Eagles!
Finding two fit central defenders for the Palace game could be a problem, but the versatility shown by Sammy Clingan against Forest was reassuring. Whatever the line-up, the fans will be hoping for another performance on a par with the Wolves game, whilst dreading the possibility of another Swansea, Derby, or QPR! Not conceding a penalty and finishing the game with eleven players would really help the campaign.
Talking of campaigns, it seems that my offer to replace Jonathan Woss on Friday nights has been rejected, because the BBC Trust has not fired him, or even added to his period of suspension! Could it be that 'Canary Talk' is not widely read in the corridors of power at the Beeb?
Perhaps I am out of touch with the modern approach to public service broadcasting, but in my humble opinion, Mr Woss, at the age of fifty plus, should be well aware of what actually constitutes bad taste, unless he is a complete 'plonker' - in which case he should not be getting paid such an enormous salary at licence-payers' expense! Even Premiership footballers are not worth that kind of money, are they?